We talked about Hillary and Sanders and what their grade was in the school of Israel and the Israel/Palestinian conflict. Now it’s time to look at the candidates from the party that has championed support for Israel. Let us see if the candidates are as pro-Israel as they pretend to be or if they are just trying to gain the Jewish vote.

Let’s start with everyone’s least favorite life-long Democrat and Magical Republican, Donald Trump. And okay, maybe he should have stayed in the previous article, but for all intents of this election he is sadly a Republican presidential candidate.

In his speech at the AIPAC conference held merely weeks ago, Donald Trump described himself as a “life-long friend” of Israel. Not too long before that, however, he was heard saying that Israel should pay back the military assistance, aid, etc that it receives from the United States.

It is a well done speech, much like the one Hillary Clinton gave the day before. He claimed to have read the Iran deal, in great detail (When he read it and when he had tome to do it remains to be seen). What he then outlines was as follows:

1) “Stand up to Iran’s aggressive push to destabilize and dominate the region,” noting that the country has been arming Hezbollah in Lebanon and Syrians. Trump called for cutting off funds to Iran and added that he knows “how to deal with trouble;” 2) Dismantle Iran’s network of terrorists around the world. 3) At the very least, restructure the terms of the Iran deal so that Iran is not allowed to test ballistic missiles, which he said Iran is doing to intimidate Europe and other nations (Source).

Interesting plan….how exactly is he going to make it happen? It’s a lot of pretty language for sure. But saying, the Iran deal is bad and we’re going to dismantle Iran’s network is not good enough. The Jewish people already had eight years of a candidate and his promises while pretending to be pro-Israel. Donald also added the incitement occurring against Israel.A lot of this speech goes against what he said in a previous debate about how he will “cut a deal” because “Jews like deals.”

Here is the main problem. We can no longer take a candidate at their word. There has to be something to corroborate what he is telling us.  Most of the Pro-Israel things he said have been stated by other candidates, Cruz and Rubio to be specific, so it is hard to find truth in his statements when it seems like he’s repeating someone else’s points.

Donal Trump stated, as reported by TIME,”“I didn’t come here tonight to pander to you about Israel. That’s what politicians do: all talk, no action. I came here to speak to you about where I stand on the future of American relations with our strategic ally, our unbreakable friendship, and our cultural brother, the only democracy in the Middle East, the State of Israel.” But after making anti-semitic remarks this is exactly what he’s doing.  This is not an attempt to paint himself more pro-Israel, which in his mind he probably thinks he is. He sound just like Obama, more interested in the prestige of finding a deal because “Israel is willing to deal.”

One last bit comes from an interview he gave a few months ago “A lot will have to do with Israel and whether or not Israel wants to make the deal, whether or not Israel’s willing to sacrifice certain things. They may not be, and I understand that, and I’m okay with that. But then you’re just not going to have a deal.” Thus, by the power vested in me, I bestow upon Donald Trump the same grade I gave Hillary Clinton: C. Because it’s all about pandering, he will not treat Netanyahu as a friend, especially when Bibi puts his foot down and refuses to negotiate, or won’t support some silly peace deal Trump will no doubt try to push. Still he’s one grade above Sanders because he’s at least trying and respects, at the very least his daughter’s religion and seems to have no problem being the grandfather to a Jewish baby. The official grade of F is mostly reserved for the Ayatollah, president Mahmoud Abbas, and the people who really known nothing about the conflict, and actively seek to harm Israel. Thus leaving Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in the same boat, just slightly bigger and less sinking than Sanders.

https://youtu.be/0mHDySB0_E8

The most pro-Israel candidate on the stage, out of the remaining candidates is of course, Ted Cruz. Out of the candidates he was the first to promise to move the US Embassy from the Tel Aviv to Israel’s actual capital, Jerusalem (and while this isn’t the first or last time a candidate will say it and likely not do it, it’s the thought that counts). However, he started off his speech at AIPAC on a poor note when he declared “Palestine has no existed since 1948. Senator Cruz, Palestine has never existed at all. It is a false name given to the region to try to disregard and erase it’s Jewish roots.

Despite the flub, Cruz fought for Israel early on in his career as a senator. In 2014 around the time of the Israel operation Protective Edge, “Cruz used his authority as a member of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee to force the Obama administration to end the Federal Aviation Commission’s ban on US flights to Ben-Gurion Airport” (Jerusalem Post). Within 36 hours, the ban was lifted. He has also come out strongly against the Iran deal from the start, which he has promised to scrape on day one, as have others.

Ted Cruz was interviewed by the J Post and when asked on his thoughts on Israel here was his response “I think America’s alliance with Israel is overwhelmingly in our national security interest. Israel shares the same democratic values. It has been a tremendously important ally to America in a very troubled region of the world. The military assistance that America provides Israel yields enormous national security benefits to America.” He has, according to his own website, put forth legislation to push the United States into recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s eternal capital.

According to Bustle the Senator from Texas broke from “15 years’ worth of American foreign policy that explicitly called for the creation of an independent Palestinian state.”  This is due to his backing of Israel PM Benjamin Netnayahu’s declaration that there would not be a Palestinians state as long as he was Prime Minister. He has statd that Israel should be the one to decide whether or not they should support or consider a Palestinian state. Cruz on numerous occasions has criticized President Obama’s attitude towards Israel and it’s leaders.

With a Cruz presidency Israel will have an ally who will probably not follow through on all his promises, particularly the Embassy one. And he will for sure be more pro-Israel than Obama or any of the other remaining candidates. He has called himself “unapologetically” pro-Israel and Times of Israel’s Benjamin Gerstein, in his rating of the candidates gave the Senator an A-. I will have to agree with the Gerstein. The reason it’s not a full A is not because I doubt Cruz’s sincerity. But it is there because there is just a little bit of more promise than action. Moving the capital to Jerusalem is necessary, but a lot of presidents and candidates before him have made similar promises to no avail and his flub at the speech in AIPAC makes me doubt his knowledge of the conflict. His solid record on the other hand confirms his pro-Israel views. Thus, we remain with an A- rating.
Afternote: John Kasich was not included mainly because of time, effort and the fact that he’s still behind Marco Rubio in delegates.