A clandestine undertaking on behalf of Israel, the Jets and the Jews.

 
Will GOP Jews Support Bush Or Israel?

I expected DovBear to post something alone these lines, but since he hasn't and it's getting close to shabbos, here's my question:

Will observant Jews who support President Bush bother to criticize him now that, as a result of the Bush Administration's policies, Hamas will control the Palestinian Authority?

Keep in mind that it was Bush and Condoleezza Rice who insisted that Hamas be eligible to run in the PA election, despite the clause under the Oslo Accords that terrorist groups cannot be part of the PA.

When it became clear that Hamas won the election, Bush responded by somehow putting a positive spin on the turn of events. As today's New York Times reports, Bush said:

There was a peaceful process as people went to the polls, and that's positive. But what's also positive is that it's a wake-up call to the leadership. Obviously people were not happy with the status quo. The people are demanding honest government. The people want services.

Fantastic! And I'm sure that if in Iraqi elections, the party of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi were to emerge victorious, or if in Afghanistan, people go to the polls and decide that they are "not happy with the status quo" and choose to, say, replace President Hamid Karzai with a leader of the Taliban, Bush would consider that too to be "positive."

Alas, many observant Jews retain a bizarre form of cognitive dissonance when it comes to Bush, who is for some reason deemed to be Israel's best friend ever. This despite the fact that Israel, during the Bush Administration, has been forced to, among other humiliations: (1) end just about all construction in Judea and Samaria; (2) indefinitely shelve plans to connect Ma'aleh Adumim to Jerusalem; (3) accept the road map, which specifically references the Saudi Plan under which Israel would return to the '67 borders; (4) remove the portion of the security fence protecting the areas near Ben Gurion Airport; (5) generally reduce the route of the fence to less than seven percent of Judea and Samaria, much less than the originally planned route; (6) accept a Pentagon veto over arm's sales by Israel; (7) relinquish security control over the Gaza border with Egypt; and (8) allow Hamas to take over the PA.

Ultimately, my question is this: What's more important to Bush-supporting observant Jews: Israel's security and rights, or Bush's political status?

The common answer that a Democrat would be no better might be true but isn't acceptable. When Hillary Clinton called for a Palestinian state before Yasser Arafat launched his terror war, she was ripped apart. Why, when shortly after 9/11, Bush called for a Palestinian state in a transparent attempt to appease our Arab "allies", did the same people have little to say? In other words, why, just because Democrats are no better for Israel are so many observant Jews okay with Israel getting screwed over by Bush?
posted on 1/27/2006