Given Israel’s popularity in America, that popularity is not universal. So those who don’t share pro-Israel views need an explanation. Walter Russell Mead explains:
While I say nothing because I know nothing about the motives of particular people, it’s impossible to understand the popularity of ILS or Israel Lobby Syndrome (the belief that the organized, insistent power of American Jews as deployed through organizations like AIPAC is primarily responsible for American support of the Jewish state) without assigning a role to a lingering whiff of anti-Semitism in the American air.
At a time when most of America’s Jewish leadership was strongly anti-Zionist, American gentiles overwhelmingly supported the Zionist cause. And today American gentiles are generally more hawkish on Israel than American Jews who on this issue, like so many others, tend to skew toward the center-left band of the American political spectrum.
Some ILS victims have a ‘clever’ explanation for this disturbing fact: Jewish media power. The insidious, overwhelming power of those sneaky Jews in the mainstream media feeds a steady stream of pro-Israel propaganda disguised as news to the idiot gentiles out in the boondocks and the dumb hicks and yokels swallow the propaganda hook, line and sinker.
Again, I say nothing about the motives of individuals, but only entrenched, unconscious anti-Semitism could make an opinion this dumb seem so credible to so many otherwise intelligent people.
Let us take, for example, Sarah Palin, who formerly kept an Israeli flag in her office while serving as governor of Alaska. How much influence does the mainstream media have on her thinking about abortion? About global warming? About US relations with Cuba?
The answer, of course, is that whatever the sources of Ms Palin’s opinions on a very wide range of subjects, the mainstream media has not played a major role in her intellectual formation. And what is true for her is true for a great many other Americans who disagree with the mainstream media virtually across the board. They are more likely to disagree with the mainstream media than to mindlessly parrot its views — so why does it seem even remotely credible to assert that Palin and so much of the rest of the country is pro-Israel because of Jewish media power?
Again, a deep and unreasoned belief that powerful Jews control things and that the powerful Jewish media shapes public opinion could lend broad social credibility to ideas with so little support or coherence.
The whole idea of a powerful Israel lobby, then, is a construct designed by people who can’t understand why Israel is so popular in America. Mead demonstrates why this is belief is nonsense.
Crossposted on Soccer Dad.
These days, anti-Israel opinion, and outright anti-Semitism, are largely products of the
“progressive” Left. The General Staff of the “progressive” movement is American academia
, and social institutions that link to it closely (PBS, NPR, NYT, etc)
Hence, the probability that an individual will have virulent anti-Israel views is
largely an inverse function of his social distance from academia and its related
institutions.
Given the stance on Israel in supposedly elite media like the New York Times and Boston Globe, NPR, and so forth, if we control the media we are doing a damn poor job of it. And if we control the European media we are doing in incredibly poor job of it.
And yes, David, the progressive left can shout “McCarthyism!” all it likes but the threat to freedom of expression in the US today is overwhelmingly from the left, and the promotion or at least indulgence of anti-Israel sentiments that amount to anti-Semitism, as well as regular anti-Semitism, is primarily from the left as well.
Jewish progressives respond to this by adopting the other side’s narrative and fall over themselves to show that they, too, sympathize with the plight of the poor Palestinians, agree that the settlements are a prime roadblock to peace, and so on. Yet again I echo Lezlek Kolakowski in a different context: “If that is left then hell, no, I am not left and do not wish to be.”
I must disagree that Most American Jews are CENTER LEFT! Most secular Jews, in my experience, ar further left than that.
Further, again in my experience, Most of the LEFT are knee jerk anti-semites and anti-zionist. Noam Chomsky comes to mind.
Those on the RIGHT may want to convert us to fulfill their Biblical prophecies, BUT THEY DON”T WANT US DEAD!
Absolutely right, Ethan. I know people in New Jewish Agenda’s current manifestations like J Street and they fall over themselves to placate pro-Palestinians but shrink from contact, however friendly, with evangelicals who heartily support Israel. And by the way, a glance at Christian Zionist sites will show that their support for Israel is based in part on Israel’s status as a democracy and ally as well as for religious reasons.
I have no idea what Sarah Palin’s viewpoint is on Judaism and it’s entirely possible that she thinks I’m going to hell. If so, no doubt she would if asked offer suggestions as to how I could avoid that. On the other hand, there are people who think we’re going to hell and want to send us there RIGHT NOW.
The Sarah Palins of the world don’t bother me and I’m happy for their sincere support. The substantial frraction of the Muslim world that condones killing Jews does worry me.
Note to “Alan Fox”: I know you’re the same person who’s been posting from the doctor’s group in California. If you really want me to call your HR director tomorrow, you just keep leaving more anti-Semitic bile in my comments threads. If you’re too stupid to understand the concept of IP logging, let me explain it to you: Even when you leave fake name after fake name after fake name, I have physical evidence that you are all the same people. Shall I run down the pseudonyms, or just stop at your last four: Carol Herman, Alan Fox, Snoopy the Goon, and Sky Gomez. Two of those are regular commenters or bloggers whose identities you are trying to steal.
I don’t really give a shit that you’re now calling from your home device. I have enough comments by you from your work computer to make quite the case against you there. Don’t press me any further. I’m tired of your crap.
Go away, and don’t come back. I won’t warn you again.