Soccer Dad

The Left's Strange Love of Israel

In this week's Baltimore Jewish Times, publisher (link only good this week) Andrew Buerger defends leftists against charges of Dennis Prager that

All I know is that most Jewish "leftists" love Israel with all their heart. Didn't many leftists create the Jewish state? Today, "liberals" are busy raising millions of dollars to help their kin in Israel ó despite their opposition to Mr. Sharon's policies.

Four years ago this summer, President Clinton and Prime Minister Ehud Barak tried to forge a peace agreement unwanted by the right. No leftists called the right anti-Israel for challenging the elected government.

That last sentence, I'm sure, is false. American's for Peace Now have never been quiet about criticizing American Jews who don't support Israeli government programs that they support. I don't believe that it is the place of American Jews to protest the decision of an Israeli government publicly. That's a right we will earn when we move to Israel.

Here's a recent ad from Peace Now. Though the ad claims to be "pained" to criticize other Jews who love Israel as much as they do, the "check" at the top is so unsubtle in its disparaging of those who disagree with APN that it is hard to see their pain.

As for loving Israel as much as though on the left, I really don't know. I was surprised when I went to the Israel Policy Forum website and saw an article, "Why the Outcry Over UN Fence Decision?" Here's part of the argument:

The resolution on the security barrier, like the General Assembly vote, in no way reflected on Israel’s right to exist. If anything, it affirmed that right, by conceding that Israel had the right to build a wall, fence or anything else on its side of the Green Line. Its ruling applied only to the West Bank. Why is it surprising that the UN feels that way? Right or wrong, the entire world – with the exception of Israel itself – considers the West Bank to be occupied Palestinian territory.

And if the entire world is wrong, shouldn't we be saying something about that?
But here's one of the points that critics of the ICJ decision have pointed to:

Self-defence - Article 51 of the Charter - Attacks against Israel not imputable to a foreign State - Threat invoked to justify the construction of the wall originating within a territory over which Israel exercises control - Article 51 not relevant in the present case.

Think about that, because the PA is not a state, Israel may not defend itself against that. (Expand that thought, Al Qaeda is not a state ...)
Then there's this

Settlements established by Israel in breach of international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory - Construction of the wall and its associated régime create a “fait accompli” on the ground that could well become permanent - Risk of situation tantamount to de facto annexation - Construction of the wall severely impedes the exercise by the Palestinian people of its right to self‑determination and is therefore a breach of Israel’s obligation to respect that right.

Essentially this codifies Palestinian self determination as an international right that supersedes even Israel's right to self defense - never mind that the claimant in the case the PLO an organization that still has a charter calling for the destruction of a member state of the UN.
For the IPF to claim that there's nothing to worry about in the ICJ decision is for them to be absolutely blind to the implications of the decision. It puts IPF's belief that a Palestinian state will lead to peace - against all available evidence - ahead of Israel's well being. For such people to claim a love of Israel is a bit of stretch. They love a certain Israel; one led by Ariel Sharon or Binyamin Netanyahu is not that state. (Yes even if they support withdrawal from Gaza they will try to undermine the government of Sharon in any other way that doesn't fit their agenda.)
So I find myself agreeing with Dennis Prager on this. APN and IPF are not friends of Israel.
Crossposted on Israpundit and Soccer Dad.

Posted by SoccerDad at July 26, 2004 05:30 AM | TrackBack