New Poll Reveals How Unrepresentative Neocons war loving Jewish Groups Are
Ramabriga
New Poll Reveals How Unrepresentative Neocon Jewish Groups Are
by Glenn Greenwald
A new survey of American Jewish opinion, released by the American Jewish
Committee, demonstrates several important propositions: (1) right-wing
neocons (the Bill Kristol/Commentary/ AIPAC/Marty Peretz faction) who
relentlessly claim to speak for Israel and for Jews generally hold views
that are shared only by a small minority of American Jews; (2)
viewpoints that are routinely demonized as reflective of animus towards
Israel or even anti-Semitism are ones that are held by large majorities
of American Jews; and (3) most American Jews oppose U.S. military action
in the Middle East — including both in Iraq and against Iran.
It is beyond dispute that American Jews overwhelmingly oppose core
neoconservative foreign policy principles. Hence, in large numbers, they
disapprove of the way the U.S. is handling its “campaign against
terrorism” (59-31); overwhelmingly believe the U.S. should have stayed
out of Iraq (67-27); believe that things are going “somewhat badly” or
“very badly” in Iraq (76-23); and believe that the “surge” has either
made things worse or has had no impact (68-30).
When asked whether they would support or oppose the United States taking
military action against Iran, a large majority — 57-35% — say they would
oppose such action, even if it were being undertaken “to prevent [Iran]
from developing nuclear weapons.” While Jews hold views on the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict which are quite pessimistic about the
prospects for Israel’s ability to achieve a lasting peace with its “Arab
neighbors,” even there, a plurality (46-43) supports the establishment
of a Palestinian state.
In the realm of U.S. domestic politics, it is even clearer that
right-wing neoconservatives are a fringe segment of American Jewish
public opinion. By a large margin, American Jews identify as some shade
of liberal rather than conservative (43-25), and overwhelmingly identify
themselves as Democrats rather than Republicans (58-15). And, most
strikingly, by a 3-1 margin (61-21), they believe that Democrats, rather
than Republicans, are “more likely to make the right decision about the
war in Iraq,” and by a similarly lopsided margin (53-30), believe that
Democrats are “more likely to make the right decision when it comes to
dealing with terrorism.” They have overwhelmingly favorable views of the
top 3 Democratic presidential candidates, and overwhelmingly negative
views of 3 out of the top 4 GOP candidates (Giuliani being the sole
exception, where opinion is split).
Contrary to the bottomless obssession which most neocon pundits and
office-holders have with All Matters Israel, the principal political
concerns of most American Jews have nothing to do with the Middle East.
Thus, they identify “economy/jobs” (22) and “health care” (19) — not
Terrorism — as “the most important problem facing the U.S. today.”
Still, most American Jews agree that “[c]aring about Israel is a very
important part of [their] being a Jew” — a common, innocuous and
indisputable attribute that typically triggers noxious charges of
anti-Semitism if pointed out by those who oppose the neoconservative agenda.
One of the defining traits of war-loving neoconservatives is that their
unrelenting and exclusive fixation on the Middle East places them loudly
at the center of any foreign policy debates. That tenacity — combined
with their reckless exploitation of “anti-Israel” and anti-Semitism
accusations as instruments in their political rhetoric and their
corresponding, deceitful equation of their own views with being
“pro-Israel” — often casts the appearance that they are some sort of
spokespeople for the “pro-Israel” agenda or the Jewish viewpoint.
Manifestly, they are nothing of the sort. Even among American Jews, they
comprise only a small minority, and their generally discredited
militarism is widely rejected by most Jews as well. It is always worth
underscoring these points, which are so frequently (and deliberately)
obscured, and this comprehensive poll provides potent — actually quite
conclusive — evidence for doing so.
Glenn Greenwald was previously a constitutional law and civil rights
litigator in New York. He is the author of the New York Times
Bestselling book “How Would a Patriot Act?,” a critique of the Bush
administration’s use of executive power, released in May 2006. His
second book, “A Tragic Legacy“, examines the Bush legacy.
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2007/12/12/ajc_poll/index.html
--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com
mcs
rightfully or wrongfully. If jews controlled Bush , why are so many Muslims
(not necessarily bad,) being allowed to immigrate. The real number is at
least a million yet many people don't know this. Why are we so dependent on
oil? Why didn't we go after the people with the real weapons? Still there is
no arguing that terrorist groups are fueling the fire in Iraq
complex.
"Ramabriga" <Rama...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:4763b1b7$0$26101$8826...@free.teranews.com...