The opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem this week was positively surreal. Here’s a glimpse.
— Dusty (@DustinGiebel) May 14, 2018
Simply put, Jared Kushner mouthed platitudes about peace, and his wife, Peace Treaty Barbie Ivanka Trump posed for pictures, while in the background sniper fire and tear gas canisters wreaked havoc on the Gaza Strip where at least 58 people were killed. All it was was a Trump campaign rally in the Holy Land, replete with live coverage from Fox News. American Jews were totally appalled, and there was a dearth of Democrats present, which is not coincidental. The scene was positively surreal. Haaretz:
If, by the time Ethiopian-Israeli singer Hagit Yaso wrapped up the ceremony with “Od Yavo Shalom Aleinu” (“Peace Will Yet Come Upon Us”), you felt you were being gaslit: there was no need to question your sanity. You were not alone.
Known for our progressive politics, which for many are driven by our Jewish values, the vast majority (77 percent) of American Jews disapprove of President Trump. The same American Jewish Committee poll which documented the extent of our community’s antipathy to Trump found that only 16 percent of American Jews supported moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, absent progress in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
The fact that the Congressional delegation that attended yesterday’s ceremony was composed solely of Republicans speaks volumes. Couple that with the religious officials who offered benedictions: a Chabad rabbi, hardly representative of U.S. Jewish community demographics, and two evangelical pastors – John Hagee and Robert Jeffress – so beyond the pale for their bigoted views that they have been disavowed (and even condemned) by past Republican presidential candidates. American Jews made their views known in no uncertain terms.
American Jews made their views known.
You lose the PR advantage on this one, #MrTrump, with those two images side be side, Ivanka and Jared yukking it up in Jerusalem while the Palestinians get shot at. Perfect, you moron.
— Bette Midler (@BetteMidler) May 14, 2018
I’m glad Ivanka and Jared could take time away from their busy schedules of not being qualified to represent the US to go represent the US, and celebrate moving the capital in exchange for the adelson’s donations, while 50+ Palestinians have been killed.
— Chelsea Handler (@chelseahandler) May 14, 2018
I am ashamed of the Jewish people. I am ashamed to be one of you. I am ashamed of America. There is blood on your hands @realDonaldTrump and the hoard of monkeys that u spawned. Shame on u @IvankaTrump as well for your complicity #resist #TheResistance #ISRAEL
— LadyJaye_Resists (@LadyJ1175) May 14, 2018
I'm debating whether the Trump Debacle is making me more ashamed to be American or Jewish. Going with both.
— Jay Louis (@JayLouis) May 14, 2018
I am very proud to be Jewish, but I am completely ashamed of what’s going on in Israel. After all our people suffered, you’d think we’d value human lives a lot more. #Israel #Palestine https://t.co/obzCKqLTmw
— Christina Duval (@christinajduval) May 15, 2018
Meanwhile, the Trump administration considers this a success, despite the deaths and violence that have appalled the rest of the civilized world. Adelson will continue to keep pumping in his millions to elect Republican candidates, and Jeffress, Hagee and the rest of the evangelical wingnuts are doing a biblical spin on the embassy move, saying that they are now one step closer to redemption. They too will turn out in force for the 2018 elections. They and Trump got what they wanted, a religious photo op they could use as Trump fulfilled a ludicrous campaign promise, and per usual, perceptions of America have nosedived yet even lower.
