Very well stated, thank you for this piece. American Jews must insist in the civil society and freedom of discourse that protects all Americans, and not fall for the trap of claiming Democrat "special status" that has failed all minorities. Israel deserves support as an ally contributing much to the United States, whose values and Democratic process are closer to our own than others in the region, and whose sovereignty was breached.
Well said, Chris. The comments to your post seem to demonstrate that your analysis of current American views is accurate. As one who has spent much of my adult life in foreign policy, I think your recommendations for a coping strategy are the right approach. Many Americans do not personally have the opportunity to see how Israel's presence in the Middle East has slowly assisted liberalization in places like the UAE and even Saudi Arabia. Trump's Abraham Accords were based on this reality and provide a foundation for a renaissance in the Middle East, which will ultimately lead to democracy in Iran. This is key to blunting Chinese and Russian influence there.
Well stated Lloyd and right on point and this is why Americans need to understand how Israel images Western values and how there is and continues to be positive, life supporting changes in the Middle East and hopefully beyond.
Agreed with your comments. However, after experiencing the anti semitism of the last two years from both the right and the left I am skeptical that real information would make a difference. The left cries “ genocide” and no amount of information, data, statistics, expert non- partisan analysis by the likes of John Spencer will change their mind. They are in the DEI world of oppressors and the oppressed. The hard right, in the America first group listens to the social media “ experts” who talk about the Mossad, conspiracy theories, and how Zionists rule the world. No amount of data of the contributions of Israel to the US, whether it’s geopolitical, economic , medical will change their thinking. Many of the same veterans that fought terror for the past few decades fall into this camp. And the “ new” Christians, now believe that the Jews success is because of the deal we made with the devil. Nothing rational about any of the above groups that will be swayed by data, facts and numbers. Unfortunately.
I largely agree. I do think that persuasion should be how we respond. I also think that there is a subtle form of antisemitism that is becoming increasingly influential on the political right and unless one is informed about the various forms that antisemitism can & has taken one can easily be duped into thinking it’s legitimate criticism when it’s not. To me, if we’re demanding to have sort of say in Israel’s military strategy then we should demand the same thing from Ukraine (or any other ally); otherwise it’s a double standard & that indicates bias. Bias against Israel is a subtle form of antisemitism.
Speech is speech. It should not be parsed into prosecutable categories. The First Amendment protects all speech. The response to speech with which you disagree (or agree) is simply more speech, not censorship or prosecution. If we allow that to happen, all is lost.
We should care less about them because they are simply experiencing the consequences of their actions and decisions. They have been harassing Israel since 1948, they have started countless wars, they have refused a Two-State solution on several occasions and they voted for Hamas in 2006.
Meanwhile, Israel has a mutually beneficial relationship with the USA and Europe in terms of technology and security. It would be best for us if Israel won the war.
You miss the whole points of Chris' article: Values.
Judaism's Torah is nothing if not an encyclopedia about good values, and the insistence that Jews should strive their entire lifetime towards being better people. Obviously many Jews fail miserably, but the underlying message never goes away.
Islam, on the other hand, has pretty much the opposite message: Jihad, endlessly build the caliphate despite what horrors are committed to do so, taqiyya, etc...
Jews are the most privileged people on earth, privileged in the sense that they are hated by almost all political sides from left to right and even in the center. Candace Owens Tucker Carlson, and going a little farther to the right the KKK all condemn Jews and the Jewish state. In a sense Candace Owens has more in common with David Duke than she has with Martin Luther King. Tucker Carlson swims along the conspiracy theories, yelling, and screaming about a friendly fire incident, which apparently he thinks has a deeper conspiracy, the logic of which escapes the clever minds of many. The left is screaming genocide and starvation. The right is screaming illogical conspiracy theories and the center looks helpless. If the center picks up the scent of Jew hatred, they will support it, but of course with qualifications. “Some of my best friends are Jews“, and then turn around and gladly smile when tragedy strikes the Jewish people. Those Jews with that special condition of Stockholm syndrome, such as Bernie Sanders, or Senator Schumer will do everything to discard their Jewishness and walk out in public deriding the Jewish state and condemning it for defending itself all part of stripping off their Jewish identity.Chaim Rumkoski would be proud of such Jews, he met his end trying to appease the Nazis. Well, the center seeks to justify the death and destruction of Jews. They have all the reasons on top of a stack of antisemitic literature to spread throughout the world by the generosity of Qatar and the Tucker Carlson‘s of the world. A new Hitler Stalin pack has been achieved only this time it’s the extreme left and the extreme right joining hands in its condemnation of Jewish life and existence.
"privileged in the sense that they are hated by almost all political sides from left to right and even in the center."
But how does it operate? I was told that envy of Jews drives people to it, but for too many anti-Semites, I've found that's not it at all. It's a perceived sense of injustice, that is, injustice to *anti-Semites*, and that's how the whole persuasion argument needs to confronted and laid out, no matter how twisted it may seem. Publicly, openly, inclusively, completely, with all of those permanently, if we want actual eradication. Otherwise, I don't understand what we think we're doing here.
Example: Israel's and supporters' focusing on Oct 7 victims is failing as persuasion in the war against Hamas, as it is not addressing Gazans in addition.
Hamas is a death cult They expose their civilians to harm on purpose. Martyrs are much more valuable to a death cult than living people whose lives are protected by the just in this case, the unjust has taken control and the world which Gazans inhabit have exposed themselves in a suicide pack with the Islamic world.
