“Eliana” is an 18-year-old resident of northern Israel born to a mother who made Aliyah from West Bloomfield, Michigan.
She has never lived in the United States or expressed any interest in politics, but she could decide one of America’s most fateful elections ever and prevent Israel from great danger.
It is not too late for “Eliana” and others like her to get the ballots that could ensure that Donald Trump returns to the White House and Kamala Harris will never get there. But they must take immediate action.
First, here are the facts:
American citizens who have made aliyah and are dual citizens have the right to vote in US elections. Children of American citizens born abroad who have never resided in the US can vote in 18 States. The only potential swing states among the 18 are Michigan, Arizona, Georgia and Wisconsin.
There are an estimated 200,000 eligible American voters in Israel, and in recent elections, Israelis voted more than residents of any other foreign country.
How many of them are from those four states? Several thousand- mostly from Atlanta, Phoenix, Milwaukee and Detroit.
That may not sound like much, but the 2000 presidential race was decided by 537 absentee ballots cast in Florida, of which only 64 came from Israel.
“Eliana” could end up casting the deciding vote.
Now for why that matters. I watched Tuesday night’s presidential debate, and I agree with Donald Trump.
“If she's president, I believe that Israel will not exist within two years from now,” he said. “And I've been pretty good at predictions. And I hope I'm wrong about that one. She hates Israel.”
Harris made faces when he said that. But her words proved him right.
“Far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed,” she said. “Children, mothers. What we know is that this war must end. It must end immediately, and the way it will end is we need a cease-fire deal, and we need the hostages out. And so we will continue to work around the clock on that.”
Immediately? How about letting Israel and its democratically elected government decide when it has completed the goals of this war, which include destroying Hamas and preventing it from being able to rule Gaza or attack Israel ever again?
And why did she not blame the terrorist organization for the deaths of both Israelis and Palestinians in this war? Or how about correcting biased mediator Linsey Davis, who quoted Hamas statistics as if they were Gospel?
Harris did not stop there in her patronizing criticism of Israel and its people. She professed moral equivalence as her doctrine when true morality is needed more than ever in the Middle East.
“We must chart a course for a two-state solution,” she said. “And in that solution, there must be security for the Israeli people and Israel – and in equal measure for the Palestinians.”
News flash for Kamala: Polls over the last few years have found that a majority of Israelis no longer back creating a hostile terror state in their biblical heartland. And polls of Palestinians have never found a majority of them favored letting Israel exist.
That was all before October 7. After the Palestinians murdered 1200 Israelis in one day, she has a lot of chutzpah to tell America’s closest ally that she cares about the security of their murderers “in equal measure.”
If Harris becomes president, residents of northern Israel like “Eliana” will be in great danger. She will not recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan like Trump did as president, nor will she utter a half-persuasive “don’t” to Hizbullah like President Biden. Hizbullah will have a field day and get away every day with murder.
Harris will neither project strength, nor use it. She says she will let Israel defend itself but she is obsessed with how.
That how is with defensive measures. But defensive measures cannot win a war that must be won.
Trump, by contrast, presented a clear vision for the Middle East in the debate. He proved once again that he, unlike Harris, knows who the bad guys are.
“Iran was broke under Donald Trump,” he said. “Now Iran has $300 billion because they took off all the sanctions that I had. Iran had no money for Hamas or Hezbollah or any of the 28 different spheres of terror. And they are spheres of terror. Horrible terror. They had no money. It was a big story, and you know it. You covered it. Very well, actually. They had no money for terror. They were broke. Now they're a rich nation. And now what they're doing is spreading that money around. Look at what's happening with the Houthis and Yemen. Look at what's going on in the Middle East. This would have never happened. I will get that settled and fast.”
While confused American Jews continue to vote overwhelmingly for Democratic candidates, in Israel it is the opposite. Israelis know what Trump did for them as president, and they greatly appreciate it.
The junction in front of the American embassy in Jerusalem that he finally moved to Israel’s eternal capital is named Donald Trump Square. That was a campaign promise, and unlike his predecessors who made similar promises, he kept it, and I attended the ceremony unveiling the embassy.
Israelis also see through Kamala Harris, who boycotted their prime minister’s brilliant speech to Congress that I attended and she did not.
Harris will appoint apologists and even allies of Iran to key positions of power. She will project weakness, and all Iranian proxies will be emboldened, which could make the security problems in Israel spiral out of control.
When Iran gets a nuclear bomb and casts a nuclear shadow over the Middle East, what will she do? Make another face? Laugh another laugh?
The continued existence of the world’s only Jewish state is no laughing matter.
This is why Americans living in Israel and their children must take steps to vote right away. They can go to IvoteIsrael.com, which simplifies the process.
The future of “Eliana” and nearly 10 million other Israelis depends on it.
The writer is chairman of the Religious Zionists of America, president of the Culture for Peace Institute, and a committee member of the Jewish Agency. He currently serves as a member of the US Holocaust Memorial Council, appointed by former US president Donald Trump. The views expressed here are his own. Martinoliner@gmail.com
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