Often in life, we find ourselves asking, What if? What if I had taken that job? What if I studied harder in school? What if this decision or that outcome were slightly different? Almost exclusively, these questions are focused around how unlucky we are to be in the situation we are in. What is far less likely is the exact same thought in a positive light. Wow! Imagine where I’d be if I hadn’t been so lucky is not as common a thought.
During times of national tragedy, as we are in right now, it’s easy to think, if only we would have known about the attacks, or, if only we would have listened to Meir Kahane decades ago. Both of these sentiments are commonplace on the Internet, as well as in private conversations. However, the most common “what if” I have heard is: “What if Trump were president?”
This argument usually centers around the idea that if Donald Trump had won the 2020 election, Hamas would not have been so emboldened as to make this move. And the truth is, that is a hard argument to refute. Hamas may have seen how President Biden handled the Afghanistan withdrawal and used that as evidence that perhaps the United States is weak. In fact, Hamas claimed to have been plotting the acts of the Simchas Torah massacre for two years, which would match up with the timeline of the withdrawal from Afghanistan in the summer of 2021. Add to that the fact that Russia invaded Ukraine and the release of Iranian funds, and it’s easy to see why Hamas thought that Joe Biden may be a man who could be trifled with.
However, it’s a lot more difficult to see how the fact that Joe Biden is in the White House could be a positive. Think of it this way: Let’s assume the Simchas Torah attacks happen regardless of who was president at the time, and that president happened to be Donald Trump, or any Republican for that matter, and that Republican behaved in the exact same manner as they did. Now let’s assume that this Republican president made the exact same policy decisions towards Israel as Joe Biden has made. Well, we know how Republicans would behave. They would be fully behind Israel and the president. We know this, because as it is, Republicans almost unanimously back Israel in the current timeline.
But now let’s look at the Democrat side of the aisle. The Israel-Hamas War has already become a major source of tension between two factions of the Democratic Party. It is easy to connect the dots to a united Democratic Party against the pro-Israel actions of a Republican president. Sure, there will be some Democrats on the side of Israel, but it would be too convenient to rip on the party in the White House to back Israel. Chuck Schumer has been just okay during this whole conflict. If he had the opportunity to unite his party and at the same time rip into the opposition, do you trust him not to take it? In fact, the support Israel sees from the Democratic Party (though fractured it may be) boils down to the fact that the leader of the Party, and in fact, the leader of the free world, is as pro-Israel as any Democrat. Imagine if this were not the case.
We have to acknowledge the Divine Presence in everything in this world. Sometimes it’s easy, like when obvious miraculous events occur. Sometimes it’s difficult, like when everything seems to be going right. Sometimes, it’s almost impossible, like when the outlook is so bleak. But even then, there is always something to see that makes it undeniable to see the Yad Hashem. What if we never see it?
Izzo Zwiren works in healthcare administration, constantly concerning himself with the state of healthcare politics. The topic of healthcare has led Izzo to become passionate about a variety of political issues affecting our country today. Aside from politics, Izzo is a fan of trivia, stand-up comedy, and the New York Giants. Izzo lives on Long Island with his wife and two adorable, hilarious daughters.
