Comments on: More on Sharon

By: Michael Lonie

Michael Lonie — Sat, 07 Jan 2006 02:16:25 +0000

Hitches had casue to learn from experience from 9/11, since he could clearly see that the jihadis were antagonistic to things he held dear. Unless they are stopped he will be one of those the jihadis stand against the wall, or whose head they will hack off. He feels no kinship with Israelis, and thus does not feel that jihadi terror against Israelis and the Arab threat to Israel has any personal consequences for him. Also, since 1967, hostility to Israel has grown steadily to become the standard party line for the left. There are limits to how far Hitchens is able to break away from the party line. Lefties in general seem to me to be very herd-like in their thinking.

By: Alex Bensky

Alex Bensky — Sat, 07 Jan 2006 01:40:05 +0000

This brings up an interesting point and I wonder if anyone has any ideas.

Hitchens is that rare thing, a lefty who actual learns from experience, and his post-9/11 work bears the earmarks of actual thought and analysis, taking new developments and information into account, etc.

Yet he still dislikes Israel, bears it a real animus. In most cases I’d simply ascribe it to what Meryl calls the Exception Clause but more properly should be called the (ahem) Bensky Corollar to Everything [see Meryl's archives for the week of June 11, 2005].

In Hitchens’s case I just don’t pick up the feeling that this is the reason. I could be wrong, of course. Does anyone have any other theories?

By: Eric J

Eric J — Fri, 06 Jan 2006 19:23:28 +0000

Notice that while Hitchens would, I’m sure, give no credence to Chomsky’s views on Iraq, he hasn’t gone back to reassess his views on Sabra and Shatila.

By: Joel

Joel — Fri, 06 Jan 2006 19:20:52 +0000

Hitchens is generally a bright guy but still has an Israel animus bug up his keister.

By: Laurence Simon

Laurence Simon — Fri, 06 Jan 2006 19:18:49 +0000

To hell with Hitchens.

More interested in what Dave of Israellycool has to say for the moment.

By: Tony

Tony — Fri, 06 Jan 2006 18:18:25 +0000

Ditto on Hitchens. I read his article (courtesy of Instapundit’s link) and was instantly reminded of pre-9/11 days. Sharon presented as former scary fascist (bad-guy) turned pragmatic peacemaker (good-guy), but with reservations about presumed intentions to annexe large parts of the “Palestinian West Bank” (!), and, of course, the terrible “wall”.

Hitchens even draws on Chomsky (!), conferring some sort of legitimate insight on his distortions that would otherwise be unthinkable for Hitchens’ view of, e.g., Iraq.

The good old double-standard, never far from the surface, re-emerges.

Thanks for the link to “The Australian” article – altogether more balanced.

By: Sissy Willis

Sissy Willis — Fri, 06 Jan 2006 18:10:08 +0000

Agreed. You can never really trust a lefty.