The only good thing about Trump’s stance on Israel

There’s no doubt that Donald Trump’s campaign gave hope to America’s small population of Nazis. Former KKK leader David Duke and “alt-right” leader Richard “Hail Trump” Spencer were sincere when they said they saw a friend in the president-elect.

Trump’s failure to denounce his Nazi supporters, as well as his repeated promotion of their online army of trolls, reveals the depth of his cowardice and narcissism. Trump’s sole focus in life is to garner attention and adoration, so he cannot bear to reject anybody who “says nice things” about him, no matter how obvious it is that he is being used.

So it’s at least a little bit satisfying to see Trump’s fascist fanboys disgruntled by his statements against the Obama administration’s recent actions on Israel.

Butthurt Nazis is but a small silver lining, however, to the discouraging news that the U.S. government is poised to once again embrace Benjamin Netanyahu’s policy of oppression against the Palestinians.

Even more discouraging are the Democrats who have come out against Obama’s tacit endorsement of the eminently sensible UN Security Council resolution denouncing Israel for its continued theft of Palestinian territory. UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s transparent attempt to curry favor with Trump by decrying Kerry’s speech –– which did little more than articulate the position her government had taken at the UN –– was also very disappointing.

Also, is somebody going to ask Trump what he thinks of his running-mate, Vladimir Putin, supporting the same resolution? Is this the one time his “very smart” BFF did the wrong thing?

What’s striking about every expression of support for Netanyahu is that they all invariably ignore the issue at hand: The construction of illegal settlements on Palestinian territory. You can oppose Hamas and their terrorism, but how can you –– morally or politically –– defend Israel’s actions? How can you possibly say you support the peace process and think it’s OK for Israel to continue taking the land that any peaceful solution would determine belongs to the Palestinians?

Progressives should be proud of Obama for standing up for what’s right. And they should let Chuck Schumer know that they’d prefer he work on things that actually help people in need (including many peace-hungry Israelis). Sheldon Adelson and AIPAC are not in need, and given who is in the White House, they don’t need his help anyway.