Two interesting pieces on the Walt-Mearsheimer anti-Israel screed, for your reading pleasure.
The first is in the WSJ:
A crop of Israel’s critics — most prominently Jimmy Carter and now Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer, the authors of “The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy” — have managed something of a feat: They express no concerns about the massive pro-Arab effort, funded in significant measure by foreign oil money, taking American Jews to task for participating in the American political process; meanwhile, they inoculate themselves against charges of anti-Jewish bias by pre-emptively predicting that “the Jewish lobby” will accuse them of it.
Messrs. Walt and Mearsheimer, in particular, have been heralded by Israel’s critics for their “courage” in attacking American Jews, who have allegedly “strangled” criticism of Israel. Their case seems one part laughable, and one part eyebrow-raising.
My favorite part, once again, is the conclusion:
But if anti-Semitism is too harsh a term, and if the word “bigoted” is also taken off the table, perhaps one can be forgiven for concluding that “anti-Jewish bias” fits the bill here. After all, where there is nothing wrong with foreign money from Arab countries advancing a pro-Arab agenda in Messrs. Walt’s and Mearsheimer’s world — but there is something very wrong with American citizens who are Jewish exercising their civic right to speak out on behalf of Israel and taking issue with the pro-Arab agenda — even the most vehement disclaimers of any bias against Jews lack a certain credibility.
The potency of the Middle East-funded anti-Israel lobby around the world and in the U.S. is difficult to ignore. Yet, Messrs. Walt and Mearsheimer and others who adhere to an anti-Israel line ignore it. In and of itself, this is not surprising. When at the same time they portray American Jews’ efforts to make the case for Israel as morally suspect, however, they open themselves up to reasonable charges of something far more troublesome than mere hypocrisy, and that is anti-Jewish bias, by whatever name.
But read it all. Well worth it.
Also of note, from the Chicago Sun-Times, which was mentioned in the W-M paper as part of the lobby (go figure):
Mearsheimer and Walt concede Israel may have been a strategic asset during the Cold War but argue that our continued support is detrimental to U.S. standing in the Middle East and helps “inspire a generation of anti-American extremists.” That’s their world view. Forget the dynamics of radical Islamism, Arab resentment of the West and other complexities of international affairs. Just change U.S. policy toward Israel and the world will be a happier place for America. Two intellectuals at two of our best universities have reduced international relations to that.
[…] The two go to lengths to try to rebut any suggestion of anti-Semitism in their criticism of the American Israeli Political Action Committee and other pro-Israel groups. But you can’t read The Israel Lobby without realizing that whenever two interpretations exist for some action by Israel or its supporters, Mearsheimer and Walt automatically default to the darker view.
For instance, a section of their book titled “Camp David Myths” cites numerous secondhand sources to disparage the Israeli peace initiative in 2000 while dismissing the account of Dennis Ross, President Bill Clinton’s chief Middle East peace negotiator, who was at the center of the Camp David effort and wrote the highly praised The Missing Peace: The Inside Story of the Fight for Middle East Peace.
Another read-in-full recommendation.
I’m glad to see W-M’s book getting lousy reviews. Because these creeps have hit the best-seller list. Gee. Amazing how the Israel lobby is so powerful, it manages to squelch all criticism. They’re being silenced. They’re only number 23 on Amazon, and 17 with a bullet on the NY Times bestseller list. Yes, they’ve been utterly silenced by the Israel Lobby—all the way to the bank.
Pity the WSJ piece needs registration to read.
Jeff Robbins piece in Friday’s WSJ should be required reading for all those who foam at the mouth about the “Jewish Lobby.”
“Anti-Semite” is not a word I use readily; it can come across as crying wolf, and loses it impact.
But for Carter, Walt and Mearsheimer, it is appropriate. By the way, being a Jew does not make one immune from being an anti-Semite.
Self-hating Jews have been with us forever.
I’ll bet Walt and Mearshimer would claim that some of their best freinds are Jews. Probably Jews like Noam Chomsky.
If the US abandoned Israel to the rage of her enemies we would not receive plaudits from them. On the contrary, we would get treated with increased hatred and contempt for our cowardly desertion of a friend. We would deserve that contempt.
Arab/Muslim hatred of the US is not based on US pro-Israel policy; it started when the US had an arms embargo on Israel and regarded Israel with suspicion as a Soviet client state, back in the Eisenhower Administration. The 9/11 attacks can be seen as the reaction of the Arab world to the US, not their hostility for our pro-Israel stance, but rather their thanks for our pro-Muslim stance, for stopping the massacres of Muslims in the Balkans and for helping the Afghans against the Soviet invasion, just to mention two pro-Muslim episodes in recent history.
There is a line that I am trying to remember; something about “People screaming from the rooftops that they are being silenced.” Wish I could remember the exact quote and the source. However it certainly seems to apply to W & M.
I first heard it from a friend of mine many years ago. The way he put it was “They are shouting from the housetops that they are not allowed to speak above a whisper.” I’ve been quite taken with the line and use it frequently about people like those complaining about the “Israel Lobby.”