For the last 20 years, the Right has worked hard to convert support for Israel from an area of bipartisan consensus into a topic for Republicans to beat Democrats with. Even Washington’s most tepid disagreement with the Israeli government will be lept upon by right-wingers as an indication that the US is selling out the Jewish state — even though in most of those circumstances, the American position arguably helps Israeli democracy more than Jerusalem’s own.
No organization has played a more prominent role in this effort than the Emergency Committee for Israel, yet another fake think tank cooked up by conservative welfare recipient Bill Kristol. Kristol’s foreign policy credentials comprise a series of embarrassingly wrong and ill-informed predictions about future events. But his real talent seems to be inventing think tanks that he can get gullible GOP billionaires to spend money on.
Still, one might think that in the past week and a half, with Israel in the midst of a genuine security crisis (whatever you think of it on the merits), that an “Emergency Committee” might have something to say. Statements of support? Lobbying efforts? Op-eds? Something?
Well, no. A check of the Emergency Committee’s website has nothing on the current crisis. Indeed, its Twitter feed has nothing on it in the last 87 days. All that the front page contains is a series of stale tweets, advertisments, and statements criticizing Democratic candidates for not standing with Israel. ECI has produced a lots of anti-Obama propaganda, including an infamous and deceitful audio mash-up where Obama is supposedly debating Netanyahu, which now must be somewhat embarrassing given the President’s support for Israel in the current crisis. The Emergency Committee for Israel has a lot to say during domestic elections, but what about when an Israeli public relations effort would really need it? Sorry. Must be on vacation.
None of this should be surprising, of course. The Right’s supposed love of Israel is really more about its own domestic goals. American Jews get this, which is why 70% of us voted for President Obama. But Israelis should understand this as well: Republicans will make a lot of noises, but unless it serves their own political interests, they don’t really give a goddam.
Warning to commenters: this is a post about the domestic politics of foreign policy, not about the crisis itself. Comments violating RBC’s policy on relevance and civility will be ruthlessly deleted.
Bill Kristol. Smart, but sadly for him, his actually quite brilliant if somewhat paranoid parents, and us, regression to the mean is a real phenomenon.
Does this count as relevant?
last 87 days?? Wny, they have an attack ad against Tammy Baldwin that is just over a month old! How dare you defame poor, defenseless, blameless, brilliant Bill Kristol like that ???
http://www.committeeforisrael.com/media gives the date as Oct 11. That was practically this afternoon!
The Twitter feed is 87 days old; but as you say, there is something 38 days old as well. Well, then!
Comments violating RBC’s policy on relevance and civility will be ruthlessly deleted.
An AIPAC-style (domestic political group) preemptive slap down. Guess I’ll just put a sock in it.
Good for you, working in your little paranoid AIPAC dig.
Self-refuting, as these claims always are. You poor persecuted fellow! Pre-emptively slapped down!
I disagree (civilly! relevantly!!) with two things Jonathan said.
First, I don’t find 70% of the Jewish vote for Obama anything to be proud of. We didn’t do as well as black and Latino voters, and didn’t do as well as we did last time. I can understand a few alter kocker votes for Republicans. But 30%? A regular shonde for the goyim!
Second, I think that many Republican elites care about Israel for reasons other than the Revelation vote and Sheldon Adelson’s megabucks. They view Israel as a role model for the United States: unashamed about both plutocracy and kicking wog butt.
Fair on both counts. But as to the latter, they don’t even seem to care about it now!
We didn’t even do as well on this score as Asian Americans, according to the stats that I saw, which put that collection of ethicn groups at higher support for Obama then Hispanics!
I agree with this, but I wonder about the implications. I know people who probably voted for Romney, but, hey, I’m nothing if not tolerant of opposing views. But it’s beyond my comprehension that a Jew – other than Adelson, Eric Cantor (talk about a shonde!) and a handful of NRO/Weekly Standard writers – would do that.
It’s equally beyond my comprehension that women would vote for Romney, but obviously they did. Some things just defy explanation.
Why shouldn’t rich women (or rich fathers of daughters) vote for Romney? Rich Republican women can always leave the country for a short trip if they, uh, have to. Maybe a particularly benighted state might try the Nicaraguan solution. But not to worry! The Roberts Court would surely find that the right to travel without a pesky pregnancy test for those who can afford it is even more sacred than the Second Amendment.
Of course, this wouldn’t work for about 80% of Americans.
G-d in heaven. Yes, Israel is a plutocrat’s heaven, and finally the Jews have learned to kick some wog butt… and love it! Because, you know, what are our mothers and fathers dreaming of at our Bar and Bas Mitvahs? Medical school? The piano? Usury? No, kicking wog butt. That’s what our Israeli cousins dream of growing up to do.
Note that he was explicating the Republican view of Israel, not the real Israel. Quite aside from the question of actual Israeli behavior, I think he has nailed GOP perceptions thereof perfectly.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Karp
“The Right’s supposed love of Israel is really more about its own domestic goals.” There are probably many people– maybe even on the right– who see it the other way round: The neo-con (Kristol, Podhoretz, Krauthammer, et. al.) support for domestic right-wing politicians is really about the concern for Israel. They want the US to back the Israeli hawks, and if that means joining hands with Pat Robertson or Sarah Palin or whoever, so be it.
The Israeli hawks must be really winning over American public opinion, indeed they must have won, if in a ‘so called´ reality-based progressive blog, on the only post on the conflict thus far, the other side is not mentioned once, while the poster refers obliquely to the crisis in Gaza,(from which no commentator, or Obama for that matter departs) as an “Israeli security issue”.
Yes, Steve. The term “Palestinian security issue” is a bit jarring.
Kristol is just being true to his Trotskyite heritage! The original “Emergency” Committee was the Emergency Civil Liberties Union, founded as breakaway from the ACLU when the latter was too accommodating to anti-Communist regulations. As a matter of our understanding of the First Amendment, the ECLU was probably “right”, but its leadership was indeed composed of Communists and genuine fellow travelers. [Comment cross-posted at Washington Monthly]