Why the Left Really Hates Israel

Frontpagemag/townhall ^ | November 13, 2002 | Dennis Prager

[William Wallace]

Yes. Israel is an outpost of Western Civilization. This is the reason for the strong support of Israel in the American Heartland.

It is not--as "Liberals" would love to have everyone believe--because of some spooky prophesy or because Christians are determined to convert the Jews or some such nonsense. That has nothing to do with it.

It is because the people of the American Heartland--Bush country--love America; love Western Civilization; and see Israel as an outpost of Western Civilization besieged by backward, benighted, determined, and dangerous enemies--enemies that have also attacked America and would, if they could, destroy not only Israel but America and all of Western Civilization.

This is why the Heartland supports Israel.

Great point. Worth remembering and repeating whenever anyone parrots the leftist 60 Minutes propaganda bullhockey that Christian support for Israel is all about dispensationalism and the part Jews will play in the Rapture.

[Billthedrill]

This is in perfect harmony with Sowell's diagnosis of the Left as a community that sees itself as elevated above the common herd, both morally and intellectually.

Had to bump that one. Rejection of conventional wisdom is so central to many leftists' self-image as a "free thinker" that it becomes reflexive and quite unthinking. I believe this is why so many seem to fall into the trap of defining their political identities in terms of a negative image of whatever their opponents are perceived to be for. There's nothing "free" about that form of thinking; it is, in fact, slavery.

[William Wallace]

"Tradition does not mean inheriting the ashes of the past. It means inheriting the fire" - German saying (roughly translated)

Great saying! Do you have the original version and any additional info as to its source or where it first appeared? Thanks.

[Savage Beast]

"Worth remembering and repeating whenever anyone parrots the leftist 60 Minutes propaganda bullhockey that Christian support for Israel is all about dispensationalism and the part Jews will play in the Rapture."

Exactly. That was dysinformation designed to disparage, belittle, and call into question the strong support of Heartland Christians for Israel and to drive a wedge between Christians and Jews. The Left is terrified of the prospect of wholesale defection of Jewish "Liberals" away from the Democrat Party and into unity with Christians and Jews of the Heartland.

[Pres Raygun]

His attempts to treat the opponents arguments as dishonenst instead of simply wrong are bad enough. Treating them as cover for psychological disorder is disgraceful.

If he is so wrong can you explain why the left supports the Palestinians over the Israelis, given the Isrealis are aligned with the left's stated goals and the Palestinians are opposed to the left's stated goals?

[KC_Conspirator]

I would say that the one thing the left DOES care about is their "will to power". And its America, Isreal, and any freedom loving culture/nation that stands in their way.

[William Wallace]

You saw that episode of 60 Minutes also? Is their propaganda always this transparent or was this a special effort because they were so terrified at the prospect of the Jews leaving the plantation?

I usually make it a point not to watch, but was at the in-laws that night and my self-brainwashed father-in-law watches that program 'religiously' as if they give out continuing re-education credits. I did manage to pi$$ him off royally by making the same points you made here. Hehe

[EternalHope]

In psychoanalytic terms, it is antagonism to one's father and his values. In a commencement speech he gave this year, the former president of Dartmouth College, James O. Freedman, a man of the left, said that the purpose of a college education is "to question your father's values."

Do not underestimate the underlying psychological imperative.

Although much of traditional psychoanalysis is in shambles, it still provides a useful framework for certain types of generalized analysis. For instance, the concept of a child's need for "separation", coupled with a child's rebellion against authority, can lead to rejection of one's father and his values.

This generalized concept can be coupled with the rejection of authority that underlies all of liberalism. When embodied in the radicals of the 60s, many of whom found a home in academe, it translates to the former Dartmouth College President's statement, quoted above, that the purpose of a college education is "to question your father's values."

Rejection of "one's father and his values" underlies much of the generalized rejection of Western Civilization seen on so many campuses worldwide. It is the result actively sought by many of the tenured misfits within academe.

To put it in the more straight-forward language favored by many Freepers, "Liberalism is the politics of the mentally unbalanced".

[Savage Beast]

Excellent point and well said.

[liberallarry]

If he is so wrong can you explain why the left supports the Palestinians over the Israelis, given the Isrealis are aligned with the left's stated goals and the Palestinians are opposed to the left's stated goals?

Because the Palestinians are the weak, primitive underdogs (modern day red Indians) who are being oppressed by colonialist, racist, intolerant, arrogant Israelis intent on taking their land.

The Left has an honorable goal - share wealth and opportunity to a greater extent than offered by any historical or modern society.

Unfortunately, political correctniks have interpreted that to mean

a) the little guy is honorable, the big guy is not
b) all men are created equal, all cultures are equally valuable
c) self-esteem is more important than talent and hard work
d) psycho-babble is more valuable than military might - all conflicts can be resolved peacefully

All these ideas are wrong - shit, actually. But if you believe them to be true all else follows.

