Phil, you are an example of the diversity of voices among American
Jews. But you and Tony Judt, as another example, are in the minority
because you are so shrill and strident in your point of view. Where you
are so wrong is to place those of us who favor the existence and
well-being of Israel all in this nasty category you call “the lobby” or
characterize as “Zionist.”
Zionist as an advocate for Meretz USA, an organization that is a
constituent of the World Zionist Organization and that has sent elected
representatives to the World Zionist Congress every four
years, including myself. We are very much at the left-edge of a
spectrum of parties and organizations involved in the Zionist movement.
In fact, we were shut out of the Conference of Presidents of Major
American Jewish Organizations because we are considered too far left.
about the security and well-being of the State of Israel. This is a
natural ethnic and religious affinity and sense of kinship. In my case,
about half of my kin actually are Israelis. I am sure that essentially
the same connections and concerns motivate Americans of Arab,
Palestinian or Muslim background, but move most of them to opposite
opinions and loyalties in the Middle East. American Greeks, Armenians
and others are similarly linked to their spiritual and blood kin
overseas. In past centuries, Americans of English, Irish and German
ancestry differed in their sympathies and concerns for US foreign
policy. My point is that ethnic diversity and all this implies for
people to freely act to “lobby” or influence their government is as
American as apple pie.
prominent institutions in American society that are largely supported
by charitable gifts and sniff at Jewish-sounding names on buildings and
the like. Are you totally losing it? What exactly are you saying? Do
you want the anti-Israel lobby, of which you are a
part — following your logic in classifying me as part of the
pro-Israel lobby– to now become an anti-Jewish lobby?
Palestinians when you declare that you don’t care if it’s one state or
two: “All I want is self-determination for … Palestinians, or our
buildings will get blown up”?
Weiss again. A couple quick responses, Ralph: My problem is with identity politics. I don’t think it’s helping, I want to move past it. You dignify it, but I don’t think it’s the answer. Had enough of it. Also, I really think the Israel lobby has had inordinate power. Thanks for your work on the left, but the body of the lobby has supported the occupation forever. I think the occupation has evil effects. Period. My point re one-state/two-state is that as an American I want peoples to have political rights, and yes human rights too. The Pal’ns have had none for 60 years. That’s My American Interest, get that taken care of, 60 years after the U.N. made promises that it and the Israelis and everyone else broke.
As to the sociological point I make about Jewish names on buildings, don’t be naive, Ralph. You know exactly what I’m saying. If you want to say it’s a canard, say so and I will laugh at you. That specific comment came out of the following context: that a person I met who works at the Kennedy School said that Steve Walt was naive because he had failed to notice that the names on the buildings at Harvard are Jewish. New buildings. This is a cold fact of life, good or bad, and I think it’s fine, except for the foreign policy effect (and yes, some Jewish cultural elitism that I wish we could get over). I have noticed the same thing at Columbia, Lerner and Kraft, and who is Bollinger dependent upon to deliver his dream campus above 125th Street? This is simply a fact of our political life, that Jews are the richest segment of our society by religion and are playing a huge role in political campaigns. If you want me to ignore it because Nazis said the same thing, you can simply forget about it. I’m a journalist, I’m old, I’ve been in this business a long time. I am, therefore, interested at this point in life by what’s true and new and important, and this satisfies all three. Happy new year!
