There is much to appreciate in Nicholas Kristof's op-ed about Israel in today's N.Y. Times. He correctly identifies a huge problem when he indicates that Mr. Bush's "embrace" is "crushing" Israel. He notes that:
There is no serious political debate among either Democrats or Republicans about our policy toward Israelis and Palestinians.
He describes the results of Bush's "crushing" perfectly:
Hard-line Israeli policies have profoundly harmed that country's long-term security by adding vulnerable settlements, radicalizing Young Palestinians, empowering Hamas and Hezbollah, isolating Israel in the world and nurturing another generation of terrorists in Lebanon. The Israeli right's aggressive approach has only hurt Israeli security, just as President Bush's invasion of Iraq has ended up harming U.S. interests.
But when Kristof offers his analysis of the cause for that lack of debate in the U.S., he can only display symptoms of the disease he would hope to cure.
He speculates that the silence of those who might criticize current policies could be caused by two reasons:
- "American politicians have learned to muzzle themselves." He points out how Dean four years ago, and Obama a few weeks ago, were "blasted for being hostile to Israel" when they made some pretty innocuous comments
- "A second reason may be that American politicians just don't get it", writes Kristof before explaining how important the Palestinian issue really is in the Arab world, and how miserable the Palestinians actually are.
But Kristof knows full well that no American politician voluntarily muzzles himself, and most of them are smart enough to get it. They are actively silenced by being called anti-Israel and/or anti- Semitic. They can read the numbers of Palestinian dead as well as Kristof can.
Like Kristof, himself, the politicians are afraid of the organized outrage that will be choreographed by organizations and lobbyists such as the A.D.L. and A.I.P.A.C. over the slightest criticism of the Israeli government. The voices of the neo-cons added to traditional Zionists are pretty tough to shout over.
But kudos to Kristof for at least bringing the topic up.
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