Another kiss of death
Adam R. Tomaszewski
tym gownianym poanstwem raz na zawsze porzadek
Another kiss of death
By M.J. Rosenberg
Tags: nuclear espionage
For American Jews like me, for whom Israel is central in their lives,
this week's story about an alleged spy who worked for Israel in the U.S. two
decades ago is another kiss of death. That is because more ugly headlines
about Israel - worst of all about an American spying for it - only
contribute to the indifference to the Jewish state that seems to be growing
every day.
I did a quick survey of some friends to find out how much discussion
of Israel took place at their seder tables this year. Answer: almost none.
All the talk was about the Obama/Clinton/ McCain race and sports. And these
are Israel-centered people. The adults have all been to Israel multiple
times, while the kids have gone there on family trips or with youth groups.
In doing my quick survey about seder conversations, I asked two of my
"respondents" why people don't talk about Israel the way they once did. One
said: "Because Israel is too controversial these days, and so families are
split between hawks and doves, like during Vietnam. Who needs yelling at the
Passover table?" The other explained that, "at seder you want to talk about
pleasant things."
Israel is just not what it once was for American Jews. The state's
imminent 60th anniversary has aroused hardly any interest here. Yes, the
usual crowd is excited. Mostly older, heavily Orthodox, they are the folks
who continue to give the campaign dollars linked to "support for Israel."
They still march in the "Salute to Israel" parades. Their kids often fight
anti-Israel propaganda on campus. But their circle is not widening.
In fact, the base is growing ever smaller. Israel no longer is a
source of happiness for most U.S. Jews (especially the kids). And in
America, if something doesn't make you feel good, forget about it. The last
time Israel made most of us feel good was when Yitzhak Rabin was alive. It's
not just the peace process that was killed together with Rabin. So was
enthusiasm about Israel.
And now there is this spy case. It doesn't look like much. The alleged
spy is now 84 and the deeds he is said to have committed took place 25 years
ago. Unfortunately, though, it is not a stand-alone case. The same Israeli
who was "running" Jonathan Pollard was supposedly running this guy. That
means the Pollard case will be in the news again and that is not good.
It is hard to overestimate how much damage Pollard did to the American
Jewish community. Young American Jews who want to work in any
security-related government agency know that there is a strong possibility
they won't get the job if they are viewed as having too much "Israel" on
their resumes. When I was appointed to a U.S. State Department position by
President Clinton in 1995, I had to spend hours with the FBI explaining
every trip I ever made to Israel. I got the security clearance and the job.
But I know people who did not land a position at the CIA or the Pentagon,
despite sterling qualifications, and believe the reason was the post-Pollard
distrust of American Jews with strong connections to Israel.
This case could add further obstacles. This feeling is compounded by
the sense that we still haven't wiped off the more recent stain left by the
neocons. Many people here, wrongly, believe that the United States went into
Iraq because of Israel. It's not true. But it does not help American Jews
when the loudest advocates for the war were people known to have close
affiliations to right-wingers in Israel.
Nor do these neocons seem to care that when they are simultaneously
defending Israel and urging America to go to war in Iraq (or Iran), they
leave the impression that their allegiances are confused, at best. (In fact,
Jews, more than any other ethnic group other than African Americans, opposed
the war.)
Nor do Jewish congressmen help when they take to the airwaves to
defend every action of Israel's government while simultaneously criticizing
American policies. (The same congressmen who excoriate the U.S.
administration for killing noncombatant kids in Iraq seal their lips when it
comes to dead Palestinian kids in Gaza.)
It's not good. You start with a situation in which genuine ardor for
Israel has been diminishing year after year. Add to it the association of
Israel with defenders of a war most Americans oppose. Add to that the
upcoming trial of two Jewish AIPAC employees accused of passing classified
information to Israel. And then, out of the blue, Act II of the Pollard case
explodes in the media.
None of this will immediately damage American Jews or, probably, even
Israel. But, in the long run, who knows? One thing is certain. My
generation, Jews like me who became ardently pro-Israel in 1967 and remain
involved with Israel in good times and bad, are increasingly out-of-step
with the Jewish population at large.
In my opinion, this alienation is only increased by pro-Israel
organizations and community leaders so consumed with promoting the Israel
"line" that they have forgotten about Israel, the place. They seem to prefer
going after Jimmy Carter and the "anti- Israel" authors Walt-Mearsheimer
than convincing Americans that, no matter what they think of the occupation,
Israel itself is a dynamic, diverse and joyous country. They seem unable to
grasp that invoking the Holocaust at every opportunity, and publicly
worrying that Israel is about to be destroyed by the crazed mullahs in Iran,
is just about the worst possible way to encourage American Jews to take
pride in the Jewish state. Worst of all, they use Israel as a bludgeon
against real or imagined enemies - something that may be good for
organizational fundraising, but which is ultimately terrible for Israel.
