In last week’s column, “Senate 1, Trump 0,” I wrote that “I would not be surprised if Trump fires FBI Director Christopher Wray and tries to bring in an unqualified loyalist such as Kash Patel.” An FBI director’s term is 10 years, which was set to be longer than any president’s term to gain independence from the White House. This was due to President Richard Nixon’s misuse of the FBI. Nixon’s acting FBI director and nominee for the permanent post, L. Patrick Gray, resigned in 1973 after it was revealed that he was giving the White House daily briefings on the FBI’s Watergate investigation and that he destroyed documents relevant to the inquiry.
Maybe Trump reads my column, because on November 30 he said he was going to fire Wray and select Patel to be the next FBI director. This is another of Trump’s choices which may have a hard time getting through the Senate. I can spend a column explaining why this is a bad selection. Instead, I will mention what Bill Barr, who served as attorney general in the first Trump administration, wrote in his memoir about what he thought of Patel’s qualifications. When there was talk about Patel getting a job with the FBI, Barr told Trump’s chief of staff that Patel’s being hired as deputy FBI director will happen “over my dead body.”
Also, in last week’s paper, a fellow columnist wrote a column with the title “Gloating Big Time.” There is a danger when you publicly gloat. You risk the possibility that the person or situation you are gloating about may not turn out the way you expected. Guaranteed that those who did not have the same reaction will remind you of your unjustified gloating. The second comment that I take issue with is the conclusion of that article, which states, “Join me, if you are a caring Jew at heart.” The implication is that those who will not join you are not caring Jews at heart. I find that to be very offensive. I do not believe that those who disagree with me are not caring Jews at heart. We both have the same goal. The dispute is the best way to get there.
Now to the main portion of my column. I asked a few people what they thought about Israel’s ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah and why the agreement was made. No one liked the agreement. The best analogy given was to look at it as if dealing with cancer: Getting rid of 70% of the cancer does not get rid of the cancer. It is still there, and it will come back and spread. They did not blame Netanyahu for the bad deal. Instead, they blamed Biden. Arguments included that Netanyahu said that it was Biden’s fault because he stopped shipping some arms to Israel.
If that was true, then why now? The situation was worse a few months ago before Israel attacked Hezbollah when the weapons were held up. The response was that Biden can still do damage even though he is a lame duck president with less than two months for inauguration.
My counter argument is that Netanyahu made the deal solely for domestic reasons. There was pressure to enter into a ceasefire so those in the north of Israel could return home for the first time in 13 months. This reason was widely reported in the media, such as the Jerusalem Post. Additionally, it was done so that reservists could return home and get back to work. If America was in the calculation, the deal was made for Trump’s benefit. He is going to be the president for the next four years while Biden will be for the next seven weeks. Trump said he wants these wars to be done ASAP. This way, Netanyahu can show Trump that he is doing what Trump wants. There are some who believe that the deal with Hezbollah could have been done before the presidential election, but Netanyahu waited until after the election because he wanted Trump to win.
Like many debates, both sides are partially correct.
In a statement explaining the deal, Netanyahu gave three reasons. The first reason is to focus on the Iranian threat. The second reason is to give Israeli forces a breather and replenish stocks. There have been big delays in weapons and munitions deliveries. These delays will be resolved soon. And the third reason for having a ceasefire is to separate the fronts and isolate Hamas. From day two of the war, Hamas was counting on Hezbollah to fight by its side. With Hezbollah out of the picture, Hamas is left on its own.
It is always hard trying to figure out what a person or a country’s motive is. An official statement is a start, but may not be the last word on the topic. In any event, it is important to have dialogue with those who may not want to join you and your positions but are also caring Jews at heart.
Warren S. Hecht is a local attorney. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
