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22

September 20 2007

Mearsheimer-Walt book. In fact, the
only time the authors cite the success-
ful ouster of Syrian occupation forces
is when arguing that Israel's policies
are inviting their return.
Similarly, the authors correctly
describe Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., a
Jewish Democrat, as "pro-Israel" and
as driving efforts to isolate Syria. But
they never mention the substantial
Lebanese-American community he
answers to in his Bronx district.
It is fair to ask why so much hay
should be made over three chapters
— on Iraq, Syria and Lebanon — in a
book with eight more, plus a substan-
tial introduction and conclusion.
The authors say they are not anti-
Semitic — Walt's eloquent, impas-
sioned condemnation of all its mani-
festations in our interview leads me
to take them at their word. But anti-
Semitism would be the consequence
should it become common currency
that Jewish and pro-Israel interests
are controlling U.S. foreign policy
in general, and especially a war that
increasingly is seen as this century's
first major fiasco.
While not anti-Semitic, the authors
clearly wish for a pristine foreign
policy community bereft somehow
of the interests that define the to and
fro of American political life. It's "OK:'
Walt said, for such interests to "advo-
cate policies that they think are good
for the United States and good for the
other society, too. This is just a fact of
life in America."
But then he adds: "It's also OK for us
to point out that individuals have mul-
tiple loyalties and to also argue that
those multiple loyalties may fog up
their view of what's in the American
interest. It's complicated."
Not really: What he's arguing is that
some interests are more equal than
others. And what appears to be cloud-
ed — especially in ascribing without
evidence an excessive pro-Israel inter-
est to the likes of Paul Wolfowitz — is
how the authors understand what it
means to be Jewish in America.
This matters because how Jews,
Israel, the pro-Israel lobby and the U.S.
government interact is critically impor-
tant and is begging for a little light.
Unfortunately that tale was not
forthcoming from authors who
abjured original research.
"The critical issue is whether or
not we would tell a different story or
someone else would tell a different
story if they did more extensive inter-
viewing than we did;' Mearsheimer
said. "And we're confident that would

not be the case. We regard the story
as basically correct, and doing more
interviewing would not alter the story
line in any way"
Yet such research would have led
them to learn that it was not AIPAC
but congressional Republicans who
during last year's Lebanon war under-
cut the efforts by Nancy Pelosi, D-
Calif., then the minority leader of the.
House, to include a line in a pro-Israel
resolution urging "all sides to protect
innocent civilian life."
It would have led them to report
that it was White House pressure, in
part, that pushed Israel in April to
distance itself for a week or so from
Pelosi's efforts to assure Syria that
Israel did not want war. II

Ron Kampeas is the Jewish Telegraphic

Agency Washington bureau chief.

Answering
Israel's Critics

The Charge
The Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb, senior
pastor of Bethlehem's Christmas
Lutheran Church, last week criti-
cized Israel for "its human rights
violations:' He described the Gaza
Strip as "the world's largest open-
air prison:' saying the rights to
movement are massively violated,
that people are blocked on all
sides from leaving. He compared
the West Bank "to Swiss cheese
where Israel gets the cheese and
Palestinians live in the holes."

The Answer
Gaza is controlled by the terrorist
Hamas, which has allowed more
than 100 missiles to be fired at
Israeli communities since taking
over the territory in June. Israel's
security measures, coordinated
with Egypt (which also shares
a tense border with Gaza) are
designed to protect civilian lives
and pressure Hamas leadership to
end support for violence. Regarding
the West Bank, Israel's military
recently announced that almost all
checkpoints and roadblocks have
been dismantled there in order
to promote Palestinian economic
activity and effective police actions
by the autonomous Palestinian
Authority.

— Allan Gale, Jewish Community

Relations Council of Metropolitan Detroit

©copyright Sept. 20, 2007 Jewish Renaissance Media