I think Hanson is a smart, insightful historian - especially regarding World War II and ancient Greece - but he is not that insightful on current events. This article is an example of that. The “critics hate Israel” theme is superficial and disingenuous. I have been a strong supporter of Netanyahu’s foreign policy for Israel since the 1990s but since Trump took office this term, Netanyahu has overplayed his hand and damaged the US-Israel relationship. Do I think that Israel “controls” US foreign policy? No. But they lobby harder than anyone else for their own interests and do things to get the US to advance Israel’s interests that, recently, have been against US interests. Did Israel “trick” the US into the Iran War? No. But Netanyahu’s government lobbied hard and gave Trump an overly-rosy picture of how the war would go knowing that the outcome depended 100% on the US. A lot of people who point that out don’t hate Israel. Some do, but some raise credible issues. Hanson painting with a sweeping brush about the “hate Israel” crowd makes me think less of him rather than agree with his arguments.
Excellent post.
The pro Israel folks seem to always overplay their hand.
It creates new defectors to their opposition.
The name calling is a bridge too far.