Yesterday, I was reading a diary which reported that 87% of Jews voted Democratic this year. There was a really disturbing and unfortunate argument that took over the comments to the diary - an argument prompted by the suggestion that Jewish voters were voting for Jewish candidates, most of whom were Democratic. Personally, I believe that two of the posters were simply trying to bait Jews that were following the comments.
Still, some of what these two wrote is indicative of the attitudes of many so-called progressives. Even as I post this, there is a diary on the list that is nothing more than an anti-Israel smear. Anti-Semitism is nothing new, and won't disppear for generations, if ever. That said, I wanted to respond to the one poster who wrote that she knew lots of Jews who are liberal, except that they support Israel - implying that they are somehow abandoning their liberal values in supporting Israel. I ask: "Where is it written that support for Israel isn't `liberal?'"
I believe that support for Israel is just being true to the noblest ideals of liberal progressives -- from Woodrow Wilson's time, to the present day. If you doubt that, I'd like you to consider the following arguments -- starting with the politics of the situation: Israel is the only democracy in the region. It's basically a socialist country, though the economy is moving towards a more capitalist structure. Zionism was, historically, a liberal cause. Heck, Israelis still revere the kibbutz -- the ultimate socialist collective. How can one say that supporting this unique country isn't a liberal notion?
Then, there's the justice argument in supporting this fragile state -- home for the survivors of the greatest genocide in history -- surrounded by hostile countries that have manipulated the Palestinian issue for sixty years (Israel has only had the occupied territories for 39 years -- yet there has never been a Palestinian state). The Palestinians have gained far more autonomy since the territories came under Israel control, than they ever had before. Even though the U.N vote was to partition the territory into two states, Arab governments kept Palestinians in refugee camps and maintained their statelessness as a political tactic.
Israel's unilateral withdrawal from Gaza may not have been the wisest policy, but Israel withdrew from occupied Gaza, without so much as a promise of peace, or any other concession. And every day since then, Palestinians have fired rockets and mortars into Israel. How can we say that support for the brave people of Israel isn't liberal and progressive?
Some liberals think they should reject Israel because the neo-cons support it. The neo-cons in this country also got it into their head that we should invade Iraq. That doesn't mean that support for Israel is strictly a neo-conservative platform -- and there isn't a very strong connection between the two policies. Those who claim that there is a strong connection - that we invaded Iraq at Israel's behest or solely to protect Israel -- are just buying into anti-Semitic, anti-Israel propaganda. It's a bogus premise, at best - and a despicable lie, at worst.
For almost forty years, the U.S. has been an increasingly strong supporter of Israel, and that policy always has been a bi-partisan thing - one of the few things that Dems and Repubs could agree on. Before that, it was a Democratic President who made the all-important decision to recognize Israel -- when isolationist conservatives warned against it because of Arab oil blackmail.
I have not understood why the Democratic Party has become the more isolationist party, but the trend disturbs me. It's just bad policy that ignores all the lessons of history. I think it's the unfortunate by-product of Nixon's war years, and Reagan's extremist Central American adventurism. Of course, that isolationist instinct has been reinforced by the Bush Administration's calamitous adventure in Iraq.
I don't accept that support for Israel is a purely neo-conservative policy. Just because neo-cons support Israel, doesn't mean that true liberals can't also. If we define ourselves solely by rejecting whatever our opposite numbers support, then we truly become morally and intellectually bankrupt.
Ultimately, I cannot and will not accept the premise that support for Israel is somehow not "liberal." Perhaps, those who do not support Israel need to examine why they don't support Israel? Perhaps they should ask themselves why they believe that not supporting Israel is a badge of liberalism? Support for Israel doesn't mean that you have to agree with every Israeli government policy or that you have to blindly defend every action by its soldiers. It's about supporting the nation's right to exist, a right that few of Israel's neighbors even acknowledge.
Somehow, I think it's possible to be a patriotic American - or even a foreigner that supports the U.S. - and still disagree with some of our government's more aggressive policies. You can even be troubled by the conduct of some of our soldiers, if that conduct was barbaric and criminal. It doesn't mean you have to turn your back on the country or disavow its ideals. That's not a choice we are forced to make. As patriotic Americans, we can still support our country and speak for the ideals we have always treasured.
Similarly, you can support Israel and still be a true liberal. You just have to understand the predicament Israel finds itself in. You can be critical when criticism is warranted, but you don't have to reject support for Israel, believing it to be a hallmark of neo-conservative politics. It's not. It's the most progressive of all policies, in a region that gives new meaning to regressive, and archaically conservative government. It's heroic, idealistic and, most definitely, liberal.
This isn't just an esoteric argument, either. There will be at least one Jewish contender for the Democratic Party's nomination. When talk goes to Vice-Presidential candidates, other names will be floated, including one or two Jewish Democrats. Still other candidates will tout their support for Israel, at least when they get to New York (e.g. Al Gore, circa 1988). No one should question their patriotism, or their liberal progressive bona fides, just because they may express support for Israel -- or, G-d forbid, because their candidacy might be supported by other Jewish Democrats.