Robert Keohane, the international-relations scholar who debated Walt and Mearsheimer at Princeton Monday night, has supplied a copy of his opening comments to the assiduous James Morris, who passed them on to me.
Two excerpts:
"The charge of anti-Semitism is a category mistake. It confuses opposition to a state’s policy with prejudice against the ethnic groups that compose it. American liberals in the 1930s opposed German policy, but this did not make them anti-German. People who criticize US China policy on grounds of Chinese human rights abuses are not thereby “Sinophobes.” Those who want to impose sanctions on Sudan or Zimbabwe are not “anti-Black.” In contrast, Amreican attitudes toward Japanese during World War II were racist. How can we tell the difference? Racists denigrate the character or intelligence of the people against whom they are prejudiced – Americans regularly characterized the Japanese as sub-human (John Dower, War Without Mercy: Race and Power in the Pacific War). They did not so denigrate the German people. There is no denigration of Israelis, or of Jews, in The Israel Lobby."
"If you scratch any democracy, you will find flaws. We live in a country that is flawed by a history of genocide toward indigenous peoples, slavery, institutionalized racial discrimination, racism in public speech as well as attitudes, and pervasive gender discrimination. Discussions are now occurring in Washington about the use of torture, arguably in violation of the U.S. military code of conduct as well as of international law. These flaws do not disqualify us from criticizing others, but they make it very problematic to impose too demanding standards or to be highly moralistic. I regard the moral arguments in chapter 3 as making some valid points, but overall to lack the sense of balance, and ethical modesty, that one might expect from Realist scholars."
The first excerpt is wonderful and reasonable and fair. Keohane’s second point is cloddish and insensitive. The 40-year occupation is a mere "scratch" on Israel’s democracy? But something like 40 percent of the population of historical Palestine has lesser rights than the majority. And thousands of them are in prison, and their children are denied all opportunity, and a huge wall snakes through their olive groves! Keohane implores the realists to be realistic about this. Were the Freedom Riders realistic about desegregation in the 60s? This is the moral blot on the U.S. that is before our eyes. The great thing about The Israel Lobby is that it is not a realists’ work, it is a moral work.
Related posts:
- The World Changes! A Full-Page Ad for Walt/Mearsheimer in NYT!
- Who Are Walt and Mearsheimer? Why Did They Do It? (And What About Walt’s Jewish Milieu?)
- More on the Effects of Mearsheimer-Walt Paper
- Walt and Mearsheimer Have Already Created Perestroika
- Peretz Says NIE Shocker Re Iran Was Enabled by… Walt & Mearsheimer
{ 17 comments }
Why is it it necessary to have a "balancing" spokesman present when two professors speak at a university?
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Being anti-German during the Third Reich
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It would have been legitimate to be anti-German during Nazi-times on the following assuption: Since the Nazis defined 'Germanness', 'being German' as belonging to an inherently superior Aryan Volk by descent and excluded most others from the cultural life, politics etc. of that Volk on the basis of their non-German descent – and if this were the political-social credo of the majority, then of course there were good reasons to be anti-German ON PRINCIPLE.
If a certain people A has a particular concept of self-definition and act according to that concept. And if you disapprove of that concept – then you are anti-A on principle.
This was the case with anti-Soviet/communism and this is the case with legitimate anti-Zionism and also anti-Semitism.
Mearsheimer and Walt are just avoiding the question whether the deplorable mainstream Israeli policies are rooted in the deplorable concept of Jewishness/Judaism.
Must read article by James Petras:
ISRAEL AND TOP ZIONIST LEADERS ATTACK INTELLIGENCE
http://tinyurl.com/ysrgpc
http://NEOCONZIONISTTHREAT.BLOGSPOT.COM
The Israel Lobby and the War Party:
http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=12042
Why did we go to Iraq?
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/2007/12/12/oilmap.jpg
In case this comment didn't submit successfully, it's hard to ignore the following map when discerning why we are in Iraq.
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/2007/12/12/oilmap.jpg
Obama caves to pressure from Israel firsters over Mearsheimer/Walt book
http://www.itszone.co.uk/zone0/viewtopic.php?p=403185#403185
Only Israel benefits from these endless Middle East wars. Iraq is the beginning. As we commit war-crimes in Baghdad, the US gov't commits treason at home by opening mail, eliminating habeas corpus, using the judiciary to steal private lands, banning books like "America Deceived" from Amazon and Wikipedia, conducting warrantless wiretaps and engaging in illegal wars on behalf of AIPAC's 'money-men'. Soon, another US false-flag operation will occur (sinking of an Aircraft Carrier by Mossad) and the US will invade Iran.. Then we'll invade Syria, then Saudi Arabia, then Lebanon (again) then ….
Final link (before Google Books bends to gov't demands and censors the title):
http://www.iuniverse.com/bookstore/book_detail.asp?&isbn=0-595-38523-0
Anti-Semitic ? Is this being anti Arabs as well ?
History shows that both Arabs and Jews have the same ancestry within the Semitic tribes ( remember a year or so ago when the DNA findings regarding this historical fact were muzzled by Zionists ? ) .
