“The abandonment of the Kurds to Turkish attack by the American government is a moral and strategic mistake,” Yaalon said. “A mistake that will grievously damage the status of the United States in the Middle East and in the world.”Absent a robust U.S. investment in the region, the ties that Israel has cultivated carefully in recent years with Sunni Arab states —chief among them Saudi Arabia — through a shared animus toward Iran could easily diminish, as the Saudis and others decide it may be safer to accommodate Iran than to antagonize it.Sunni Arabs already were wary of Trump’s disinterest in the region in the wake of his refusal to engage Iran militarily, even after it allegedly crippled Saudi oil output with a missile strike. The United Arab Emirates, which usually does today what the Saudis are thinking of doing six months from now, scaled back its presence in the war in Yemen against Iran-backed militias, and in August sent a delegation to Iran to discuss regional security.Daniel Shapiro, a U.S. ambassador to Israel during the Obama administration, said the way that Trump’s decision came about signified chaos.“It’s the chaos, the impulsiveness, the lack of any organized way of reaching a decision,” Shapiro said on Twitter. “True, Trump is sticking to his known views on pulling back from the Middle East. But the how is as important as the what.”The callousnessIt’s not all gamesmanship in Washington and in Israel: Lawmakers and policy wonks on the left and the right were genuinely aghast at how casually Trump threw the Syrian Kurds under the bus.Edelman in the JINSA phone call encapsulated the sense of shock.“We don’t really know what transpired,” he said. “We only really have to go on the White House statement that was put out late Sunday night after the phone call” between Erdogan and Trump “and a series of tweets that the president has unleashed yesterday and today and a background phone call that the White House organized yesterday to try and explain what in fact had been decided but honestly it’s really quite confusing.”The White House background call to which Edelman referred was indeed stunning: A senior administration official was tasked with bluntly stating that the Kurds were on their own and there wasn’t much the United States could do to prevent what happened next.“I guess you’re presuming that Turkey is going to commit genocide against the Kurds,” the administration official said. “I mean, I don’t have any information that would suggest that. But the president has made it very clear. Again, I’ll say it again, and, you know, the president made this clear in a tweet that he would ‘obliterate the economy of Turkey’ if something of that nature occurs. So I think we’ve been very clear on that issue.”Edelman was fairly certain that genocide was an option, saying the only time a Turkish government tried to move a million-plus people into Syria was in 1915 — “and that didn’t work out too well” — a reference to the Armenian genocide.Also clear-eyed about the prospect of ethnic cleansing was Netanyahu, who in a statement said “Israel strongly condemns the Turkish invasion of the Kurdish areas in Syria and warns against the ethnic cleansing of the Kurds by Turkey and its proxies.”Netanyahu notably did not mention Trump.Yaalon in his tweet suggested that Israel must fill the moral vacuum and “and find ways to help the Kurds in their time of need.”“At the same time,” he said, “we must revive the sayings of our fathers — if I am not for myself, who am I?”What next?Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., otherwise one of Trump’s staunchest defenders, has excoriated the president over this decision and already has introduced legislation, along with a Democratic colleague, Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, that would introduce severe sanctions against Turkey until it withdraws its forces from the region. I’m told that Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is at work on a similar bipartisan bill.It’s too early to say if the bills have pro-Israel backing — the American Israel Public Affairs Committee would not comment when I asked. Notably, however, the American Jewish Committee and the Anti-Defamation League have denounced Trump’s pullout.In Other NewsNita Lowey bowing out. Will bipartisanship go with her?The Jewish New York Democrat, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, said she will not run for re-election. Lowey, 82, stands out in Congress for her closeness to Kay Granger, R-Texas, especially in funding foreign operations, notably defense assistance for Israel. (I wrote in 2011 about how Lowey and Granger stood out in a polarized Congress.) It’s a reputation for crossing the aisle that does not attach to her likely successor as committee chair, Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Ohio, or her likely successor as subcommittee chair on foreign operations, Barbara Lee of California. Kaptur and Lee are J Street-endorsed Democrats and not close to AIPAC.Bernie’s got heartBernie Sanders says he won’t let his heart attack last week slow down his campaign schedule. He’ll need to go all in: Elizabeth Warren, who with Sanders has staked out the progressive left-wing of Democrats running for president, is now leading in the polls.Taking neo-Nazis seriouslyThe Trump administration’s Department of Homeland Security has pushed tracking white nationalists to the top of its to-do list, one of a number of changes in Jewish community and U.S. government practices and policies to take place since the massacre in Pittsburgh a year ago.Luria’s perilA number of Jewish Democrats swung Trump-leaning districts last year, and are now getting flak for backing impeachment proceedings. I attended a town hall run by Rep. Elaine Luria in her coastal Virginia district, which is heavy with Navy veterans like herself.Worth a LookAkela Lacy at The Intercept covers the internecine warfare between two Jewish Democrats, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro and Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, over who is better positioned to combat gun violence in the city. Shapiro is a relatively moderate Democrat and Krasner is identified with progressive efforts to rehaul a system that has led to mass incarceration.Tweet So Sweetהפקרת הכורדים למתקפה טורקית, על ידי המימשל האמריקאי, היא טעות מוסרית ואסטרטגית. טעות שתפגע קשות במעמדה של ארה״ב במזרח התיכון ובעולם. ישראל צריכה להשמיע קול מוסרי, ולמצוא דרכים לעזור לכורדים בעת צרה. כמו-כן, נכון לשנן את דברי אבותינו: ״אם אין אני לי - מי לי!?״
— משה 'בּוֹגִי' יעלון (@bogie_yaalon) October 10, 2019
Ben Platt comes up with music for Yom Kippur that isn’t Kol Nidre.Stay In TouchShare your thoughts on The Tell, or suggest a topic for us. Connect with Ron Kampeas on Twitter at @kampeas or email him at thetell@jta.org.The Tell is a weekly roundup of the latest Jewish political news from Ron Kampeas, the JewishTelegraphic Agency’s Washington Bureau Chief. Sign up here to receive The Tell in your inbox on Thursday evenings.It’s that time of year again.Have an easy fast, Jews.And please hire @mollyjgordon & me for all of your holiday jingle needs.#YomKippur pic.twitter.com/xZT7gME3Rp
— Ben Platt (@BenSPLATT) October 8, 2019