web analytics
May 18, 2013 /9 Sivan, 5773
At a Glance
InDepth
Sponsored Post
jumping Following a Passion for Sports to Israel

In Israel, a new five month scholarship program being offered to young aspiring athletes – one of them could be you.



Home » InDepth » Op-Eds »

On Israel, Obama Brings Moynihan To Mind

Those who view American-Israel relations through a dualistic “are you pro-Israel or anti-Israel” lens must be confused.

tell a friend
Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Daniel Patrick Moynihan

So let’s reserve the term “anti-Israel” for the fanatics who deserve it, understand that most American leaders are pro-Israel and stop echoing the delegitimizers’ all-or-nothing rhetoric about Israel.

Moreover, this enduring pattern in U.S.-Israel relations further illustrates how self-defeating the ongoing totalitarian Arab strategy of delegitimization has been. Demonizing Israel, attacking Israel’s right to existence and targeting Israeli civilians perpetuates the conflict, escalating it into a zero-sum, 1948-like existential struggle rather than a solvable post-1967 boundary dispute. It strengthens Israel’s peace-through-strength camp while demoralizing its land-for-peace camp. And it keeps reinforcing the genuine, deep but occasionally fraught U.S.-Israel friendship.

(JTA)

tell a friend

About the Author: Gil Troy is a professor of history at McGill University and a Shalom Hartman Engaging Israel Fellow in Jerusalem. His latest book is "Moynihan's Moment: America's Fight Against Zionism as Racism."


You might also be interested in:


2 comments so far

You must log in to post a comment.

2 Responses to “On Israel, Obama Brings Moynihan To Mind”

  1. Ken Hagerman says:

    A mixed up confused Administration,One that pretends it for Israel, but secretly they are raving wolfs set on the fall of Israel….some wont agree with this but just think. They think if Israel was out of the way they would have a stable Middle East…After all Obama likes Muslim Brother Hood & all the Muslim country’s.

  2. Ken Hagerman says:

    A mixed up confused Administration,One that pretends it for Israel, but secretly they are raving wolfs set on the fall of Israel….some wont agree with this but just think. They think if Israel was out of the way they would have a stable Middle East…After all Obama likes Muslim Brother Hood & all the Muslim country’s.

  3. Charlie Hall says:

    One can oppose settlements and be pro-Israel. The last nine US Presidents fit that description!

SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend

Current Top Story
Mandy Patinkin speaking at a Peace Now conference
Yet Another Jewish Org Poised to Honor a BDS Enthusiast (video)
Latest Indepth Stories
William Dodd, the United States ambassador to Germany, in 1934.

The growing revelations that the Obama State Department watered down public statements on the attack in order to cleanse them of any mention of al Qaeda and terrorism is a travesty.

Secretary of State John Kerry shaking hands with Egyptian President Morsi. The Obama administration cannot even get itself to even use the word “Islamism,” let alone take a stand against the pervasive antisemitism created by Islamists at home and abroad.

We must confront Islamist groups with what Prime Minister David Cameron referred to as “muscular liberalism.”

Egyptian-born cleric Sheikh Yussef al-Qaradawi

Al-Qaradawi’s visit and statements also serve as a reminder that the Israeli-Arab conflict is centered, more than ever, around religion.

Louis Rene Beres

Everyone who reads newspapers should know at least one thing. Threats to annihilate Israel have always been unremarkable. Almost never, it seems, have Israel’s existential enemies sought any reason for concealment.

Mark Treyger, a candidate for city council in New York City’s 47th council district, met recently with the editorial board of The Jewish Press at the newspaper’s Boro Park office.

Israel’s government did not want to liberate Jerusalem. Or to be more specific, the Labor and National Religious Party ministers did not want to liberate Jerusalem. “Who needs that whole Vatican?” Defense Minister Moshe Dayan explained at the time.

Last Friday, the Western Wall underwent an unwelcome transformation from sacred site to media circus as the group known as the Women of the Wall sought to hold a decidedly non-traditional prayer service.

Two recent revelations have raised serious questions about the kind of government President Obama is running.

Readers of my monthly Baseball Insider column may have noticed its absence last week (the column appears in the second issue of every month). The reason for that is I have something more serious and personal to share with you, something that didn’t seem appropriate for a baseball column.

Herbert Romerstein died last week after a long illness. With Herb’s passing, we lose not only a good guy but a vast reservoir of knowledge that is not replaceable.

Freedom House recently released its annual report on press freedom throughout the world at an event sponsored by the Newseum in Washington. But along with the usual and appropriate condemnations of dictatorships and totalitarian states, the group decided to slam the one democracy in the Middle East as well as one of the few states in the region where press freedom actually exists: Israel.

What is the relationship between Pesach and Shavuos?
Rabbi Naftali Jaeger, rosh yeshiva of Sh’or Yoshuv, relates in the name of the Ishbitzer Rebbe a striking metaphor:

Now is the time for Ankara to take some corrective domestic and foreign policy measures consistent with what the country has and continues to aspire for but fails to realize.

Even Muslim Brotherhood think-tanks have said that the Shia, and especially Iran, are more dangerous threats than is Israel.

More Articles from Gil Troy
Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Those who view American-Israel relations through a dualistic “are you pro-Israel or anti-Israel” lens must be confused. In one week, the United States stands virtually alone with Israel against the Palestinians’ upgrade of their status at the United Nations, then immediately condemns Israel’s settlement expansion.

    Latest Poll

    If the Revelation at Mount Sinai were to be announced today...








    View Results

    Loading ... Loading ...

Printed from: http://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/opinions/96478/2012/12/19/

Scan this QR code to visit this page online:

Close