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 As is Rabbi Yoel Schonfeld, I am grateful to President Trump and his administration regarding some matters of longstanding concern to the Jewish people. I am thrilled by Nikki Haley’s record at the United Nations and delighted that the United States Embassy to Israel is finally located in Israel’s capital, Jerusalem. I joined AIPAC to lobby Congress to defeat JCPOA (“the Iran deal”), negotiated by President Obama and reflecting his administration’s deeply misguided perspectives on the foreign-policy interests of the United States.

The local hospitality committee contacts you that two different people need meals this week, and want to know if you would have them over. Both of these people have been to you previously, but last time the chicken you made was dry.

The State of California is currently reviewing a model Ethnic Studies curriculum, which openly promotes hateful boycotts against Israel and omits antisemitism as a form of bigotry. Disturbingly, this agenda was inserted into an educational effort meant to teach students about marginalized communities. Moreover, despite its stated purpose, the proposed curriculum includes no lessons about Jews as a sizeable ethnic minority and frequent target of racism.

For the longest time, my response to critics of Israel online and in person has been that all American citizens have the ability to visit Israel without a visa. It is as easy as paying for a flight ticket. Certainly, one should keep in mind the enhanced security measures at Ben Gurion Airport and the 2017 law that bars entry to individuals actively engaged in the movement to boycott Israel.

Kol Yisrael areivin zeh lazeh – all Jews are responsible one for another. It is incumbent on all of us to protect the safety of Israel and to ensure the viability of our shuls, yeshivos, and chesed institutions here in Queens. Whether we like it or not, the reality is that many of the critical decisions that impact on our community are made by politicians.

Last week, President Trump found himself in hot water again when he referred to Jews who vote Democrat as “disloyal.” He later clarified that “if you vote for a Democrat, you’re being disloyal to Jewish people and you’re being very disloyal to Israel.” This has all the connotation of a dual-loyalty smear, which is incredibly anti-Semitic, but that’s not what Trump’s mistake was. His mistake was using identity politics the same way Democrats do.