Okay, let’s get this out of the way right now: There is a zionist lobby in America. They work hard to influence policy, they spend a lot of money promoting politicians they like, and they have a lot of influence in the Bush administration.<\/p>\n
So what?<\/p>\n
Everyone has a lobby. The major media have a lobby. The Chinese government has a lobby. The farmers have a lobby. Why the heck shouldn’t<\/i> the zionists have a lobby? And of course they spend money and influence policy; that’s the whole point<\/i> of having a lobby.<\/p>\n
This is so obvious, it’s boring.<\/p>\n
And yes, they’ve been very successful. So has the insurance lobby, so has the NRA. Inevitably, some lobbies are more successful than others. So what?<\/p>\n
Not all zionists are Jewish – but a lot of them are. This is entirely to be expected, and there’s nothing wrong with acknowledging it.<\/p>\n
Not all Jews are zionists. But the average Jew is more likely to be a zionist than the average non-Jew; and, more generally, the average Jew is more likely to be interested in Israel than the average non-Jew.<\/p>\n
Again, this is so obvious that it’s boring. Jews are more likely to be interested in Jewish issues just as American Indians are more likely to be interested in American Indian issues and just as farmers are more likely to be interested in farming issues.<\/p>\n
No one should be called an anti-Semite for saying any of the above. Anti-semitism is hatred of the Jews; you don’t have to hate Jews to believe any of the things I’ve just written.<\/p>\n
Yet people who criticize the zionist lobby are often accused of being anti-semitic – merely because they’ve acknowledged the lobby exists. People who criticize the zionist lobby and<\/i> refer to the obvious fact that zionists are disproportionately Jewish are guaranteed<\/i> to be labeled anti-semites.<\/p>\n
Too many zionists forget that zionism is not Judaism<\/i>. Not all Jews are zionists. Not all zionists are Jews. Someone who refers to zionism is not talking about “the Jews.” Someone who criticizes zionism is not being anti-Jewish.<\/p>\n
Every year, the word “anti-Semite” is degraded more. Accusations of anti-Semitism are flung about far too quickly and easily; zionists are becoming the boy who cried “wolf!” The goal, presumably, is to delegitimize criticism of Israel, by labeling all but the most mild, spineless criticisms “anti-Semitic.” But I’m afraid the result will be just the opposite; calling legitimate criticism “anti-Semitic” will wind up legitimizing real anti-Semitism. And that sucks..<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Okay, let’s get this out of the way right now: There is a zionist lobby in America. They work hard to influence policy, they spend a lot of money promoting politicians they like, and they have a lot of influence … Continue reading