All by itself, the latest wrinkle in the Pollard story wouldn't
matter. But combined with the seemingly endless Israeli- Palestinian
conflict and the inept hasbara (information) efforts of Israel's defenders,
it almost surely will. The long honeymoon between Israel and American Jews
could be ending.
M.J. Rosenberg is the director of policy analysis for the Israel
Policy Forum in Washington, D.C.
McLaren
tym gownianym poanstwem raz na zawsze porzadek
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/977946.html
BARDZO interesujace... THANKS
====================================
Another kiss of death
By M.J. Rosenberg
Tags: nuclear espionage
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/977946.html
herrm...@aol.com
Jest dobry artykul Pattica Buchanana o wyscigu wyborczym i
nienajlepszych szansach Baraka.
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=26226
Moj zaklad stoi, ze wygra Hillary.
Moj drugi zaklad stoi, ze obydwie Partie sie rozsypia.
s.b.
McLaren
<herrm...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:40a4f360-64a1-4632...@y18g2000pre.googlegroups.com...
On Apr 26, 5:20 am, "McLaren" <mcla...@world.com> wrote:
> Mam wielka nadzieje ze jak prezydentem zostanie Barak to zrobi z
> tym gownianym poanstwem raz na zawsze porzadek
>
> http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/977946.html
>
> BARDZO interesujace... THANKS
>
> ====================================
>
>
> All by itself, the latest wrinkle in the Pollard story wouldn't
> matter. But combined with the seemingly endless Israeli- Palestinian
> conflict and the inept hasbara (information) efforts of Israel's
> defenders,
> it almost surely will. The long honeymoon between Israel and American Jews
> could be ending.
>
> M.J. Rosenberg is the director of policy analysis for the Israel
> Policy Forum in Washington, D.C.
>
> http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/977946.html
Jest dobry artykul Pattica Buchanana o wyscigu wyborczym i
nienajlepszych szansach Baraka.
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=26226
Moj zaklad stoi, ze wygra Hillary.
Moj drugi zaklad stoi, ze obydwie Partie sie rozsypia.
s.b.
=========
THANKS za link !!!
Chcialbym, zeby Hillary wygrala..Brytyjczycy ciagle
nie chca przewidywac komu wypadnie czyscic
te stajnie Augiasza po Bushu... Hillary jest wiadoma -
z chwila kiedy Barak - ciagle dla mnie jest zagadka.
jak podatnik amerykanski wolalbym zdecydowanie
Hillary. A co przyszlosci partii politycznych w USA
roznie moze sie zdarzyc.
"But if, with a little help from Hillary, McCain can paint
Barack indelibly as a man of the trendy and radical left,
he can win. America will have nowhere else to go. "
Wszystko moze sie zdarzyc miedzy majem a listopadem.
Ale najpierw zobaczymy co sie stanie w sierniu.
---------------
Why Not Move The Democratic Party Convention?
Huffington Post, NY - 21 hours ago
We've been hearing from Howard Dean, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid that
the August Democratic Party convention is too late to bring Democrats
together before ...
Democrats face a badly divided party MSNBC
Sen. Dodd calls for party leaders to step NECN
GOP Now Sees Obama as Liability for Ticket New York Times
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathleen-reardon/why-not-move-the-democrat_b_98644.html
Forte
>> Mam wielka nadzieje ze jak prezydentem zostanie Barak to zrobi z
>> tym gownianym poanstwem raz na zawsze porzadek
>>
>> http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/977946.html
>>
>> BARDZO interesujace... THANKS
>>
>> ====================================
>>
>> Another kiss of death
>>
>> By M.J. Rosenberg
>>
>> Tags: nuclear espionage
>>
>> http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/977946.html
>
> Jest dobry artykul Pattica Buchanana o wyscigu wyborczym i
> nienajlepszych szansach Baraka.
> http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=26226
>
> Moj zaklad stoi, ze wygra Hillary.
> Moj drugi zaklad stoi, ze obydwie Partie sie rozsypia.
>
> s.b.
After losing to Hillary Clinton in Pennsylvania, the frontrunner goes on the attack,
-;))
"Forte" <fo...@world.com> wrote in message news:N3SQj.114933$5o5....@newsfe15.ams2...
Tired Barack Obama resorts to aggression
After losing to Hillary Clinton in Pennsylvania, the frontrunner goes on the attack,
apparently frustrated with voters still immune to his charisma.Five days after losing to Hillary Clinton in the Pennsylvania primary, Barack Obama has taken off the gloves in his battle to win the American presidency - and in so doing has left critics wondering whether he is not just another conventional politician grubbing for votes.