Great article in today's Washington Post about Dean and "even-handedness" in Israel. Here are a few excerpts:
By Rabbi Michael Lerner and Cornel West
Tuesday, November 11, 2003; Page A25
In mid-September, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) joined Democratic Rep. Howard Berman of Los Angeles and several dozen other congressional Democrats in an extraordinary attempt to stop debate in the presidential primaries about America's approach to Middle East conflict. In a letter to candidate Howard Dean, the liberal Democrats criticized Dean's statement that if the United States wanted to play a positive role in bringing Israel and Palestine to peace, it would have to take a more neutral stance.
Pelosi and others insisted that these words were a violation of America's traditional tilt toward Israel, and that they could be interpreted as abandoning the U.S. commitment to Israel's survival. Of course Dean had neither intended nor implied any such thing. ... the public hand-slap sent a powerful message: Democrats can be against the war in Iraq, but they dare not question America's almost blind support for Ariel Sharon's government.
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Yet in precluding a serious public discussion of our Israel-Palestine policy, the liberal Democrats who are normally the champions of free speech are actually hurting the best interests of the United States, Israel and the Jewish people.
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[T]he Democrats should be giving a place to the many friends of Israel, both Jewish and non-Jewish, who believe that it is not domination over others but cooperation and reconciliation that will provide the best path to peace and security for the United States and Israel.
Full article at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A24513-2003Nov10.html