Reply #55: I agree, Israel isn't the enemy of US -- but Likud is

[MakeItSo]

People who speak for "the Jews" are the problem. "The Jews" are considerably more diverse in thought and opinion than those who speak for them would presume.

Most Israelis support a two state solution. The peace movement is vibrant in Israel, and politial viewpoints there are diverse, much more so than in the US.

Jews in the US overwhelmingly voted against Bush in both elections, and never supported the war any more than anyone else. Now, American Jews on average are more opposed to the war than most Americans.

But the fact of the matter is that AIPAC is closely aligned with Likud, and Likud is closely aligned with some of the primary architects of the Iraq war and the false intelligence that led up to it.

It's not that Feith, Wolfowitz, and Perle are JEWS that is the problem --- it's that they are LIKUDISTS. That's a documented fact. And the Likud, with AIPAC's assistance, worked closely with Wolfowitz and Feith -- through their "office of special plans" --- and with Perle to provide a false case for the Iraq War.

The Iraq War is a tragedy for the American people. Hence, I would argue that the Likud is the enemy of the American people. Not any more or less than the Bush administration, mind you.

Jews who fail to note the diversity of opinion among Israelis and among Jews in general -- about who they are and what they believe in -- ignore reality. They also do a disservice to the Jewish people by reinforcing a false stereotype that "the Jews" all think alike.

I speak as someone who is married to a Jewish person with Jewish children who are being raised in a Jewish household and belong to a synagague. I am in the process of conversion myself. I've been grappling with the issue of Israel for some time --- I probably would have converted long ago if not for this issue. That said, the more I learn about the Jewish people around the world, and their diversity of thought and opinion, the more I am comforted.

Israelis are like us in many respects --- they are victims of morally bankrupt leadership, but many of them still have the courage to stop the cycle of violence and fight for justice.

Truth is the friend of the Jewish people. It is an enemy of their Likud leadership, just as it is the enemy of the Bush Administration and the Republican party.

But regardless of its enemies and alliances, truth takes courage to face.