In today's bhtv diavlog Bruce Feiler and John Mearsheimer examine the role of the Israel lobby in American politics.
As background, Eric Alterman recently cited an 2007 survey of American Jewry in the Nation:
Jews are more liberal than conservative (43-25 percent) and far more Democratic than Republican (58-15 percent). This preference, significantly, extends to national security issues, often considered a Republican trump card. By a massive 61-to-21 percent margin, Jews say Democrats, not Republicans, are "more likely to make the right decision about the war in Iraq." Regarding terrorism, Democrats win 53-to-30 percent.
Why then, Eric asks, do American Jews allow conservative organizations to speak for them?
It's a good question. A new apartheid, the 'greatest crime of the 20th century' are terms that do nothing to persuade me of the legitimacy of different claims about the ME and Palestine.
Feiler, Alterman, Mearsheimer and Walt are not providing definitive answers to any questions. All are highly trained analysts who have written extensively on a variety of issues. Listening to informed critics is not just a choice, but a responsibility, IMHO.
I do not have the answer to any of the questions revolving around the ME.
Given America's long-term commitment to Iraq, willingness to intervene in Afghanistan and, possibly, Iran and to support dictatorships in Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Libya it would seem that we all need to improve our understanding of the region.
Update: Robokos in comments questions my use of the term 'allow'. That's the sense I get from Alterman, but Robokos has a point. Here's Alterman:
These views [of the majority of those responding to the survey], however, have been obscured in our political discourse by an unholy alliance between conservative-dominated professional Jewish organizations and neoconservative Jewish pundits, aided by pliant and frequently clueless mainstream media that empower these right-wingers to speak for a people with values diametrically opposed to theirs.