Nadene Goldfoot
Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republicans newest bid to the presidency, is a former biotech executive that's only 38 years old, getting a lot of attention after the first Republican Debate Wednesday night. A lot of time was spent debating against Nikki Haley, another child of Indian immigrants who defended Israel against his outlandish statements.Haley lashed out at Ramaswamy over his recent suggestion that he would cut American aid to Israel if elected.It was the longest conversation about Jewish issues all evening, and brought increased visibility to a topic that, after decades of being a political third rail, has come under discussion on both sides of the aisle.
Ramswamy defended his position while asserting that he considered Israel a “friend.”
“He wants to go and stop funding Israel,” Haley, a former governor of South Carolina, said about Ramaswamy, referring to the rising political neophyte’s promise to cut aid to the country after the current funding deal, which gives Israel $3.8 billion annually, expires in 2028.
In response, Ramaswamy sought to clarify his stance on Israel without backing down from his position.
“Our relationship with Israel will never be stronger than by the end of my first term,” he said. “But it’s not a client relationship, it is a friendship. And you know what friends do? Friends help each other stand on their own two feet.” So, according to Ramaswamy, you don't help financially when you're the most powerful country in the world. He and we have a different definition of country to country friendship.
Ramaswamy went on to reiterate his previous pledge to “lead Abraham Accords 2.0,” referring to the 2020 normalization agreements between Israel and several Arab states, by getting other Middle Eastern countries to establish relations with Israel. He added that he would “make sure Iran never is nuclear-armed.” Empty promises, that he can't fulfill and has no idea of how to do it in the first place. I think Israel has heard many empty promises before. The one thing that Trump did fulfill that many previous presidents also promised and didn't come through was getting the embassy of the USA in Jerusalem -moving it from Tel Aviv. We can thank Jerad Kushner, his son in law, for that.
He also readily rattled off a list of things he said “I love” about Israel, including “their border policies,” “their tough on crime policies,” their “national identity” and “an Iron Dome to protect their homeland” — the latter of which, a missile defense system, is partially funded by US military aid. Yet with all this admiration for Israel, he's not budging from his stand of no money for Israel, cutting much needed ties in our relationship.
But Haley shot back. “He wants to stop funding Israel. You don’t do that to your friends,” she retorted. “It’s not that Israel needs America. America needs Israel.” The daughter of Indian immigrants and the former governor of South Carolina, Haley served as UN ambassador for the first two years of Trump's term, often spearheading the president's foreign policy decisions, including the embassy move to Jerusalem in violation of international law as the UN defined it.
The exchange may have helped both candidates stand out. It was a familiar position for the former ambassador to take. Haley, who is trailing Ramaswamy in the polls, built a close relationship with Israel (and with the American pro-Israel establishment), and was known for her vocal defense of the country at the United Nations. Haley was the ambassador to Israel from the USA and defended Israel against all the others who bashed her unashamedly. She put them in their place with real facts. She knows the history inside and out. She did a better job that any previous ambassadors. Nimarata Nikki Haley (née Randhawa; born January 20, 1972) is an American politician and former diplomat who served as the 116th
Ramaswamy, by comparison, is an untested quantity in the Israel debate, and his stance on aid differs from the mainstream Republican position, which supports military funding for Israel. Yet during the debate he bragged about his multiple visits to the country, and he has strong ties with a Jewish society at Yale University.
Shmully Hecht is the Rabbinical Advisor of Shabtai; the Jewish society at Yale University. In 1997, Hecht co-founded Shabtai, which encourages its membership to become true Jewish leaders, both within their communities as well as in the business world. Hecht is published regularly by the Washington Post, New York Daily News, Yale Daily News, First Things and others.The society’s co-founder, Rabbi Shmully Hecht, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that Ramaswamy “is the most pro-Israel candidate running for president of the United States.” Rabbi, how can you think this when Ramaswamy simply will not be truthful and encompasses all the reasons others admire Israel when he openly states he wouldn't add any shekels to their financial aid. He's two-faced and feels he doesn't even have to fool anyone about it. He says something nice, then stabs Israel in the back. Vivek is clever, knowing how to take in a young rabbi.
At least Haley, who's heard it all at the UN, saw through his disguise of being a friend.
Other Republicans on the stage declined to weigh in on Haley and Ramaswamy’s dispute, though several of them have built up their pro-Israel bonafides and one, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, sported a dual US-Israel flag pin on his lapel.
Another serious item he doesn't understand is Ukraine. He opposes NATO membership for Ukraine and has said Kiev should make concessions to Russia to end the war, including allowing it to retain parts of Ukraine it already occupies. Ukraine has enough to worry about let alone a meshugana possiblitiy of a new president who knows nothing.
It should be more than just being a millionaire as reason to get votes. It should be intelligence in the field of politics and history. Our country is not a tech company and cannot be run the same way. Showing a profit is but one skill needed-not the only one. That's what he seems to be intending to do, cutting everything we spend money on world-ly to help keep world peace. With an emperor like that, usually the coins find their way to the emperor's pockets. Oh yes, I noticed all the things he lists as things he will do...no mention of the 3 parts of our Democracy.
Resource:
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/who-is-vivek-ramaswamy-republican-presidential-hopeful-2023-08-23/
on Israpundit: Vivek Ramaswamy, one of the leading candidates for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination, pushed back against accusations he would harm the US-Israel relationship and Israel’s security by cutting military aid to the Jewish State.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking to Israel’s Channel 12 News following last week’s Republican presidential debate, Ramaswamy claimed that other politicians with more experience than himself put words in his mouth. “What I actually said was that if our relationship with Israel ever gets Israel to the point of being so strong that Israel doesn’t even need our aid anymore, that will actually be a mark of success of a true friendship. I want this to be clear – we will never cut off aid to Israel until Israel tells us that they are ready for it.”
How is it that he's weak enough to let others put words in his mouth saying the opposite of what he said only on Israel's channel 12? Evidently that's not what he said in the debate that Americans heard. That's a trick the PLO used; saying one thing in Arabic to their people and a different thing to other people.
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