Is this the week Israel became a real political issue?
I actually really agree with what this guy is saying:
There was a time when American progressives and I agreed on every single thing, except Israel's treatment of the Palestinians.But something has been different this week: Blunt denunciations of Israel are being voiced by progressives and amplified by the media like never before, highlighting a widening divide on Israel between the Democratic Party's base and its Washington elite.
There was a time when progressives largely bought into the idea of Israel as a heroic underdog, a tiny miracle of a nation surrounded by hostile, hateful enemies just waiting for a chance to destroy it. But Israel's unyielding occupation of the West Bank, its siege of Gaza, and years of disproportionate aggression -- Lebanon in 1982 and 2006, the West Bank in 2002, Gaza in 2009 -- have all fostered disillusionment, even as national Democratic leaders have continued to parrot the Israeli line. A poll earlier this year found that Israel enjoyed a meager 42 percent favorable rating among Democrats, and a 49 percent disapproval rating.
That support stands to drop further -- to plummet, perhaps -- in the wake of the flotilla tragedy.
But, since the invasion of Gaza, the shift in their attitude has been extraordinary.
The Democratic leadership might still sound mostly the same - although Obama's pushing for an end to settlement building was a welcome change of tone - but the party's supporters have woken up to the brutality of the occupation.
Anthony Weiner was a darling of the left for his outspoken defence of Obama's health plans, but, since he issued the usual defence of all things Israeli, the base has turned on him:
Rep. Anthony Weiner's completely non-measured, non-conciliatory remarks on the Israeli attack on the humanitarian aid flotilla are proof that he'd rather be a successful New York politician than a prominent national liberal.The Democratic base are not going to fall into line behind their elected leaders on this one, something has to give.
Click here for full article.
No comments:
Post a Comment