What is
this thing they call special relationship between America
and Israel ?
Is it for real or is it a charade everyone pretends to play because no one
knows how to get out of it? Well, this is a tough nut to crack, my friend, so
sit back and enjoy the ride while trying to figure a way to crack this nut.
There was a time in America when
“liberal” Jewish thinking was thought to be superior thinking because it was
seen to behave like the giant who could lap the intellectual Lilliputians of
America for breakfast but refrained from doing so because of the goodness of
his heart. A famous example of that was Alan Dershowitz who said something to
the effect that you cannot blame Israel for doing the things that
everyone else did at one time or another – and Dershowitz was deified for his
supreme eloquence and infinite wisdom.
What he said and the way he said
it was so succinct, so fresh and so powerful, the “conservative” Anglo thinkers
who used to dominate the intellectual landscape of America at the time were
made to look like bugs blinded by so much liberal light, they could not find a
shaded spot where to hide and catch their breath. But they did hide in a few
places, and they stayed there till they almost became extinct. There was one
exception, however, a place that was not too shaded, and where the Anglo
thinkers could stay almost unmolested. That was academia.
It was there in Academia that the
liberal Jewish thinking was parsed and shown to be nothing better than
intellectual masturbation. The Dershowitz saying, for example, was interpreted
to mean that Israel
had the right to inflict on the Palestinian people every horrible act that
anyone in history had ever inflicted on someone. This was no longer viewed as
reflecting the intellectual prowess of a giant; it was viewed as reflecting the
expressed desires of a Jewish bunch of terrorists.
Still, seeing themselves losing
their mettle and developing a kind of mental sclerosis around many issues of
the day, the conservative Anglos of academia took advantage of the fact that
their world was being filled with worldly academics that had come from Europe,
Asia and just about everywhere else in the world. They began to absorb what the
newcomers had brought with them and before long, became the new liberals of America ,
harboring a view of the world that was more akin to that of the United Nations
than that of the American isolationists of yesteryear.
Meanwhile, the Jewish liberals who
were outside academia and were seeing their intellectual prowess (once
considered supreme) being shattered like glass under the steamroller that was
“Christian” thinking – decided to jump onto the steamroller and occupy the
driver's seat. They did not quite make it to that seat, but were given a place
of honor in the passenger's seat. They became the new conservatives or the
neocons.
So now, the battle is raging
between the non-academic conservatives of which a withering Jewish group
continues to fight for control of the whole religious enchilada – and between
the academic liberals of which a withering Jewish group continues to fight for
control of the whole worldly enchilada. And this is where what used to be a
tough nut to crack is finally beginning to show signs of cracking.
With this background under the
belt, we now tackle the article that was written by Matthew Continetti under
the title: “The Influence Loophole” and the subtitle: “If lobbyists are
obligated to disclose foreign contributions, why not think tanks?” It was
published on September 20, 2014 in National Review Online. This debate has been
ongoing for a while now, and Continetti makes several references to that
effect.
What can help us crack the nut, as
tough as it is, would be a convincing answer to the question: What has Israel got that Norway does not? Even if we
disregard all of Israel 's
shortcomings, and take it at its word that it is a genuine liberal democracy in
the “Western” style, Israel
cannot be more so than Norway .
And yet, look what Continetti says about these two entities.
He says the following about Norway . “Take Norway , which
has given millions to think tanks. Among Norway 's
goals: Push the U.S.
government to fight deforestation. Why? Not out of environmental concern.
Slowing deforestation could buy more time for Norway's oil companies to sell
fossil fuels even as Norway push for new carbon reduction policies … It is one
thing if Tom Steyer gives money to harm his opponents and benefit his allies.
Steyer is an American. But it is another thing when a foreign government enters
policy debates – and does so in secret … Many of the countries giving to think
tanks are American allies like Norway .”
And he
says the following about Israel .
“The director of Brookings's foreign-policy program was overheard bashing the
Jewish State and its government over drinks at a hotel bar … During the war
between Israel
and Hamas, John Kerry attempted to broker a ceasefire. He did not spend too
long in Egypt ,
whose government had been leading the negotiations in cooperation with the
Israelis. Instead, Kerry set off to Paris
… But allies have nothing to fear from transparency. And Israel has a
broad, deep, and thriving community of supporters both Jewish and Christian.
There will always be an Israel
“lobby” because of the ethnic and religious and ideological connections between
our two countries.”
As can
be seen from the last passage, it would have been difficult to crack the nut.
In fact, it was because the argument favoring Israel was reduced to a one-liner.
It was said that Israel
was good because it was a democracy. From this wellspring – however false it
was -- came out all the praises about Israel ,
as well as the rejections of all the things that did not consider Israel supreme
in every way you can imagine.
But now
that we are in a position to ask the question: What
has Israel got that Norway does
not? And now that no convincing response can be given as to the specialness of Israel , the nut is cracked, and out of it comes
the sordid history of the Jews in America .
It is a history of Jews pretending
to be the best because they are superior liberals and not inferior
conservatives; and pretending at the same time to be the best because they are
superior conservatives and not inferior liberals. It is a sick joke that is
making no one laugh anymore.