In the very calculated world of politics, there must always be a thoughtful and careful measuring of how sympathetic or aligned one can be towards the victims of a great tragedy suffered by them.
That is because political standing is everything. Are the victims on the right side of social media, or are they a marginalized, scorned group, whose stock is losing value with each passing day?
Much to our regret, these are the intentional and strategic considerations when determining whether someone is worthy of sympathy and compassion, unlike the authentic, heartfelt human response of feeling the pain of others.
Weighing up the possible cost is a must these days. Will commiseration and consolation result in the loss of crucial voting blocs? Or will it alienate potential supporters whose sensitivities might be offended?
As painful as it is to admit, this is what has become of society – no longer able to express genuine consoling without first doing the math in one’s head.
Such was the case, following the unthinkable events of October 7 and the silence that echoed from Norway, when King Harald V desired to send a personal condolence but was stopped by the Foreign Affairs Ministry, saying that such a message should come from the government. Sadly, one never came.
It took more than two years before realizing that the deliberate oversight was a grave mistake, resulting in a feeling of betrayal by the Norwegian Jewish community, who has sensed an unwelcoming atmosphere.
‘Worried about the situation for Jews in Norway’
Just recently, Joel Ystebo, member of the Norwegian Parliament for the Christian Democratic Party, said, “I’m seriously worried about the situation for Jews in Norway and especially in Oslo right now.”
Is it any wonder that thoughts of aliyah are now being seriously considered by Norwegian Jews?
Or what about the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has presided over a continuously downward spiraling of the safety of his Jewish community? Police can no longer guarantee the safeguarding of those citizens who are literally being hunted down regularly, singled out for their ethnic ties to the Jewish state?
It took the torching of four Jewish ambulances and the stabbing of two, from that same community, before he finally came out and said, “If you support people who say ‘globalize the intifada,’ you are calling for terrorism against Jews.”
Where has he been for the last two and a half years, as massive protests were taking place throughout his country, using that same despicable “globalize the intifada” phrase? Did he think the hatred would subside in what was nothing more than a passing phase?
Why has anyone been able to get away with such inflammatory language, meant to wage verbal and physical war against their own neighbors, whose families have lived there for generations?
There is only one answer. It is because weak leaders, whose principal concern is to remain in power, are disingenuous enough to put their own political interests first, causing them to think twice about just how effusive they can be without losing their backers.
It is the reason that Rahm Emmanuel, a Jewish Democrat, is also willing to appear to sell out his ancestral homeland, by suggesting that no more support be forthcoming from the US. After all, it might negatively impact his potential 2028 run for the presidency.
The same is true for most everyone in the Democratic Party, who has come to understand that showing sympathy towards Jews will be too high a price for them to pay if they hope to be seen as the hardliners their supporters expect them to be.
The only exception has been Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, who has been harshly criticized for his immovable support of Israel, to the point where his own party members have attempted to discredit him, suggesting that his sanity has been compromised.
Everyone knows that people can be fickle, but the intentional and cold calculating need to regulate one’s reactions to catastrophic events, which require an honest, heartfelt response, is tantamount to being reduced to a programmed robot, whose comeback has been pre-determined, based on predictable data.
Who needs AI when we are willingly turning ourselves into manufactured creatures that find the optimum outcome to maximize the success of what they hope to achieve?
The problem is that once you have abandoned your honesty and ability to feel and act in accordance with your heart and conscience, you become an easily manipulated object, able to be controlled and swayed by those to whom you’ve granted power over you.
It is the selling out of one’s sincerity and a complete relinquishing of character that is actually a disqualifying metric for anyone who aspires to real leadership and the respect of others.
Because most people can distinguish a phony from the genuine article, especially when injustice is systematically met with cowardly silence.
In the end, even voters who supported those kinds of candidates know exactly who they are – which is why they often attempt to strong-arm them into compromising their values, as they remind them that were it not for their support, they would not remain in power.
Emmanuel Macron is such a person, considering how far he has gone to appease his Muslim migrant constituency, making sure that he appears tough when it comes to his position on Israel.
Recently accused of “betraying his moral values,” France’s president was described as being “hypocritical, showing moral weakness, and even open hostility toward Israel and its allies, by calling for an end to the war against Iran.”
Although knowing full well that a nuclear Iran would be disastrous, not only for the region, but for the entire world, one can only come to the conclusion that his insistence on halting the war is a political calculation, solely based on the mounting pressure being placed upon him by those who put him in power.
Failing to meet the measure of a great leader, Macron cares nothing for the slaughter of innocent Iranians nor the devastating effects on his own country that would result from a nuclear-empowered extremist regime.
Such calculations may be necessary for the political survival of leaders, but it’s important to remember that it also comes at the cost of losing their souls.
The writer is a former Jerusalem elementary and middle school principal. She is also the author of Mistake-Proof Parenting, available on Amazon, based on the time-tested wisdom found in the Book of Proverbs.
