At Postright, Jack Ross has a twilight of the gods post: the events of Cairo signal that the neocons are over, Israel is doomed as a Jewish state, and the Israel lobby is imploding.
the unabashed chutzpah award has to go to Leon Wieseltier:
The bizarre irony of Obama’s global multiculturalism is that it has had the effect of aligning America with regimes and against peoples. This was the case with our response to the Iranian rebellion in 2009, and it was the case with our response to the Egyptian opposition until a few hours ago. The striking thing about Barack Obama’s “extended hand” is how utterly irrelevant it is to the epochal events in Egypt, and Tunisia, and Iran, and elsewhere.
Apparently, the United States had never once been engaged in propping up an unpopular autocrat against the wishes of his subjects before January 20, 2009. The very man who famously boasted of his magazine with respect to pro-Israel orthodoxy in American liberal opinion that “we’re the cops”, blames Obama for the consequences of the disastrous American policies of generations which he takes such pride in his large role in enforcing uncritical allegiance to.
But what else to expect from Wieseltier, who is now an island unto himself with even Marty Peretz out of the picture as the revolution unfolds which undoubtedly will mean the end of Israel as a Jewish state.
And exactly who are the “American liberals” Wieseltier is righteously lashing out at for being apologists of Mubarak? The only one who comes to mind is Chris Matthews, who clearly has stopped caring whether or not anyone takes him seriously, being the only one on cable news to have a guest giving the strait-up AIPAC line, a sad task falling to B-lister Marc Ginsburg.
This development is highly significant in itself. Amazingly, Marty Peretz ran off to find redemption exactly in the nick of time, leaving Leon completely high and dry among those who actually care about Israel in facing the Egyptian uprising. For one can only conclude that the Israel Lobby is imploding when even the neocons can’t be counted on to try and save the Camp David regime, instead putting to undying shame Condoleezza Rice’s infamous pronouncement of the birth pangs of a new Middle East.
To be sure, one can yet find the expected ominous foreboding against the Muslim Brotherhood – Thomas Joscelyn of the Friends of Democracy Foundation for the Defense of Democracies leads the pack, with Jeffrey Goldberg also reliably in tow. But while it was one thing for the neocons to rush headlong into their “abandonment of democracy” line during the Iran uprising, when it was so clearly cynical, it is beyond shocking to see the degree to which they have started breaking out into The Internationale with no regard at all for the implications for Israel.
My father, who knew several of the neocon standard bearers at Harvard, always insisted to me that, with such obvious exceptions as Marty Peretz and Ruth Wisse, the neocons were ultimately not so deeply committed to Israel but rather simply saw it as a means to an end. I understood his argument academically, but never quite bought into it until the last couple of years. The first time I realized he was right was when I attended the J Street Conference in October 2009, where I had the most emotionally draining experience of actually encountering people who were deeply committed to the point of emotional investment in saving Israel as a Jewish state, only to behold the untrammeled fury set against them by the neocons.
link to washingtonpost.com
“Undoubtedly means the end of Israel as a Jewish state” is undoubtedly a prediction. But if this prediction does not include a time frame it is meaningless. If Jack Ross means in a 200 year time frame, I would tend to agree, although the Egyptian revolution of 2011 will certainly not be pointed to if the end of Israel as a Jewish state occurs in say 2191. If Jack Ross means in 20 years, then I would say that it will be a bloody 20 years. But if he does not put a time frame on it, it is a feeble prediction and not as audacious as he pretends.
But if he does not put a time frame on it, it is a feeble prediction and not as audacious as he pretends.
It is an observation that the Jewish state of Israel is unsustainable and increasingly vulnerable. Not providing a time frame means it is not a prediction as you say it is. When Clinton said in her AIPAC speech that the status quo is unsustainable (referring indirectly to the occupation and prevention of a Palestinian state), she similarly gave no time frame. Later she clarified that the status quo could go on for 5 or 20 or more years, but fundamentally it is an arrangement that cannot be maintained in the long-term. I believe that Ross’ statement applies within the same time frame.
Saying that Israel as a Jewish state would not exist in 200 year time frame is a very optimistic outlook, doable if Israel were not mired in a conflict it has no resolve to and can only perpetuate as long as a Zionist regime exists. And such a prediction ignores that for Israel to exist as a Jewish state it needs to extend the status quo simultaneously with it, and to that end I would think even 20 more years seems unlikely.
