Posted on 05/07/2006 11:55:42 PM PDT by neverdem
No, its authors are not closet anti-Semites. But they twisted facts and cherry-picked history.
Molly Ivins' defense of John Mearsheimer and Steven Walt's controversial essay, "The Israel Lobby," is nearly as distorting of their argument as their argument is of the causes and consequences of U.S. support for Israel.
If, as she suggests, these two distinguished professors had limited themselves to the claim that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) attempts to influence U.S. foreign policy, and at times does so quite successfully, or that we need a debate about whether unqualified support for Israel hurts American interests, there would be little controversy.
Many, including myself, have long championed a two-state solution, have opposed AIPAC's stance on a variety of issues, and have advocated that the United States use its considerable leverage to pressure Israel to abide by its agreements with the Palestinians. However, their essay "The Israel Lobby" and their longer unpublished piece are rife with highly questionable and noxious assertions.
Their fundamental claim is that the "Israel Lobby" distorts American foreign policy. In their view, U.S. support for Israel does not make moral, political, or strategic sense; Israel's behavior does not deserve American support because it is a serial and mass violator of human rights; support for Israel harms U.S. influence in the region and is a primary cause of Islamic terrorism and instability.
Why does the United States act in a way so contrary to its basic national interests? The Israel Lobby (they do capitalize it), which for them is Public Enemy No. 1. Who is the Israel Lobby? It is not limited to AIPAC, as Ivins suggests. Mearsheimer and Walt offer a long list of members, including the Christian Right. Yet they focus on Jewish organizations, Jewish public intellectuals and Jewish public officials.
(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...
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