Trump’s defeat means dicey times for U.S., Israel

By Ira Sharkansky

Ira Sharkansky

JERUSALEM — It took a while. Trump declared victory and demanded a halting of vote counting before the results were close to final.

Foolish? Play acting?

He’s the President of the United States. Yet he acted as some kind of maniac.

He did better than many of the polls indicated. He has support. White working class mostly, but not entirely. It points to fractions in the American population. Partly racist, and partly social class. With a strong regional bias, apparent in the large swath of red on the maps of the states.

His tantrum was not mirrored among all ranking Republicans. Individual Senators and the Vice President Mike Pence expressed themselves differently from the top man. Reports tell of a split within the White House and among ranking Republicans. Some want to fight, while some want to concede. Involved in the squabble are Trump’s ego, and who knows what motives of those supporting him, and those urging a concession.

In many respects the US is a basket case. A sharp difference between those better off and less so, showing itself in education as well as income, sets the country off from other places among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD.) None of which have the military power or the overall wealth of the US.

The refusal of the top man to accept the decision of the voters may have its parallel here in Israel. Bibi, like Trump, wants to hold on to his power. Among other reasons, to protect himself from the judicial process.

Bibi’s style is far more polished than Trump’s But he’s a liar. He accepted the suspension of any annexation of the West Bank, and the sale of advanced planes and other military equipment to the UAE in dealings with the United States, but he acted in both cases as those were temporary matters agreed to by others, without a role for himself.

Bibi’s support is also parallel to that of Trump. Instead of working class whites, Bibi’s base lies among lower income and less well educated Sephardim.

In both cases, support comes also from outside that base, and reaches the pinnacle of the US and Israeli societies, including some of you who respond to my columns.

Bibi is also closer to his judicial process than Trump. Three indictments, and a schedule for when a long trial will begin. Things are clearer here than in the US, where one can wonder about a wealthy individual with wide business contacts and indications of business dealings that pile on top of his government role, and a tiny expenditure on taxes.

It’s appropriate to worry about violence in the United States. There are more guns than people, plus organizations on the right and left that are itching to begin something. With Trump declaring victory in very certain terms, and asserting that he was robbed, there is an obvious incentive for the rabble to take things into their own hands. Moreover, the police are not a certain force for law and order. With tens of thousands of local, plus state and federal units of various kinds, with weapons ranging up to the best, there is no assurance of peace.

The issue is not only American. The United States is the world’s leader in many senses of the term. For it to fall apart, or even to creak at its seams, threatens all kinds of doubts and rouses movements that are anything but peaceful.

Lots of us, especially perhaps Israelis, depend on stability and continued assistance from the United States.

Now that we’re a nation of more than nine million, with a strong military, we can probably take care of ourselves. At least in the short run. However, our political situation is less than enviable. There are no clear boundaries between us and the Palestinians. Enough of them are restive, and promoted to ill feeling by their authorities. Almost daily are incidents of violence from the West Bank and Gaza. Yet there are also numerous connections, including Israel’s collection of taxation on imports for the Palestinians of the West Bank, transfers of goods in both directions, plus thousands of Palestinians who enter Israel daily for work or medical treatment. It’s not a situation that can be summarized easily, and there are no signs of an obvious “solution.” At least part of the problem is the aged and entrenched Palestinian leadership of the West Bank, and who knows what’ll happen when that changes?

A smooth transition to something more rational? We can hope, but not expect it. Perhaps a period of bloodshed, as numerous contenders fight to establish themselves.

European countries as well as the United States and others have involved themselves with declarations, relations with the Palestinians, and aid to the Palestinians.

Israel also has relations with almost all the countries involved with the Palestinians. However, the United States is our major source of help, a major supplier of military supplies, and a source of financial assistance. No doubt American Jews are important in helping to cement those ties. Despite sharp divisions in Israeli and US Jewry’s support for Trump or Biden, and despite the many left of center American Jews who oppose Israel, there remain strong ties between us and them.

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Ira Sharkansky is professor emeritus of political science at Hebrew University. He may be contacted via ira.sharkansky@sdjewishworld.com