A Tale of Two Political Parties

Among the more significant achievements of the Trump presidency was a new policy toward the Middle East. Whereas Democrats, led by buffoons like John Kerry and by Jeremiah Wright’s protege, insisted that we needed to solve the Palestinian problem before we did anything else in that region, the Trump administration sidelined the Palestinian issue and forged a series of new agreements between Israel and her Arab neighbors. They were called the Abraham Accords. 

These agreements involved diplomatic recognition, on the one hand, and enhanced commercial ties and technological exchanges. Throughout it all the Palestinian cause remained dormant. 

Considering that Hamas was working to destroy the state of Israel and to kill as many Jews as possible in the process, one understands that there was nothing to negotiate with such people. As for absurd notion of Palestinian rights, the actions of Palestinians has basically forfeited any rights that they might have had.

But, the Biden administration, wanting to return to the anti-Semitic days of the administration of Jeremiah Wright’s protege, has sought to undo the Abraham Accords. Biden has made a major effort to suck up to Iran, by canceling an arms contract with the United Arab Emirates and by taking the pro-Iranian Houthis off the terrorist watch list. It has done its darndest to re-establish good relations with Iran.

The Palestinians have noticed. Hamas celebrated the advent of the Biden presidency by firing 4,000 rockets into Israel. The New York Times celebrated by running a blood libel against Jews. More recently, a rash of attacks by Arabs on Israelis, with knives and axes and automobiles, recalls the old days when the Palestinians felt that an American administration had their backs.

And, let us not forget, at a time when the United States has wanted to ask Gulf Arab nations to increase energy production, the leaders of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have refused to take Joe Biden’s phone calls. In part, this follows upon Biden’s insistence that the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia is an assassin, but it also represents a response to the policy shift, toward Iran and its proxies and against everyone else. That is, against every nation that was a party to the Abraham Accords.

And yet, Saudi Arabia has just signed on to invest in a new fund, run by none other than Trump son-in-law, and one of the architects of the Abraham Accords, one Jared Kushner. And, this fund will invest in Israeli companies. The gesture is clear and unambiguous. Saudi Arabia is looking for commercial openings with Israel. Its leaders are looking beyond the Biden presidency.

The Wall Street Journal reports:

Jared Kushner’s new private-equity fund plans to invest millions of dollars of Saudi Arabia’s money in Israeli startups, according to people familiar with the investment plan, in a sign of warming ties between two historic rivals.

Affinity Partners, which has raised more than $3 billion, including a $2 billion commitment from the kingdom’s sovereign-wealth fund, has already selected the first two Israeli firms to invest in, these people said.

The decision marks the first known instance that the Saudi Public Investment Fund’s cash will be directed to Israel, a sign of the kingdom’s increasing willingness to do business with the country, even though they have no diplomatic relations. This could help lay the groundwork for a breakthrough normalization pact between the two countries.

Israel is deepening business and security ties with Arab states, including the United Arab Emirates, nearly two years after the U.S. brokered historic normalization deals. Mr. Kushner, former President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and a former senior White House adviser, played an instrumental role in the so-called Abraham Accords. He has also established strong ties with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler. Since leaving the White House, Mr. Kushner has tapped his White House contacts across the Middle East to develop his private-equity firm, a venture likely to earn him lucrative fees regardless of the success or failure of its investments.

As part of the negotiations to secure the kingdom’s funding, Saudi officials agreed that Affinity Partners could invest in Israeli firms, the people familiar with the firm’s plans said. The kingdom could also open its economy to Israeli businesses via work with Mr. Kushner, they noted.

Clearly, the Saudis want better ties with Israel. The story is obviously going to be ignored by the American media, but perhaps not you:

A spokesman for Saudi Arabia’s $600 billion Public Investment Fund, whose board is chaired by Prince Mohammed and includes senior government ministers, declined to comment. The government’s media office didn’t respond to requests for comment.

The PIF is tasked with transforming the domestic Saudi economy via investments in new industries and sprawling real-estate developments, such as a $500 billion futuristic city-state called Neom. Prince Mohammed has told advisers and diplomats he hopes Israelis will play a big part in developing Neom, with potential investments in biotechnology and cybersecurity. In November 2020, the prince met at Neom with then-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a sign Saudi Arabia could join the Abraham Accords. But new administrations in the U.S. and Israel slowed momentum.

