Now Andrew Sullivan is attacking the idea that only Israeli Jews are allowed to have opinions about Israel. "Screw that," he says. Come on, Andrew, dredge it up, let it go: How do you feel about Israel? Thanks to Voskamp.
Sarah Anne Minkin adds:
Matt Steinglass (to whom Sullivan referred) didn’t say that just Israeli Jews can have opinions – he said that only those who serve in the army + do reserves ("miluim") can have opinions. So he’s cut almost all women since women who serve in the army only rarely serve in the reserves, and of course he’s cut out all of the military refusers (and by definition he’s already excluded Palestinian citizens, of course). "Israeli Jews" and IDF vets are not synonymous terms. that old idea that only military vets can talk security has long been used to keep women and others out of the public conversation, and of course to promote the combat soldiers’ opinions above all others.
