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January 15, 2008
Israel: Not an American Colony
Listen to this interview with former UN Ambassador Dorey Gold. The other day in my radio interview with Shalom USA, I said that the Israeli government is responsible for the recent rush to appeasement, not President Bush. Soccer Dad, who was sharing a microphone with me, told me later that he doubted the wisdom of my statement. But now, listening to Dorey Gold, Soccer Dad has come round to see that yes, it is primarily the Olmert government who is pushing for all the concessions to the Arabs, not the Americans. Seraphic Secret thanks Soccer Dad for bringing this important interview to our attention.
Too often Israelis and American Jews view Israel as a colony of America. Psychologically, this absolves Israel's leaders from their stupid and murderous decisions and safely shifts the blame to the big bad Americans.
This is a denial of responsibility, a ghetto mentality, the sign of a people who are afraid to take responsibility for their own fate—a people too timid to exercise national power.
Mere Rhetoric comments on the Dore Gold interview.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at January 15, 2008 03:55 PM
Comments
Seraphic Secret is private property, that's right, it's an extension of our home, and as such, Karen and I have instituted two Seraphic Rules and we ask commentors to act respectfully.
1. No profanity.2. No Israel bashing. We debate, we discuss, we are respectful. You know what Israel bashing is. The world is full of it. Seraphic Secret is one of the few places in the world that will not tolerate this form of anti-Semitism. That's it. Break either of these rules and you will be banned.
I don't think the two are mutually exclusive. You can accept that at its core the political state of Israel is a colony of the United States (I believe that would be consistent with traditional Jewish views of the diaspora and eschatology). And - at the same time - you can say to the Israelis - "Hey fellas, this is the most benign Roman emporer you will have have! Shape up! Act like a light unto the nations! And - at least act like you care about the survival of a Jewish civilization in the Holy Land."
Posted by: Real Name at January 15, 2008 08:22 PM
JPost headline: PA threatens to suspend negotiations after 'massacre'
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1200308089888&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
If only.
Posted by: kishke at January 15, 2008 08:37 PM
It's not that I totally disagreed with you, I just thought that President Bush deserved more criticism.
Elder of Ziyon has it right (in reviewing Jeff Jacoby's latest column) Of course, the current Israeli government has more than its share of blame for this situation - it is unreasonable for Israel's supporters to ask the White House to be more Zionist than Israel's own leaders.
Posted by: soccer dad at January 16, 2008 09:14 AM