JD Vance Woos the Jews

The hosting by Vice President Vance of a Shabbat dinner at Number One Observatory Circle brings to mind Shakespeare’s observation about excessive protest. It comes after America’s second highest elected official met with radio personality Sid Rosenberg, who declared that he went into the meeting “with very low expectations” but managed to “charm” the vice president. Good for Mr. Rosenberg, but hardly reassuring for the rest of us. Jews — and their allies — have good reason to look at Mr. Vance with gimlet eyes. Just this week he declared that Washington’s Middle East policy cannot be “subservient to the State of Israel,” a shocking thing to suggest about one of the world’s great alliances. He also praised President Trump for publicly disagreeing with Israel when the “American people need us to go in a different direction.” Mr. Vance has pushed for a peace in Iran that many saw as appeasement. Mr. Vance sold that deal against Jerusalem’s objections by musing that “anybody in Israel who thinks their biggest problem is the president of the United States needs to wake up and smell the reality of the situation that country is in.” He added that “Donald J. Trump is the only head of state in the entire world who is sympathetic to the nation of Israel at this moment.” Three months on, Mr. Vance’s memorandum of understanding lies in tatters.Then there are Mr. Vance’s ties with the podcaster Tucker Carlson, whom the vice president calls “a friend.” These columns have laid out Mr. Carlson’s noxious positions — in a memorial elegy he likened the murderer of Charlie Kirk to Jerusalemite “hummus eaters” — and his worldview has only become more conspiratorial. Now, Mr. Carlson could be eyeing a third party run for president. At least Mr. Vance has denounced the repugnant Nick Fuentes.Mr. Vance is not the gravest threat faced by American Jews — the leftward lurch of the Democratic Party is a development whose implications could come into focus only after the midterm elections in November. Speculation is already gathering that if Dr. Abdul El-Sayed manages to secure a Senate seat from Michigan, he could eye a run for the White House. The Times reports Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez could have presidential notions.We wrote in June that Mr. Vance’s “strategic second-guessing of Israel” amounted to offering the Jewish state the “Ukraine treatment,” meaning rough handling of an ally. Notwithstanding Mr. Vance’s skepticism, both Ukraine and Israel have more than proven themselves in battle. Mr. Vance acknowledges that “Israel has been an important partner when it comes to military technology” but seems to feel little warmth for the Jewish state. The vice president is by any measure a leading Republican candidate for president in 2028. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has declared that he will not oppose Mr. Vance, though many would like to see such a contest. Another podcaster, Hasan Piker, is proving a millstone around Dr. El-Sayed’s neck on the hustings. Mr. Vance’s attachment to Mr. Carlson could have a similar baleful effect. Something to cogitate on over challah and honey.

JD Vance Woos the Jews

JD Vance Woos the Jews

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