Nathan Guttman, Author at Moment Magazine

Donald Trump: Causing a Frenzy and Making Friends in the Jewish World

December 23, 2019
By Nathan Guttman
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With a single stroke of his presidential sharpie, Donald Trump sent the entire Jewish world into a frenzy, debating whether America’s 45th president had just changed the definition of Judaism in America from a religion to a nationality or race. He did not. The executive order Trump had signed on Wednesday includes nothing to indicate such a shift. The only change that could result from Trump’s executive order, which adopted a broader definition of anti-Semitism, is an easier time for those wishing to go after colleges for creating a hostile environment for pro-Israel students.

Israel, Latest

What Can Trump Gain From Israeli-American Voters?

December 12, 2019
By Nathan Guttman
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The Israeli ex-pat community makes up anywhere from 300,000 to 800,000 members. Most are concentrated in New York and Los Angeles, rendering them useless in terms of electoral strategy. So why bother with this tiny sliver of a constituency?

Israel, Latest

The Ticking Political Clocks Shaping the U.S.-Israel Relationship

December 9, 2019
By Nathan Guttman
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With just under a year to go, Trump, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, would really like to fit in another one or two major moves—a grand peace plan, greenlighting Israeli annexation of the Jordan Valley or the signing of a mutual defense treaty between the two countries.

Jewish World, Latest

Who Is the ‘Greatest Threat’ to American Jews?

December 2, 2019
By Nathan Guttman
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The title of “biggest threat” to American Jews is hard to define or measure. And more importantly, it’s political. Most liberals would agree that anti-Semitism has reached new records under Trump and that the president’s response to the phenomenon has been less than adequate.

Israel, Latest

All You Need to Know About Netanyahu’s Indictment

December 2, 2019
By Nathan Guttman
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What happened today? For the first time in Israel’s history, a sitting prime minister has been indicted on criminal charges. The most serious charge is of...

Israel, Jewish World, Latest

Candidate Spotlight: Pete Buttigieg

November 21, 2019
By Nathan Guttman
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This is a scenario some are now looking at, as Pete Buttigieg, even younger and less experienced than Obama was at the time, is having his moment. The 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana is surging in Iowa, the first state to vote in February. He is now polling at 25 percent, leaving Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders in a tight three-way race for second place.

Israel, Jewish World, Latest

The Role of Orthodox Jews in Republican Politics

November 18, 2019
By Nathan Guttman
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Orthodox Jews are Trump’s strongest—and only—reliable support base within the Jewish community. Polling shows that more than half of those identifying as Orthodox voted for Trump in 2016. The president also enjoys strong approval ratings within the Orthodox community since taking office. This unlikely political alliance, between a segment of the population focused on family values and religious insularity and the flamboyant New York businessman-turned-politician, has many explanations:

Israel, Latest

Aid to Israel: Has J Street Changed the Game?

November 7, 2019
By Nathan Guttman
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J Street, the left-leaning pro-Israel lobby, wrapped up its three-day conference in Washington, DC last week. In an email to supporters summing up the meeting (and making a pitch for donations), the group’s president Jeremy Ben-Ami announced, “We’ve changed the conversation” about Israel, noting that the conference brought the issue of Israel to the Democratic presidential race agenda and that candidates have discussed, among other issues, their plans to “employ U.S. leverage to combat settlement expansion.” Or, in other words, J Street made using American foreign aid to Israel into an issue Democrats are willing to fight for.

Israel, Latest

Not Your Grandmother’s Democratic Party

November 4, 2019
By Nathan Guttman
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Many in the pro-Israel community joined for a collective oy vey moment last week when leading Democratic candidate Elizabeth Warren added her voice to a growing choir of progressives threatening to use America’s aid to Israel as a means of influencing Israel’s policy in the West Bank. Looking at the Democratic field, here’s where we stand: Three of the four frontrunners are threatening to cut U.S. aid to Israel. Biden stands alone in his refusal to join.

Israel, Latest

All Candidates Pass the Pro-Israel Test. Now What?

October 28, 2019
By Nathan Guttman
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As always, Jewish voters will make sure their candidate is pro-Israel, in the broadest meaning of the term, and then they’ll move on to decide based on issues such as health care, the economy, gun control, etc., like any other voter. All candidates in both parties pass the pro-Israel test.

Uncategorized

With Plans to Withdraw Troops From Syria, Is Trump Still Israel’s ‘True Friend’?

October 21, 2019
By Nathan Guttman
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No less surprising than Trump’s decision to withdraw forces from Northern Syria, following a single phone call with Turkey’s Erdogan, was the new defiant energy this move injected in the Republican Party. After sticking with Trump as he struggled to explain the Ukrainian affair, members of his party suddenly found their voice.

Jewish World, Latest

Remembering Pittsburgh and Fortifying American Jewish Life

October 14, 2019
By Nathan Guttman
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As we approach the first yahrtzeit of the Pittsburgh attack, it may be worthwhile taking a moment to look at what has been done, and what still needs to be done, to make sure it is a commemoration of past evil, not a turning point in American Jewish life.

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