AntiSemitic?

There has been a fair amount of controversy about a paper, "The Israel Lobby", that has appeared in various forms. The London Review of Books is where I read the version referenced in the opening sentence. Since the paper was written by holders of endowed chairs at Harvard and the University of Chicago and the paper argues that the "Israel Lobby" is responsible for the fact that the US has "been willing to set aside its own security and that of many of its allies in order to advance the interests of another state"(Israel), it has attracted a good deal of attention from a variety of people ranging from David Duke to Marvin Kalb to Al Jazeera. The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA), a pro-Israel US-based organization, published their rebuttal of the paper earlier this week.

Trying to decipher the Mid-East situation has been a lifelong occupation of many people smarter and more experienced than I. However, it is clear that Israel occupies a special position within our government's interests. The professors argue that this is due to the fantastic success of the Israel lobby, especially the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Their opponents seem to agree that they have a strong lobby, but that Israel's special status is justified and is good for the US.

For me, the issue is not whether there is a lobby or not or even whether that lobby, if it exists, is controlled by Israel. The issue is what is the result. Is the result good or bad for the US?

Treating Allies roughly equally seems to make sense to me. But here's what the professors say about the foreign aid we provide to Israel:

Other recipients get their money in quarterly installments, but Israel receives its entire appropriation at the beginning of each fiscal year and can thus earn interest on it. Most recipients of aid given for military purposes are required to spend all of it in the US, but Israel is allowed to use roughly 25 per cent of its allocation to subsidise its own defence industry. It is the only recipient that does not have to account for how the aid is spent, which makes it virtually impossible to prevent the money from being used for purposes the US opposes, such as building settlements on the West Bank. Moreover, the US has provided Israel with nearly $3 billion to develop weapons systems, and given it access to such top-drawer weaponry as Blackhawk helicopters and F-16 jets. Finally, the US gives Israel access to intelligence it denies to its Nato allies and has turned a blind eye to Israel’s acquisition of nuclear weapons.

The rebuttal makes no mention of the above.

The professors claim "Since 1982, the US has vetoed 32 Security Council resolutions critical of Israel, more than the total number of vetoes cast by all the other Security Council members. It blocks the efforts of Arab states to put Israel’s nuclear arsenal on the IAEA’s agenda." There is no mention of this in the rebuttal, yet I'd have to ask questions about this if I were leading an Arab state.

Another claim that goes unanswered: The terrorist organizations that threaten Israel do not threaten the United States". Do we gain any advantage from Israel killing PLO terrorists?

The rebuttal is organized around several topics, the first of which asks why does America support Israel. The answer, in their minds, is because Israel joined America in supporting King Hussein when the PLO attempted to overthrow him in 1970; none of our other allies did. Hence, we learned the value of a strong Israel. This seems a weak answer to me. Is this the only reason they can come up with in the 58 years of Israel's history?

The second question: Has support for Israel damaged US interests, or caused terrorists to target us? Here, they are on a little - just a little - firmer ground as part of the Islamist terrorists arguments are based on our support of Saudi Arabia and similar states. Does the Israeli treatment of the Palestinians calm or inflame terrorists?

It is also clear, to me anyway, that the Palestinians have suffered at the hands of the Israelis. Yes, the Palestinians have conducted intifadas, but what would your reaction be if you were forced out of your home?

The problem is that we have reached a stage where we are afraid to tell it like it is. Israel has made many errors, as have most nations in the world. We should be able to point out those errors and not be accused of antisemitism, as we should be able to point out the errors of the US and not be accused of being anti-American.