A year after Yale students held a debate, "Resolved, the U.S. should end the special relationship with Israel," with John Mearsheimer arguing Pro, an outfit at NYU is staging the same debate, for $45 admission: Should the U.S. "step back from" the special relationship, and this time no Mearsheimer. Rashid Khalidi and Roger Cohen will argue the affirmative. Itamar Rabinovich, a former Israeli ambassador, and Stu Eizenstat, former Carter aide, will say No. Notice the prevarication in the blurb about the lobby. It says that the special relationship is based on "mutual loyalty." I believe that’s a tautology. Or, on "finance or energy convenience"– what’s that mean? Someone was hunting for euphemisms! Here’s the fight card:
In a zero sum Middle East, does America’s coziness with Israel cost us in good will with Muslim world, including those oil-rich Arab states whose dollar holdings come back to the US in the form of investments and loans, which the US economy needs – especially now?
But there’s an important connection between the US and Israel – that goes deeper than finance or energy convenience. It’s a foundation of mutual loyalty and shared values – democracy being only the most obvious. There has also been a history of shared intelligence, military cooperation, and significant cross-fertilization of scientific knowledge. To sacrifice these connections to improve relations with the Arab world would be an act of betrayal — of an ally — and of what we say we stand for.
Should the US consider putting some distance between itself and Israel? Would such a change in policy serve American interests, or is it a move we would come to regret?
Keep us posted on this, if you please. Any chance a video of the proceedings will become available, would you know?
“The special relationship”, which one is that?
There are MANY forms of special relationship, some intimate, some platonic, some just happy to see when an encounter occurs.
All special, unique, important.
Your headline is maximalist. My suspicion is that neither Cohen nor Khalidi will recommend the Iranian juxtaposition of “Iran OR Israel”, or “Muslim world OR Israel”.
You’re criticisms are off point and petty Witty, why don’t you get lost?
I love how you have you focus on the headline on a lot of these articles and couldn’t actually care less about the content. It’s like watching you straighten the drapes and grouse about how dusty they are while the house is on fire.
Your comment is maximalist; calling for more balance is NOT the same as either/or.
The one American politicians always refer to when talking about Israel.
Witty was told many aspects of the special relationship on this blog many times.
Here for example is one previous thread:
link to mondoweiss.net
Additional to the list of aspects constituting the special relationship matrix provided by the USA to no other country, you can add the memorandums giving Israel first
dibs on our own oil reserves if it says it needs them, and assuring jet fuel to Israel’s
jets no matter the cost to the USA.
Wow. Witty really is a vicious, back-stabbing turncoat. That dig at Mr. Weiss family life in the old comments section on that article is pretty low, even for him.
Yes, Witty there are MANY forms of aid to Israel constituting our special relationship
with that tiny country–all special, unique, important: Here’s a fairly recent article on the subject to bring you up to speed, that is, to refresh your memory–also note the many url references to more detailed accounting on the right side of the main article:
link to ifamericansknew.org
Can’t say I’m a big fan of Rashid Khalidi. In the Cooper Union debate he spent half the time arguing against his own side. I remember the bemused expression on Mearsheimer’s face. Also, I am not particularly impressed with his scholarship. His book Resurrecting Empire was a work of tepid political analysis with a single original insight. And, of course, he repeats the Chomskyian fables about Israel being the ‘strategic asset’ keeping an eye over Arab assets for America.
I wouldn’t consider that last bit a fable — merely only one part of a larger picture. Certainly, I think our relationship with Israel was originally as Israel being a ‘strategic asset’ against Soviet inroads in the Middle East. Like many things from the Cold War, that’s mutated into something cancerous to American interests.
I’m not much of a scholar either but I know a quacking duck when I see it.
Considering that for 42 years, over 2/3 Israel’s existence, close to half the population ruled by Israel who have no vote in their governance and are moreover treated as non-persons who can basically be killed at will by Israeli soldiers or settlers, nor are they permitted rights to property or residency, free speech, fair trial or right to not incriminate oneself under torture, Israel’s claim to being a democracy is suspect.
What the U.S. and Israel share mostly is that both are European settler colonies. Of course Israel is still more in the settler stage than the U.S. We also share a certain racism towards Arabs and Moslems, though to a certain extent that racism has been deliberately promoted by the pro-Israel crowd. Maybe you can throw in the fundamentalist Christian outlook that the land belongs to the Jews, and hey, who wants to question religious myths like that?
“cross-fertilization of scientific knowledge?” If Israel never existed, its scientists surely would have been happily researching their fields in the US or Europe where they came from. In fact I don’t know about New York’s, but California’s universities are desparately hurting for funds right now as we give billions to Israel, and trillions spent on a war in Iraq in which helping Israel (advertised to the public, with great orwellian obfuscation, as “the path to peace in Jerusalem goes through Baghdad” or some such nonsense) was among the reasons for the neocons that pushed it.
“Shared military and intelligence?” Sure, after helping make enemies for us.
You’ve nailed it quite succinctly. I can’t say I’ve got anything to add. Good job. Israel is a product of European colonialism, not Judaism.
Wonderful, Cohen and Khalidi. Khalidi is a wonderful man, as is Cohe. He surely is among the most important Jewish Americans voices during the last years.
I wish someone will record/videotape the debate.
Yes, Please post it.
I thought you were busy harping on semantics and trying to create an air of mystique and ambiguity wear none exists. I take it must have been time to send the mountebank’s cape to the cleaners?
Pingback: GONE TOO LONG: Hunting for Maria Anjiras – Norwalk News – The Hour … | Hunting Leisure Knowledge
Pingback: Practical Data Analysis and Reporting with BIRT | Business Intelligence Wisdom