10 | AUGUST 6 • 2020
Views
L
ike many regular readers of
the Jewish News, I recently
came across what later
turned out to be a controversial
interview with
Rep. Rashida Tlaib
published in this
very newspaper.
Not for a single
moment did it
cross my mind
while reading it
that the mere deci-
sion to interview her was — in
and of its own — problematic, let
alone “outrageous” or “shameful,
”
as some readers suggested.
In fact, the more polarizing a
topic is — I naively thought —
the more important it is to put it
on the table, examine it from all
possible angles and let unpleas-
ant opinions surface, rather than
swipe them under the carpet.
This is not to say that free-
dom of speech shouldn’
t have its
limits. Yes, it’
s a difficult task to
determine where exactly those
limits should pass, but allow me
to not deteriorate into Godwin’
s
Law (which states that “as an
online discussion grows longer,
the probability of a compari-
son involving Nazis or Hitler
approaches”) by saying straight-
forwardly: Interviewing Rep.
Tlaib falls well within acceptable
boundaries.
Correct me if I’
m wrong,
but Tlaib is serving as the U.S.
Representative for Michigan’
s
13th Congressional district,
which includes the western half
of Detroit, along with several of
its western suburbs. This means
that she, as a politician, has a
direct influence on the people
living in those areas, among
whom are some — you guessed
it — Jews, even if they happen to
disagree with her.
If you are rolling your eyes
now, mumbling to yourself that I
must be one of those “self-hating
Jews,
” allow me to add fuel to
your fire.
A brief glance at my CV will
reveal an Israeli, secular, atheist,
left-leaning Jew who willingly
chose to relocate to Germany,
which means your ready-to-
pull Jew-O-Meter will show a
terrible score when grading my
Jewishness. Maybe you’
ll imme-
diately dismiss my claims.
But wait a second, not so fast.
I served in an IDF combat unit;
volunteered for 1.5 years with
Israel’
s Shnat Sherut scouting
program before my three-year
military service; will serve in the
army reserves until I’
m 45; and
was a member of a Zionist youth
movement my entire childhood.
That must give me some extra
points.
Dana Regev
essay
Guess What? Not All Jews are the Same
continued on page 12
power to declare war has been
significantly eroded in the past
century. Attempts to reverse
this development, such as 1973
War Powers Resolution, have
failed to prevent presidential
misadventures in Yemen; last
year, Congress for the first
time fully invoked its powers
under this law to roll back sup-
port for the Saudis, only to see
President Donald Trump veto
the measure.
With such sparse congres-
sional oversight, it is unsur-
prising how far America’
s
Yemen policy has blurred
the line between corporate
and national interests. Last
summer, as part of my work
with the Forum on the Arms
Trade, I watched, first in the
House and then the Senate, as
members of Congress asked
Assistant Secretary of State for
Political-Military Affairs R.
Clarke Cooper why the State
Department had overridden a
legal congressional freeze on
sales of laser-guided bombs
(for use in Yemen) to Riyadh.
It was known at the time
that the State Department’
s
legislative affairs team was
led by a former lobbyist from
Raytheon, which manufactured
much of the bombs sold in
the arms deal. It was not at all
clear from Cooper’
s testimony
what Americans gained from
the sale of an additional $8.1
billion worth of munitions to
Saudi Arabia, but it was abun-
dantly clear what Raytheon
gained from the policy. We
should not doubt the danger of
America’
s Yemen policy sim-
ply because it fails to benefit
the country as a whole. Some
Americans are benefitting
handsomely from it.
America’
s Yemen poli-
cy should worry any astute
observer of U.S. foreign
policy. In addition to com-
pounding the world’
s worst
ongoing humanitarian crisis,
U.S. involvement in Yemen
has sapped efforts to address
more pressing foreign policy
priorities. Far from alleviating
concerns over a hostile Iran or
terrorist havens, U.S. support
for the Saudi-led coalition has
made these outcomes more
likely. That such a senseless
policy has persevered is unsur-
prising if we consider the
unconstitutional distribution of
power and perverse financial
incentives at play. Tradition
implores Jews to question
authority. If American Jews are
serious about their country’
s
behavior abroad, they should
reject Washington’
s foolish
and immoral adventurism in
Yemen.
Ethan Kessler is a recent graduate of
the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
He is currently working on a political
campaign in Michigan.
YEMEN from page 8