On the day Trump leaves the White House, he deserves our gratitude - as Israelis, Americans and proud Jews • Farewell to a dear friend and ally
Outgoing President Donald Trump (left) and his wife Melania
Photography:
AFP
We say thank you a dozen times a day, but how many of them do we really mean?
As Jews, we should mean it.
As a nation that has suffered from countless tragedies, we know how to appreciate and exalt the good things in life.
Gratitude is part of our Jewish identity, in the most literal sense of the word.
The book of Genesis, when Leah gave birth to her youngest son, describes the way in which she decided to give him his name: "This time I will worship the Lord, therefore he called his name Judah."
Because of Judah we are called Jews, and in this spirit of Judah we acknowledge gratitude for sensitivity, friendship, courage and the victory of truth.
President Trump represents all of these things.
And today, the day he leaves the White House, he deserves our gratitude - as proud Israelis, as proud Americans and as proud Jews - regardless of our political views.
US President Trump in Farewell Speech // From the White House YouTube Channel
While his predecessors lingered, the president kept his word and finally recognized Jerusalem as the eternal and beloved capital of Israel, and moved the American embassy there.
While his predecessors set their eyes on reality, this president demonstrated a strategic vision by recognizing the Golan Heights as sovereign-Israeli territory, and declared that there was nothing wrong with Jews living anywhere in the ancient Jewish homeland.
President Trump showed global leadership in the face of evil when he withdrew from the destructive nuclear deal with Iran and intensified sanctions on it.
And he has always - always - backed Israel and the Jewish people.
President Trump knew that America's status is highest when it stands by its true friendship and allies.
He knew that the Israeli interests are also the American interests, and when one of them returns to its greatness - the other also returns to its greatness.
He knew that the red-white-blue colors look great when they are flushed alongside the blue-and-white colors, and so is the appearance of stars and stripes fluttering near the Star of David.
Trump's inauguration // Archive
We owe Trump our sincere gratitude from the bottom of our hearts, without any apology or hesitation.
This is the true meaning of being with a common destiny and the same goal.
The weapons of our enemies do not distinguish between the Israelis.
And our friends - our true friends - do not make a distinction between "right" time and "wrong" time to support Israel, nor do we make a distinction between a government that is "right" to work with and a government that is "wrong" to work with.
We must embrace such friends, and we must embrace President Trump.
The gratitude we owe to the president is above party politics.
We must feel this duty within our soul, because it touches the core of our existence.
Thank you, Mr. President.
Thank you, dear friend and ally.
We'll miss you.
In Zion you will always feel at home.
May God bless you, may God bless the great United States.
Dr. Adelson is the publisher of "Israel Today".
The article is based on things she said at an event of the Israel-American Community Organization in 2019 alongside President Donald Trump