...nor is it anti-Israel, nor a symptom of the illusory ad hominem "Israel Derangement Syndrome" canard. And yet, in response to my diary from earlier today, all three were lobbed with unfortunate frequency.
Critiquing America is not anti-American by definition, nor does critiquing the Obama administration always reflect some deep hatred for and bias against the United States.
Similarly, critiquing Israel is not anti-Israel by definition.
Instead, (in my case) it is the work of a progressive who endeavors to cast light upon and shift opinion away from those policies with which I disagree in Israel. My critiques do not stem from a hatred for the country, but rather from my unabiding love for it and my wish for it to realize its highest potentials...
...While it's difficult for some to accept, my critiques of Israel are progressive critiques, the kind that are written not to bury a country, but to expose those things that must be countered and changed in order for a country to survive as a democracy and thrive.
Though I suppose some here will never accept progressive critiques of Israel as possibly being a method of supporting Israel, just as progressive critiques of America are, at their core, attempts to support and change America for the better. But my view is that such a lack of acceptance is more a reflection on others than it is on me.
As for the "Israel Derangement Syndrome" charge that is often hurled my way, I will allow this wonderful comment below from "An Affirming Flame" to speak for me. (Note: AAF is responding to a commentor criticizing me for spending my time critiquing Israel, and none on other countries, such as Iran.)
Stop pretending like Israel is some little backwater that has nothing to do with the United States or its people and so Americans who are concerned with that country and its relations with Palestinians are just "deranged."
The United States gives billions to Israel in military aid. It protects the Israeli government's actions with its veto power in the UN Security Council. 9/10ths or more of both houses of our Congress fall all over each other, racing to outdo their colleagues in praising any and every internationally controversial action Israel takes (i.e. the Flotilla massacre, Cast Lead, etc.).
In short, our government has enormous influence over Israel and ties itself up in its actions. We see this and so does the rest of the world. Which, I don't know if you've heard, has caused us some rather large, shall we say, "public relations problems" with huge portions of the Muslim world that care deeply about the Palestinian struggle for liberation and see the US blocking that at every turn with its gigantic, uncritical backing of Israel.
Beyond that, Israel and our country both at least claim to be democracies. That means they are subject, at least theoretically, to the will of their citizens. Directed campaigns by outraged people here in the US just might change things for the better. Maybe reduce the uncritical nature of Israel-support from the US government; cause some rethinking in Israel; lift the burden of occupation on the Palestinians a little; reduce the persuasiveness of jihadist calls for attacks against Americans because of Israel a bit.
Iran's government is anti-American as a matter of ideology. It is run fairly autocratically. The US government does not unconditionally shower billions in military aid on it. It does not protect Iran in the UNSC and there is no overwhelming support for the Iranian government in our Congress; quite the opposite in fact.
So, we Americans could gather together in the millions and scream all we want about how terrible Iran is and it will not change a god damned thing. Our government is already hostile to it (actually, far too militarily hostile for most on the left's comfort) and the Iranian government would actually welcome that, as it would reinforce their claim that America is the primary enemy and use that to shore up its power over its people. It would be an exercise in futility and may even be counter-productive.
To sum up:
(1) Yes, we know Iran and other countries out there are run by terrible people who violently offend our values. There's just not that much we can fucking do about it, so we tend not to go off about them so much. We just hope the Iranian/other oppressed people can someday shuck off their overlords. We cheer quite loudly if/when that happens.
(2) Israel, on the other hand, leaves us with hope of having some positive influence on the situation. If we can raise enough hell, we just might be able to reduce suffering and increase some real freedom in this world. So we give a shit about what happens there and raise hell about it.
Nothing deranged about that.
I will continue to critique Israel when it is necessary to do so, not because of any derangement, not because of any self-hating anti-Semitism, but because my investment in Israel is so strong that I can do nothing else but support a country I dearly love by trying to do, what I can through my writing, to change it for the better.