Syvanen has a smart comment on TPM today:
When the Mearsheimer and Walt article came out [in 2006], discussion of its main
point was quite muted in the main articles and when referenced in the
comments, elicited very strong Zionist objections. And now its main
point is being casually mentioned — namely that there is a powerful
Jewish lobby that has pushed the US into positions in the ME that are
not only not in America's interest but only in the interests of an
expansionist Israeli state that is ultimately working against Israel's
real interest as well. On the eve of the Iraq war I made a similar
statement and was denounced in public as an antisemite by a formerly
respected colleague. That would not happen today.
point was quite muted in the main articles and when referenced in the
comments, elicited very strong Zionist objections. And now its main
point is being casually mentioned — namely that there is a powerful
Jewish lobby that has pushed the US into positions in the ME that are
not only not in America's interest but only in the interests of an
expansionist Israeli state that is ultimately working against Israel's
real interest as well. On the eve of the Iraq war I made a similar
statement and was denounced in public as an antisemite by a formerly
respected colleague. That would not happen today.
Of course I agree, especially with the last statement. And I think it underlines what my father told me a long time ago. When it comes to issues of Jewish power in American society, the changes happen "without fireworks." This is maybe a reflection of the Holocaust in American life. Last week in NY, Avrum Burg, a big brave guy who wants to drag Jewish identity into its empowered new reality, said, "I love polemics. I believe God created the world with polemics." And so I pray we will be willing to have polemical discussions with Syvanen and others without fear…
