Divesting from Israel UPDATE
Tom Friedman on an Israeli TV show had this to say about Israeli-U.S. relations: ” You are losing the American people,” Friedman warned. “Not to dislike, not to opposition – they are fed up, fed up with the Palestinians, believe me, fed up with the Mideast in general.
“But they’re also fed up with Israel. When they see their president working hard to try to tee up an opportunity. All we’re asking is just test – go all the way to test whether you have a real partner.” http://www.haaretz.com/blogs/a-special-place-in-hell/bibi-tom-friedman-and-u-s-jews-divesting-from-israel-1.323586
Since I’m never sure Friedman knows what he’s talking about, I have to wonder if he knows what he’s talking about here.
UPDATE: And if you’re into the Realpolitik view of foreign relations, here is Stephen Walt on the subject: “Indonesia is a potentially crucial partner for the United States (if you want to see why, take a look at the sea lanes in Southeast Asia), and it is also a moderate Muslim country with history of toleration. Yet the Palestinian issue resonates there too, and makes it harder for the Indonesian government to openly embrace the United States. As Kaplan notes in his Times op-ed, “China also plays on the tension between the West and global Islam in order to limit American influence there. That is why President Obama’s mission to rebrand America in the eyes of Muslims carries benefits that go far beyond Indonesia and the Middle East.” http://walt.foreignpolicy.com/blog/2072
Tags: Israel, Middle East, Palestine
I think Americans are starting to get that many of the problems the US is having with Arabs and Muslims is related to Israel. Clearly that support has been from wealthy American Jews who have muscled politicians since 1948 to support Israel. The support for the Palestinians in the US is astronomically lower. This is why Netanyaho can act with hubris. It is a terrible irony that victims of the holocaust would be so unfeeling on poor Palestinians. People who have been uprooted feel that it is ok to uproot others.
Friedman is a very strong supporter of Israel. They have not lost him as the Israel Prime Minister asserts. But they would be wise to heed his words.
If the story I heard on NPR this afternoon is any indication, Israel may have another divestiture problem of a sort–the exodus of immigrant Jews who do not qualify as “Jews” for purposes of citizenship. The story centered on an American Reformed Jew who emigrated to Israel and joined the military, drawn by a desire to be in, and to defend, the Jewish homeland. He was told, however, that he could not become a citizen because he did not meet the ultra-orthodox test of who is really a Jew. A Reformed rabbi in Jerusalem interviewed for the story lamented the ongoing takeover of Israeli society and institutions by ultra-orthodox Jews who are imposing litmus tests of Jewishness. The rabbi had the money quote, words to the effect that “who would have thought that 60 years after the founding of Israel there is a growing dispute as to who is and who is not a Jew for purposes of citizenship.”
I’m pretty sure that he does know what he is talking about, I am just not sure that he has the courage to state the case fully, that Americans are weary of Israel supposedly ‘protecting America’s interests’ in the Middle East for which, I will state again, we support them to the tune of millions of dollars daily – when, in fact, they are generally the cause of a lot of the instability in the Middle East.
You may not agree with me, but, as I have mentioned on this blog in the past, as long as the Israeli lobby in DC has us in a stranglehold as far as aid and we tacitly accept a total lack of culpability on the part of the Israeli government, the Palistinian/Israeli problem will never be solved since, with the US in their back pocket and feeding their war chest, Israel feels impregnable with regard to being forced to negotiate.
I deeply believe that we would see a far more conciliatory Israel if we cut off our funding to them and began to care for the Palestinians. An interesting question for Catholics and other Christians is, which is the morally correct position to take; to continue to support a regime which imprisons a nation of people in horrific conditions, or, to support the Palistinians who have suffered under the totalitarianism of an unchecked Israeli Government?
Ex-Israeli and Ex-Palistinian soldiers are preaching conciliation together in both countries, since both are aware of the intractibility of the regimes. Benedict XVI left a heartfelt message at the Wailing Wall. Why didn’t he call together the leaders of both Governments and appeal to their common sense, their religious duties, and the senseless deaths on both sides which their stubbornness have and continue to cause?
Meanwhile, the total intransigence of the Israeli Government daily adds fuel to the fire – and the US along with the Palestinians pay the cost.
I wonder whether Iran’s Ahmedinijad’s rhetoric is any worse than the Israeli prime Minister’s?
Unless unrelenting pressure is brought on Israel to become a partner in peace, there will be no peace!
What Price, Peace?
Friedman is off the mark. American Jews will support Israel financially, economically and intellectually. Just compare US media with even British media and it is night and day. And besides, I am not really too sure how many American Jews are concerned about the plight of Palestinians (really) and are that fed up over THAT issue. It may well just reflect that American Jews are becoming secularized in the sense that Israel is not occupying such a central part of their identity as a Jewish person. And that more than anything is a problem!!! It would be like a Catholic ceasing to be moved through reception of the sacraments or losing that spiritual appreciation of symbols, signs and art.
The US will continue to be strongly allied with it. Any whiff of pointed criticism from a credible source will be quickly contained. For example, Patreus, testifying about how the conflict and America’s posture to israel (I am paraphrasing) is hurting attempts to build trust and make the US credible was quickly walked back.
One of the ironies of this complex U.S.-Israel relationship is that Friedman can say what he said on Israeli TV. Yet as far as I know, has not said it on American TV or even in his own newspaper. I’d be interested if anyone here has seen him do so.