Success has many mothers and fathers. Failure is an orphan. Potsherd’s quote is absolutely right on the money. This is nothing to do with Israel, and very little to do with the USA. If we don’t want to support people trying to escape gross oppression by autocrats, well who should we support?
the blazing irony of Wieseltier is that due to lack of interest, no “rebellion” took place in Iran. Oh, all the attempts were made, probably dropped a load of cash, but the scheduled, planned, well-rehearsed coup d’etat just didn’t succeed How to Stage a Coup d’etat
Take a second look at Tunisia, while you’ve got US-staged “rebellions” on your mind: one major give-away that so far the “revolution” in Tunisia is the Potemkin variety is the fact that the poster that appeared minutes after ben Ali boarded a plane bears all the hallmarks of CIA — it might as well have had “made in USA” on it, just like those tear gas canisters:
-the clenched fist = symbol of CIA color revolutions
-cutesie ‘jasmine’ tag is Americans who just can’t get marketing out of their blood;
-English language?? uh, in Tunisia? Why the poster in English?
-flag of Tunisia reduced to a decorative flourish on a letter
link to voltairenet.org
But the biggest ‘tell’ of of all is that Hillary Clinton sent Jeffrey Feltman to manage the “rebellion” in Tunisia. Feltman oversaw the “birth pangs of a new Middle East” in the rape of Lebanon in 2006.
Cry the Beloved Country — cry for Tunisia, cry for Egypt, cry for Iran, cry most of all for the most lost of all, the United States.
I have some revolutionary nails in my possession, all I need is the people to throw the bodies of these criminals into the well deserved coffin, and I will nail it shut – for good. You just have to know your enemy. Get together –
AMERICANA
“The main attraction, distraction
got ya number than number than numb
Empty ya pockets son, they got you thinkin that
What ya need is what they sellin
Make you think that buyin is rebellin’
From the theaters to malls on every shore
The thin line between entertainment and war
The frontline is everywhere, there be no shelter here
Spielberg the nightmare works so push it far
Amistad was a whip, the truth feather to tar
Memories erased and burned to scar
Trade in ya history for a VCR
Cinema, simulated life, ill drama
Fourth reich culture, Americana
Chained to the dream they got ya searchin for
The thin line between entertainment and war
There’ll be no shelter here!
The frontline is everywhere
There’ll be no shelter here!
The frontline is everywhere
There’ll be no shelter here!
The frontline is everywhere
There’ll be no shelter here!
The frontline is everywhere
Hospitals not profit full
The market bull’s got pockets full
To advertise some hip disguise
View the world from American eyes
Tha poor adore keep feeding for more
Tha thin line between entertainment and war
fix the need, develop the taste
Buy the products or get laid to waste
Coca-Cola was back in the veins in Saigon
In Rambo 2, he got a dope pair of Nikes on
Godzilla pure motherfuckin’ filler
Get your eyes off the real killer
Cinema, simulated life, ill drama
Fourth reich culture, Americana
Chained to the dream they got you searchin for
Tha thin line between entertainment and war
There’ll be no shelter here!
The frontline is everywhere
There’ll be no shelter here!
The frontline is everywhere
There’ll be no shelter here!
The frontline is everywhere
There’ll be no shelter here!
The frontline is everywhere
American eyes, American eyes
View the world from American eyes
Bury the past, rob us blind
And leave nothin behind
American eyes, American eyes
View the world from American eyes
Bury the past, rob us blind
And leave nothin behind
Just stare!
Just stare!
Just stare!
Just stare!
and live the nightmare!”
You have to wake yourself up
Hey yo
Lights, camera, tragedy, comedy, romance
You better dance from your fighting stance
Or you’ll never have a fighting chance
In the rat race
Where the referee’s son started way in advance
But still you livin’ the American Dream
Silk PJ’s, sheets and down pillows
Who the fuck would wanna wake up?
You got it good like hot sex after the break up
Your four car garage it’s just more space to take up
You even bought your mom a new whip scrap the jalopy
Thousand dollar habit, million dollar hobby
You a success story everybody wanna copy
But few work for it, most get jerked for it
If you think that you could ignore it, you’re ig-norant
A fat wallet still never made a man free
They say to eat good, yo, you gotta swallow your pride
But dead that game plan, I’m not satisfied
[Chorus]
The poor get worked, the rich get richer
The world gets worse, do you get the picture?
The poor gets dead, the rich get depressed
The ugly get mad, the pretty get stressed
The ugly get violent, the pretty get gone
The old get stiff, the young get stepped on
Whoever told you that it was all good lied
So throw your fists up if you not satisfied
{*Singing*}
Are you satisfied?