Hence , when I hear one referring to a critic of Israel as an anti-Semitic , I laugh and realize how “educated” that individual really is ( in other words that may be a Zionist/Jew by adoption/culture , not by blood lines ) . Tell this to others please and when some one calls you anti-Semitic tells them you have nothing against Arabs , and let them wonder
Anti-Semitic ? Is this being anti Arabs as well ?
History shows that both Arabs and Jews have the same ancestry within the Semitic tribes ( remember a year or so ago when the DNA findings regarding this historical fact were muzzled by Zionists ? ) .
Hence , when I hear one referring to a critic of Israel as an anti-Semitic , I laugh and realize how “educated” that individual really is ( in other words that may be a Zionist/Jew by adoption/culture , not by blood lines ) . Tell this to others please and when some one calls you anti-Semitic tells them you have nothing against Arabs , and let them wonder
My favorite one goes like this:
"Do you think Fascism in Italy was bad?"
"yes."
"Why are you anti-catholic?"
The author of this post misses the point that the anti-semite paint brush doesn't depict one as anti-Israel, but as religiously intollerant, "just like the Nazis".
This is why the ADL and AIPAC were fighting AGAINST calling the Armenian death in WW1 a genoicide, because then the anti-semite attack may slip away from the Nazi connotation.
Please, fight this virulent spew when you hear it. It's endemic and destructive. Societies built on lies or dirty tricks will not sustain themselves. It doesn't work like that.
If only the United States of american followed it's own first Amendments meaning, "Congress shall make NO LAW RESPECTING an establishment of religion,,,"
And this is the only way the entire planet can live together without the attempted slaughter of those that 'are different' than yourself.
A law that gives a tax break/advantage over another equal type group/person based solely on the self proclaimed religiousness of thee,,, is a violation of that provision of the Bill of Rights.
Hate bill? Why, to protect those with undefendable ideals in their myths? Screw them. If their religion is so good and strong, it could survive any oppossion in words to it.
Free speech, or slavery, you decide.
Sorry mate but the only good thing about Hitler is that he said that the Jews main problem was their "Big Lie" and goddang it to heck if the kook wasn't right on that one. Well he was also smart enough to use the USA Ford and GM Opel car companies to build his Panzer and Tiger tanks! Smart guy eh!
So this is relavent to the lie that we are anti-semitic for saying we don't like Israel jumping up and down on the heads of the Palestinians.
Now Profesor, I have a response that is sort of an amendment to your statment of misuse of category. I propose to side with the jews point of view and use the racism finger pointing in reverse. After all the Tora says the Jews are the master race and we gentiles are refered to by Jews in normal Hebrew chatter as "goyim" which means "cattle" in English. So the "Big Lie" applies here when Jews tell you they want equal rights for you and me and them to live harmonyously together. The only equal rights that they believe in is unequal by definition that they get to sit on the top of the hill on the uneven playing field of life!
Sorry mate but the only good thing about Hitler is that he said that the Jews main problem was their "Big Lie" and goddang it to heck if the kook wasn't right on that one. Well he was also smart enough to use the USA Ford and GM Opel car companies to build his Panzer and Tiger tanks! Smart guy eh!
So this is relavent to the lie that we are anti-semitic for saying we don't like Israel jumping up and down on the heads of the Palestinians.
Now Profesor, I have a response that is sort of an amendment to your statment of misuse of category. I propose to side with the jews point of view and use the racism finger pointing in reverse. After all the Tora says the Jews are the master race and we gentiles are refered to by Jews in normal Hebrew chatter as "goyim" which means "cattle" in English. So the "Big Lie" applies here when Jews tell you they want equal rights for you and me and them to live harmonyously together. The only equal rights that they believe in is unequal by definition that they get to sit on the top of the hill on the uneven playing field of life!
Be sure to check out the comments section of the following blog entry by Phil Weiss:
Jewish Chauvinism in Feith's, and Friedman's, Back Pages
http://www.philipweiss.org/mondoweiss/2007/12/jewish-chauvini.html
What is incredible that that Phil's piece (for 'The Nation') is the only one that shows up when one does a search for 'Mearsheimer' at http://www.cbsnews.com:
Ferment over the 'Israel Lobby':
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/04/28/opinion/main1560594.shtml?source=search_story
Letters to the Editor of the Daily Princestonian by Mearsheimer/Walt & retired CIA analyst Bill Christison
http://tinyurl.com/2jekk2
The answer to the question: what is a Jew? is of supreme relevance.
If Jews are those who opt into, or opt to remain in a community united only by a peculiarly and virulently racist philosophy-made-religion, I see no alternative to defining myself as someone who hates Jews because they are Jews.
Let's say the members of the Nazi party circa 1945 formed a somewhat coherent society, and over the next few thousand years they maintained ingroup coherence and through religious doctrine sanctioned their hatred for Jews and general racial supremacism. They celebrate genocides and pogroms in their religious services, and demand the right to an ethnic-homeland that they deny to all other peoples, but especially Jews.
Wouldn't Jews, and the rest of the world justifiably hate the committed Nazis of 5007 simply for being Nazis?
(Read the Torah (Old. T), or Talmud, if you need to find hate and supremacism that outstrips Hitler's, I am possibly being unfair to Nazis).
http://www.come-and-hear.com/
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