A beautiful post by Andrew Sullivan calling for an end to aid to Israel– long ago — because it violates “western values”:
I would have suspended all aid to Israel when it refused to stop its settlement policy on the West Bank…So let me just reiterate something that has no chance of ever happening, but I might as well put on the record: we should treat Israel as any other recipient of US aid. If a country is occupying and settling land conquered through war, if it’s treating a minority population with inhumanity, the US should stand up for Western values. It should not single Israel out; but we have to stop treating Israel as the exception to every other US foreign policy rule.
That’s the ending. The body of the post concerns the misuse of anti-Semitism charges by Jewish organizations in an effort to marginalize the 15 churches that have called for the U.S. to consider ending aid to Israel. “A new wave of anti-Semitism” is the url for the post.
What did they [church leaders] say, what word did they use, what “code” or “trope” did they slip into that proves their Jew-hatred? From a letter signed by 15 leaders of Christian churches:
“Through … direct experience we have witnessed the pain and suffering of Israelis as a result of Palestinian actions and of Palestinians as a result of Israeli actions. In addition to the horror and loss of life from rocket attacks from Gaza and past suicide bombings, we have witnessed the broad impact that a sense of insecurity and fear has had on Israeli society.
“We have also witnessed widespread Israeli human rights violations committed against Palestinians, including killing of civilians, home demolitions and forced displacement, and restrictions on Palestinian movement, among others. We recognize that each party—Israeli and Palestinian—bears responsibilities for its actions and we therefore continue to stand against all violence regardless of its source. Our stand against violence is complemented by our commitment to the rights of all Israelis, as well as all Palestinians, to live in peace and security.”
Here’s the response from the Jewish Council For Public Affairs:
“The letter signed by 15 church leaders is a step too far. The participation of these leaders in yet another one-sided anti-Israel campaign cannot be viewed apart from the vicious anti-Zionism that has gone virtually unchecked in several of these denominations… Their stony silence to the use of anti-Judaism and relentless attacks on the Jewish state, often from within their own ranks, speaks loudly to their failure to stand up and speak the whole truth about what is occurring in the Middle East.”
Funny, but in the quote from the churches I just cited above, there is no “stony silence” at all – in fact a clear defense of Israelis right to be free from the pain and suffering caused by terrorism by Hamas and others. So what’s the point of the letter? “We asked Congress to treat Israel like it would any other country,” the Rev. Gradye Parsons, the top official of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) told the Times, “to make sure our military aid is going to a country espousing the values we would as Americans — that it’s not being used to continually violate the human rights of other people.”
Thanks to Peter Voskamp and Harold Hjalmarson.
If mainstream Christians actually opposed US support for Israel, it would stop.
Apropos your remark, and the article subject matter here: John (“Imagine”) Lennon V The MOTs:
http://www.algemeiner.com/2012/10/21/john-lennon-and-the-jews-a-philosophical-rampage-review/
this letter from the churches has legs. congress won’t do anything but it’s getting the word out. the slogan about ‘sharing our values’ is one of the best pr myths/slogans/lies out there. kudos to sullivan for zeroing in on it. note the last line here:
I feel sorry for Israel. I mean, at the time, they created Israel, the way they did it was ‘consistent with our values’, right? And then, we went and changed on them? How are the poor Israelis going to keep up when we change our values on them all the time? It’s just so obvious how much our values have changed, isn’t it? I mean just look at what we are doing in Iraq and Afghanistan. It should be clear just how much our values have changed. We’re really sorry for confusing you Israel. It must be hard dealing with the whiplash.
That ‘western values’ line from Sullivan just rubbed me up the wrong way. Just how much freakin’ amnesia do people in the west have?
Well, aggressive conquest and colonization of subject peoples has certainly been a large part of the history of “the west”…
But assuming for the sake of argument that western values represents enlightment thinking and respect for human rights, it’s interesting that Israel routinely seeks to compare it’s situation with those of a distinctly “non western” set of countries (“why don’t you criticize Sudan, N. Korea, etc. instead of singling out Israel”). The gay bar scene of Tel Aviv notwithstanding, it’s arguable that Israel has a lot more in common with Syria and the other countries surrounding it which receive so much criticism in the media.
This Western identity seems to be something one can easily slip in or out of depending on what’s convenient at any given time, just as Michael Oren and Rahm Emmanuel slide effortlessly between their American and Israeli identities…