This list is not exhaustive - but you get the idea.

[Savage Beast]

LOL! I don't know whether their propaganda is transparent or you and I are geniuses. I used to think I was of average intelligence, but so much seems to escape so many people I've begun to wonder.

I don't know whether I saw that program or not, but I heard that message somewhere, maybe it was there. I try never to tune into the propaganda machine (it's like listening to Tokyo Rose or Axis Sally), but the propaganda is ubiquitous as well as relentless; so no one can escape it.

I guess we geniuses just have a knack for detecting baloney (also known as a B.S. detector-- Sorry, Barbra).

[OldBlondBabe]

"Since Jesus as the Messiah came out of Israel and the Bible shows how repeatedly the Jews were being pushed into near extinction except by divine intervention, then I think the evil demonic powers that were at work to destroy Israel back then is still currently at work in the world today through these 'leftist' types."

I have had this same thought myself, many times.

[Utah Girl]

Excellent article, thanks for the ping.

[betty boop]

At this time in history nothing so illustrates the left's nihilism as does its support of the Palestinians against Israel.

Apt choice of word here. At bottom, this nihilism seems to be a symptom of self-loathing so profound that it amounts to a death wish. Go figure.

Thanks for this fine post, SJackson.

[William Wallace]

LOL! I don't know whether their propaganda is transparent or you and I are geniuses. I used to think I was of average intelligence, but so much seems to escape so many people I've begun to wonder.

I don't know about you SB, but I'm definitely no genius LOL!

I would say that you see things clearly and tell the truth. Sometimes genius can be an obstacle to both. I think that's because the person of normal intelligence is usually humble enough to recognize that we see through a glass darkly and works harder to find the truth, whereas the intellectual thinks he has already has the truth and doesn't bother to seek it.

I've been reading George Orwell lately. The introduction to one of his books said that one of the things that made him so special was that he was NOT a genius. The intellectuals of his day were almost always wrong about the most despotic regimes of his time. Shaw maintained a fact-proof screen about Soviet Communism. Wells blithely dismissed the threat of Hitler and the elements of Nazi ideology that were shaping the world. Orwell saw things clearly simply by observing what was going on around him and wanting only to tell the truth. He came to the realization early on that most intellectuals did not like to think and did not really love the truth.

This is proven time and time again. During the Whittaker Chambers-Alger Hiss trials, the liberal intelligentsia and media elites all believed and admired the handsome Ivy League intellectual Hiss, and despised and condemned the slovenly man of humble origin Chambers. As it turned out, Hiss was a Communist and a spy and Chambers told the truth. The intellectuals were totallly wrong, but their faith in their own superiority made them impervious to troublesome facts and unable to admit error.

So who cares if we're not geniuses, we can still be in pretty good company. ;-)

[rmlew]

unfortunately Israel's economy is rather socialist. It is like pre-Thatcher England.
For most of its history, Israel was run by the left, who kept power by bribing the religious.

[berned]

I like Prager, but he is 100 per cent dead wrong on why the left hates Israel. All of the things he talks about here are way off.

[WileyC]

Rejection of conventional wisdom is so central to many leftists' self-image as a "free thinker" that it becomes reflexive and quite unthinking.

Exactly! Like so many faux intellectuals (witness modern deconstructionism), they they take a pot of gold, dump out the gold and still think they have treasure.

It's a worthwhile intellectual exercise to take an opposing point of view, explore the landscape critically and, based on that evidence, reach a conclusion. It's cognitive bankruptcy to throw up one's hands and declare a conclusion unguessable (or even simply adopt the opposing view as correct without thought.)

What the pseudo-intellectual left has done was to embrace two concepts: nothing is knowable, and reflexive opposition to orthodoxy (as defined by capitalist, western culture) is intellectual. So you get no-nothings parroting such nonsense, "Well, what if western culture was the bad guy, huh? What if we're evil and the Islamists are right, smarty pants!"

[Einigkeit_Recht_Freiheit]

Great saying! Do you have the original version and any additional info as to its source or where it first appeared? Thanks.

The original saying is "Tradition ist nicht die übergabe die Aschen der Vergangenheit, sondern die Feuer."

Unfortunately, I have not been able to figure out if it is attributed to anyone in particular. I copied two other Freepers who also know a lot in this area, so maybe they can help.

tictoc, please correct my grammar if I made a mistake (I've always hated genitive.)

[tictoc]

"Tradition ist nicht die übergabe die Aschen der Vergangenheit, sondern die Feuer."

Übergabe
der Aschen
der Feuer

Sorry, no clue who wrote this.