I’m not satisfied
Hey yo, the ants still steal
The anthrax got my whole earth wearin’ a mask and gloves to get a meal
I know a older guy that lost twelve close peeps on 9-1-1
While you kickin’ up punchlines and puns
Man fuck that shit, this is serious biz
By the time Bush is done, you won’t know what time it is
If it’s war time or jail time, time for promises
And time to figure out where the enemy is
The same devils that you used to love to hate
They got you so gassed and shook now, you scared to debate
The same ones that traded books for guns
Smuggled drugs for funds
And had fun lettin’ off forty-one
But now it’s all about NYPD caps
And Pentagon bumper stickers
But yo, you still a nigga
It ain’t right them cops and them firemen died
The shit is real tragic, but it damn sure ain’t magic
It won’t make the brutality disappear
It won’t pull equality from behind your ear
It won’t make a difference in a two-party country
If the president cheats, to win another four years
Now don’t get me wrong, there’s no place I’d rather be
The grass ain’t greener on the other genocide
But tell Huey Freeman don’t forget to cut the lawn
And uproot the weeds
Cuz I’m not satisfied
[Chorus]
{*Singing*}
All this genocide
Is not justified
Are you satisfied?
I’m not satisfied
Yo, poison pushers making paper off of pipe dreams
They turned hip-hop to a get-rich-quick scheme
The rich minorities control the gov’ment
But they would have you believe we on the same team
So where you stand, huh?
What do you stand for?
Sit your ass down if you don’t know the answer
Serious as cancer, this jam demands your undivided attention
Even on the dance floor
Grab the bull by the horns, the bucks by the antlers
Get yours, what’re you sweatin’ the next man for?
Get down, feel good to this, let it ride
But until we all free, I’ll never be satisfied
Alors on danse (X3)
Qui dit étude dit travail,
Qui dit taf te dit les thunes,
Qui dit argent dit dépenses,
Qui dit crédit dit créance,
Qui dit dette te dit huissier,
Oui dit assis dans la merde.
Qui dit Amour dit les gosses,
Dit toujours et dit divorce.
Qui dit proches te dis deuils car les problèmes ne viennent pas seul.
Qui dit crise te dis monde dit famine dit tiers- monde.
Qui dit fatigue dit réveille encore sourd de la veille,
Alors on sort pour oublier tous les problèmes.
Alors on danse… (X9)
Et la tu t’dis que c’est fini car pire que ça ce serait la mort.
Qu’en tu crois enfin que tu t’en sors quand y en a plus et ben y en a encore!
Ecstasy dis problème les problèmes ou bien la musique.
Ca t’prends les trips ca te prends la tête et puis tu prie pour que ça s’arrête.
Mais c’est ton corps c’est pas le ciel alors tu t’bouche plus les oreilles.
Et là tu cries encore plus fort et ca persiste…
Alors on chante
Lalalalalala, Lalalalalala,
Alors on chante
Lalalalalala, Lalalalalala
Alors on chante (x2)
Et puis seulement quand c’est fini, alors on danse.
Alors on danse (x7)
Et ben y en a encore (X5)
Jack, I’ve read your last paragraph several times and I still don’t understand it. Would you explain? thanks
elliot it might be my cuts that confuse you? did you go to postright for jack’s actionpakced original?
Okay, I’m baffled. I’m a newbie, relatively, on these issues compared to many others who post here, I suspect, so please excuse this question if it seems hopelessly naive: What do you mean by saying that the neocons don’t care about Israel–that for them it’s only a means to an end? What end? Are you talking about personal enrichment? I really don’t have a clue about what you might mean.
I’ve always thought of the neocons as being people who cared about very little other than Israel!
The religious neocons believe in Endtime prophecies which say that jesus will have his second coming once jews control the WHOLE of historic Palestine. And once jesus is amongst us again, if the jews don’t ‘submit’ to his christian holiness this second time round, then they will be killed in a christian crusade.
That’s why the alliance between jews and christian zionists is regularly referred to as the ‘unholy alliance’.
I liked this bit
“the uprising of scary brown people to end all uprisings of the same is shaking the world”
Wow, what a post. The last part is very thought-provoking. Israel as only a means to an end to proving to oneself the falsehood of Jewish stereotypes, combined with white liberal guilt, is what drives the neocons. It does seem to explain a lot.
The mock news show CNNNN
link to cnnnn.com
has a scrolling news bar.
link to www2b.abc.net.au
Two items on tonight’s bar. (As seen on TV, not the website.)
“Anti-Israeli statements taken as anti-Semitic”
“Palestinians begin to suspect Israel not 100% committed to idea of a Palestinian state.”
i don’t buy it at all, it smells to me like an escape hatch. providing some cover for the rats fleeing the sinking ship (israel). my view from the ground is that jewish left libs, let alone, neocons, care passionately about israel to the point of blindness. how else can you explain the obvious hypocrasy , prevarication, etc? i also believe that the israel obsession can spring up in mid-life, after sowing the wild oats of mingling with gentiles.
Wieseltier is one of those little minds who believe Operation Cast Lead is not “anti-democratic and anti-American.”