I posted this about 2 years ago. Given recent events, I'm bringing it back. For the record, I think the attack on the ship was hamhanded, immoral, and foolish.
I am a Zionist, I am a Jew, for a while I was almost an Israeli (I was oleh chadash, which means, roughly 'new immigrant', and lived in Israel from 1985 to 1988).
Can you criticize Israel and not be an anti-Semite? Of course.
Can you criticize Israel and not be accused of being an anti-Semite? Well, there are thousands of active kossacks .... there are probably a few who will do almost anything you could name. :-)
How to criticize Israel?
My thoughts, below the fold
UPDATE A very good discussion, and admirably free from lunacy. But I have to tell my son a story, then read for a bit, and go to sleep.
First thing is to get your basic facts straight:
Israel is a country in the middle east, founded in 1948. It's the size of New Jersey with fewer people than New York City. It's inhabited by Jews, Muslims, Christians, atheists, and probably nearly every other religion. Mostly, they live next to each other in peace, and mostly, they want to keep doing so.
Jews are people, of at least two ethnic groups (Ashkenazim and Sephardim) who share (sort of) a religion. Defining who is a Jew gets contentious, but a simple way to do is to ask people "Are you Jewish?" Answering 'yes' is good enough for me. The Jews have a very long history, with more than its share of oppression and hatred. There are Jews in most countries in the world.
AIPAC is a lobbying organization, attempting to lobby American politicians for what it sees as Israel's interests. Some Jews support AIPAC, some despise AIPAC (see my hand rising in the air?), some are indifferent, and some don't know it exists.
Next, be specific. Israel, like any other country, has done some wonderful things and some horrible things. Most criticism of Israel here is about the Palestinians. Fine. I'm appalled by that. But using that as your only reference to Israel is like using the Iraq war as your only reference to the USA. In other respects, a lot of what Israel does is admirable. Also, if you want to criticize acts of the current Israeli administration or some specific party, make that plain.
Third, be balanced. The history of the region is complex, convoluted and controversial. But there is plenty of blame to go around. Israel, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran, Iraq .... None of them ruled by saints. There's also lots of blame for the British and Americans.
Fourth, think about how you feel when a foreigner criticizes America, or a person not of your ethnic group or whatever criticizes your group. If you are like me, it feels different than when someone from within the group does it. Believe me, criticizing Israel is far from an unknown activity among Israelis.
Finally, recognize (even if you have problems with the fact) that many Jews around the world feel a connection to Israel; even Jews who have never been there may feel this. Just as Mrs. O'Leary may feel a connection with Ireland, even if she's never been to Dublin