Obviously, this represents an important step toward normalization and peace in the region. Surely, it compares favorably to the activities of Joe Biden’s son, the crackhead grifter who deserves to be indicted.

Anyway, within the Jewish community, orthodox Jews have become a reliably Republican voting bloc. Liberal Jews are wringing their crying towels over some remark that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene once made. And they have banned Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis from a panel discussion at the Museum of Jewish Heritage. Happily, the sponsors of the discussion moved it to another venue.

And then there is the issue of Karine Jean-Pierre, recently named the new White House press secretary. Not only does Ms. Jean-Pierre have a personal relationship with a CNN reporter, but she has been engaged in notably anti-Semitic activities in the past. Obviously, since she represents a great step forward for diversity, the media will ignore her anti-Semitic past and her conflicts of interest.

The Washington Free Beacon broke the story:

Jean-Pierre’s anti-Israel past—which includes a stint as senior adviser and national spokeswoman for MoveOn.org, a far-left anti-Israel group that advocates for boycotts of the Jewish state—is raising red flags in the pro-Israel community. The selection of an Israel critic is also likely to further strain ties with the pro-Israel community and Israeli government, which already is strongly opposed to the Biden administration’s efforts to ink a new nuclear deal with Iran.

Jean-Pierre has been open about her animosity toward the Jewish state. She has accused Israel of committing "war crimes" and has backed efforts to boycott the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the United States' most prominent pro-Israel lobbying shop, cheering Democrats in 2019 for boycotting the group's annual gathering in Washington, D.C., for "boldly [choosing] to prioritize diplomacy and human rights over the power of a lobbying organization." AIPAC, she claimed, helped the Trump administration "sabotage" the Iran nuclear deal and also "supported the group that's credited with inspiring President Trump to enact the Muslim Ban and has been known to spread anti-Muslim racism." She accused the group without evidence of trafficking in "severely racist, Islamophobic rhetoric."

Some Jewish leaders are speaking out. It will be to no avail, because some people in today’s America are held to different standards:

"As a child of Holocaust survivors and as an American Jew, I am both appalled and frightened that Biden has chosen as his principal deputy press secretary, Ms. Jean-Pierre, who has shown essentially antisemitic hostility toward Israel and is willing to lie about and vilify Israel and Jews to promote her ugly Israelophobic agenda," Mort Klein, CEO of the Zionist Organization on America, said in a statement.

"Americans should be deeply concerned that this outrageous, incomprehensible anti-Israel, pro-terrorist and pro-Iran appointment indicates the dangerous direction the Biden administration is going to take against America’s greatest ally Israel and U.S.-Israel relations," Klein said.

Klein was not alone:

One veteran pro-Israel community leader expressed shock that the president decided to hire Jean-Pierre.

"Jewish Americans will get slapped in the face every time they turn on the television and see someone standing at the podium who has said such vile things about Israel," said the source, who would only speak candidly on background. "Just days after the [Anti-Defamation League] boldly declared anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism, the forces of radical left anti-Semitism got a boost from the President of the United States."

As for MoveOn, it has a long history of defending Democratic anti-Semites:

MoveOn also has championed anti-Israel leaders in Congress, including Reps. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.), who were the organization’s first endorsements in the 2020 election cycle.

The group also ran interference for Omar and Tlaib when they were accused of making anti-Semitic statements and stoking hatred of Jews. Democrats, the group said in 2019, "must stand strong in solidarity with Reps. Tlaib, Omar—stand up to Israel right-wing government for doing Trump's racist, political dirty work."

And when far-left activist Linda Sarsour was criticized for anti-Semitism, MoveOn came to her defense, tweeting that she "is a leader in the fight for justice for all of us." MoveOn also defended Angela Davis, the notorious communist activist, as a "civil rights leader" after an award was revoked due to her anti-Semitic past.

So, a tale of two political parties. On the one hand Republicans are working to promote peace and prosperity in the Middle East. On the other hand Democrats are promoting anti-Semites to important political positions. As I have noted, Hamas and Iran now know that they have friends in the White House.