January 9, 2013--Likud Lobby
Chuck Hagel is in trouble for having the guts to speak the truth about Iraq, Iran, and Israel.
That we never should have gone to war with Iraq (fellow Republicans hate him for this); that sanctions against Iran need to be strategic and multinational but the focus should be on diplomacy and not another war; and that we should have a balanced approach when it comes to the Middle East, especially with regard to Israel--that, he has had the courage to say, we shouldn't just endorse whatever it is that whatever government there wants to do.
The Israel Lobby in fact exists and some (including me) feel it exerts a disproportionate influence on U.S. policy. Feeling that organizations such as the the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) are unduly powerful is not anti-Semitic. Perhaps the opposite.
Challenging some of the regressive policies of the current Israeli government is exactly what they need to hear from their closest supporter and friend--us.
If Israel is to survive it must make deals with its regional enemies. They need to find their way to a two-state solution. This is not anti-Semetic but pro-Semetic because it about the survival of Israel and the Jews.
Physical walls between Israel and Egypt and Gaza and soon between Israel and Syria will not work in the long run. They will not provide peace or security. Just look at the failed history of walls to see how well this kind of strategy works. Among other things, you wall in as well as wall out.
Separate Israeli government from Jewish people (those in Israel and in the diaspora) in order to deal un-demogogically in a sane discussion about the future of that region. Hagel is one who is attempting to do just that and he is getting skewered for it.
Of course, rather than deal with the real and very complicated issues, he is being demonologized for a stupid comment, calling the "Israel" Lobby the "Jewish" Lobby. This, it is claimed, indicates that he is an anti-Semite.
Actually, there is a Jewish Lobby, founded by John Hagee, Christians United for Israel. It is the most influential lobbying group in support of Jewish (and Israeli) causes. Never mind that Hagee is well known as the bigot who claimed that Hurricane Katrina was God's wrath because of all the homosexuals who live in New Orleans, it and he have more followers and influence in Washington, mainly among Republicans, than even AIPAC.
But his interest in Jews and Israel is less geo-political than eschatological. It is about End Times.
In order for Christ to return, they believe, all the Jews in the world must return to "greater Israel" (which very much includes all of the West Bank) and once there there Jews must begin the process of converting to Christianity or risk eternal damnation. These apocalyptical views are fostered by a close collaboration with the current right-wing Likud government, which is settling more and more of the West Bank, and will do anything, even remain silent about Hagee's anti-Semitic intentions, in order to gain powerful evangelical support.
These are some of the realities that have to be taken into consideration when the U.S. attempts to serve as a true friend to Israel. Rubber stamping Likud policy, as the Israeli Lobby would like us to continue to do, will just make things worse. Chuck Hagel is far from perfect (he may very well be homophobic), but having his views in the mix (just in the mix) should be something enlightened Israelis and American Jews should welcome.
That we never should have gone to war with Iraq (fellow Republicans hate him for this); that sanctions against Iran need to be strategic and multinational but the focus should be on diplomacy and not another war; and that we should have a balanced approach when it comes to the Middle East, especially with regard to Israel--that, he has had the courage to say, we shouldn't just endorse whatever it is that whatever government there wants to do.
The Israel Lobby in fact exists and some (including me) feel it exerts a disproportionate influence on U.S. policy. Feeling that organizations such as the the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) are unduly powerful is not anti-Semitic. Perhaps the opposite.
Challenging some of the regressive policies of the current Israeli government is exactly what they need to hear from their closest supporter and friend--us.
If Israel is to survive it must make deals with its regional enemies. They need to find their way to a two-state solution. This is not anti-Semetic but pro-Semetic because it about the survival of Israel and the Jews.
Physical walls between Israel and Egypt and Gaza and soon between Israel and Syria will not work in the long run. They will not provide peace or security. Just look at the failed history of walls to see how well this kind of strategy works. Among other things, you wall in as well as wall out.
Separate Israeli government from Jewish people (those in Israel and in the diaspora) in order to deal un-demogogically in a sane discussion about the future of that region. Hagel is one who is attempting to do just that and he is getting skewered for it.
Of course, rather than deal with the real and very complicated issues, he is being demonologized for a stupid comment, calling the "Israel" Lobby the "Jewish" Lobby. This, it is claimed, indicates that he is an anti-Semite.
Actually, there is a Jewish Lobby, founded by John Hagee, Christians United for Israel. It is the most influential lobbying group in support of Jewish (and Israeli) causes. Never mind that Hagee is well known as the bigot who claimed that Hurricane Katrina was God's wrath because of all the homosexuals who live in New Orleans, it and he have more followers and influence in Washington, mainly among Republicans, than even AIPAC.
But his interest in Jews and Israel is less geo-political than eschatological. It is about End Times.
In order for Christ to return, they believe, all the Jews in the world must return to "greater Israel" (which very much includes all of the West Bank) and once there there Jews must begin the process of converting to Christianity or risk eternal damnation. These apocalyptical views are fostered by a close collaboration with the current right-wing Likud government, which is settling more and more of the West Bank, and will do anything, even remain silent about Hagee's anti-Semitic intentions, in order to gain powerful evangelical support.
These are some of the realities that have to be taken into consideration when the U.S. attempts to serve as a true friend to Israel. Rubber stamping Likud policy, as the Israeli Lobby would like us to continue to do, will just make things worse. Chuck Hagel is far from perfect (he may very well be homophobic), but having his views in the mix (just in the mix) should be something enlightened Israelis and American Jews should welcome.
posted by Steven Zwerling at
5:40 AM
1 Comments:
The only way to get Jews to return to Isreal is if they get expelled from their host countries. The only way they could get expelled is if they break their host country's laws on ethics concerning forced eugenics on infants through excessive, botched, traumatic, and unwanted prepuce excision/circumcisions, causing physical and psychological dysfunctions. The Covenant of Abraham is actually a sacrificial[sic] curse, and it causes normal Intact people to isolate it. I am a victim of an excessive and unwanted infant circumcision and I am restoring. Help return the Isrealites home to their promised land by outlawing MGM in your country today. Then there will be no more anti-semetism.
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