A few years ago I was sitting in the back room of a political event, talking to then-candidate for Congress Robert Dold (IL-10). Bob had pro-Israel talking points down to perfection. I remarked that his support lingo sounded good, but before I could finish my sentence, he said to me, “Paul, supporting Israel is easy because it’s the right thing to do.”
Fast forward a few years, Congressman Dold is arguably Israel’s and the Jewish people’s best friend in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Having grown up in a Chicago suburb with a historic reputation for anti-Semitic attitudes, Dold, a Republican and a Christian, goes far and above the call of what it means to support Israel and combat anti-Semitism. Many pro-Israel Jews in the neighboring 9th congressional district wish he represented them. Instead they suffer under progressive icon and J Street favorite Jan Schakowsky. A longtime supporter of President Obama, the Jewish Schakowsky exemplifies the old adage, with friends like these who needs enemies.
Dold, on the other hand, is taking on anti-Semitism head on. Recently he sponsored the Combating BDS Act of 2016, which “affirms, at the federal level, the legal authority of state and local governments to take tangible actions to counter this economic warfare against Israel.” Last month he hosted a bi-partisan panel discussion on BDS at the synagogue I belong to. Undaunted by multiple interruptions by the anti-Israel Jewish Voice for Peace, Dold proceeded to educate hundreds of Reform Jews who were unaware of the anti-Semitic agenda of the BDS movement.
Dold is one of many Gentiles supporting Israel and, maybe more important, raising awareness of and combating anti-Semitism.
In California, Assemblyman Travis Allen (R-Huntington Beach) is the righteous Gentile combating anti-Semitism. Working with Assemblyman Richard Bloom, a Democrat and a member of the Legislative Jewish Caucus, both men have co-authored legislation, AB 1552, which prohibits California from contracting with businesses that engage in boycotts against Israel.
“I am proud to join in bipartisan legislation reaffirming that discrimination is simply not acceptable in our great state,” said Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D). “This bill backs that commitment by creating consequences for bigots who currently prosper from doing business with the most economically powerful state in the country.”
Gatto is part of a growing list of co-authors who reached across the political aisle and faith spectrum.
“Israel is a valuable ally to the United States, and California consumers and businesses benefit greatly from our mutual trade relationships with the people of Israel. If certain companies choose not to do business with Israel, California should not do business with them. That’s all that AB 1552 seeks to accomplish, and I’m proud to stand with our trading and national security partners in Israel to promote free and fair trade between our two great nations,” said Senator Jeff Stone (R).
The work of Allen and his colleagues could not come at a more crucial time.
A new study released by the anti-Semitism watchdog group AMCHA Initiative reveals that seven of the ten U.S. college campuses with the highest number of anti-Semitic incidents were in California. The common element between these schools was heavy BDS activity supported by anti-Israel student groups and faculty. The same study showed that among schools with BDS activity, 56 percent of the campuses experienced incidents that targeted Jewish students for physical harm.
And yet, far too many Jews reject the support of Christians, convinced that their motives are based solely on end-of-times theology. Personally, at a time when our people are experiencing anti-Semitism comparable to 1930s Europe, I don’t care why they want Jews to be safe and secure. But truth be told, the overwhelming majority of people outside the Jewish community support Israel and despise bigotry not only because of their particular religious values, but because as Rep. Dold told me years ago, “it’s the right thing to do.”
Support for AB 1552 crosses both party and religious lines because BDS is rooted in hate and that is the concern of all members of the human family. The fact that Jews, Gentiles, Republicans and Democrats are working together to say no to discrimination should make us all pause in gratitude that decency still prevails.
Paul Miller is president and executive director of the news and public policy group Haym Salomon Center. Follow him on twitter @pauliespoint.
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