"On the right, many supporters of Israel, including prominent Republican politicians, argue that America has a theological duty to support the Jewish state. Their view is based on a complex interpretation of biblical prophecy....."
NOT just that but political, practical reasons
"Supporters of Israel should make clear exactly where the lines of the Venn diagram intersect."
We DO, and the Tucker Carlson's (I could Name Others) Don't listen.
After 2 years since October 7, most of Jews should realize that we cannot win the PR war against Islam and against indoctrinated leftists and extreme right that dusted off again the oldest Jew hatred fueled many times by foreign money. All Jews in Israel and in Diaspora can only achieve peace by strength and not just only by defensive strength. Our enemies everywhere must fear our offensive strength. We must be self reliant and not be dependent on our allies for moral or military support; start by changing IDF to IWF! We cannot wait for another October 7.
Well said on a most divisive subject. I have an issue with your mention of the ADL as an advocacy group. They are a fringe leftist group representing themselves and NOT any sane Jews.
Now we need to get you Chris on a national University board to oversee changes the support our western American values and thwart extremism simultaneously.
Reason must prevail over unfettered emotion. Emotions are natural but must be submitted to God or else more blood will be needlessly shed.
Our enemies rely on our emotional reactions to ‘checkmate’ us into making bad behavioral choices. History is riddled with evidence to back up this view. After all, what exactly is ‘hate’?
Watching world events unfold too often reminds me of watching unsupervised toddlers trying to negotiate the pecking order in a room equipped with a few attractive toys. Some resort to bad behavior as they lay claim on a favorite to play with. Is this how ‘adults’ are supposed to behave as they play with bigger more lethal toys? I think not.
Maybe the so-called ‘adults in the room’ are not adults at all but merely large people with poor ‘locus of control’ and deceptive subtext guiding them as they enlarge their store houses, filling them with more money and bigger bombs.
All one has to do is study human history seriously for a day or two to discover how what I’m talking about has played out since humanity was banished from the garden of Eden.
We need something more powerful than new laws to change our behavior. We need to be rewired internally. Not by engineers but by the transformation of our minds humbly placed by trust under a new spirit. A holy spirit that is able to renew our thinking. Thinking that is compatible with treating others more highly than ourselves. Thinking that willingly offers our toys to another, along with instructions for how to use them to the benefit of all, not just to satisfy selfish desire.
Ultimately, America’s best interest should encompass the best interest of all human beings regardless of color, language, geographical location. How can this work practically? Ah, that’s the billion dollar question that no one can agree on.
It's been said "Insanity Is Doing the Same Thing Over and Over Again while Expecting Different Results"
The Israel-Arab-America conflict qualifies to be defined in this way. Agree or disagree?
Are we all satisfied with behaving like insane people? Seems so.
The instruction manual I've been reading says this about that:
Ephesians 4:25-32
25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.
26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil.
28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.
29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Excellent analysis of our current quagmire and I especially loved your opinion on how to crawl out from under the dross. One thing to keep in mind is that it's not just us Jews who are being hunted and reviled. We're usually the first to be put in the line of fire, but now it's Christians and other denominations of people having religious beliefs. Politicians holding conservative values and love of our beautiful country are included in the unhinged lefts gun sights. There is such clarity now of who stands on the side of good and who stands on the side of evil. May all of us on the side of good prevail and save our nation.
Presently, there are specific segments of the population that are granted extra special status, which your suggesting would negate. Your concept of equal treatment and protection is a unicorn fantasy dream as long as anti Semitic clubs and influential moneys coming from anti Semitic Islamic groups are allowed to continue to spew their hatred and influence on college campuses. This also included Chinese communist and left wing groups and professors which support these agendas.
Very well stated, thank you for this piece. American Jews must insist in the civil society and freedom of discourse that protects all Americans, and not fall for the trap of claiming Democrat "special status" that has failed all minorities. Israel deserves support as an ally contributing much to the United States, whose values and Democratic process are closer to our own than others in the region, and whose sovereignty was breached.
Well said. Equal protection makes it impossible to deny.
Well said, Chris. The comments to your post seem to demonstrate that your analysis of current American views is accurate. As one who has spent much of my adult life in foreign policy, I think your recommendations for a coping strategy are the right approach. Many Americans do not personally have the opportunity to see how Israel's presence in the Middle East has slowly assisted liberalization in places like the UAE and even Saudi Arabia. Trump's Abraham Accords were based on this reality and provide a foundation for a renaissance in the Middle East, which will ultimately lead to democracy in Iran. This is key to blunting Chinese and Russian influence there.
Well stated Lloyd and right on point and this is why Americans need to understand how Israel images Western values and how there is and continues to be positive, life supporting changes in the Middle East and hopefully beyond.
Including, I guess, a strong military capable of smashing an enemy? In some ways this is the image of America that I don't like.
Agreed with your comments. However, after experiencing the anti semitism of the last two years from both the right and the left I am skeptical that real information would make a difference. The left cries “ genocide” and no amount of information, data, statistics, expert non- partisan analysis by the likes of John Spencer will change their mind. They are in the DEI world of oppressors and the oppressed. The hard right, in the America first group listens to the social media “ experts” who talk about the Mossad, conspiracy theories, and how Zionists rule the world. No amount of data of the contributions of Israel to the US, whether it’s geopolitical, economic , medical will change their thinking. Many of the same veterans that fought terror for the past few decades fall into this camp. And the “ new” Christians, now believe that the Jews success is because of the deal we made with the devil. Nothing rational about any of the above groups that will be swayed by data, facts and numbers. Unfortunately.
I largely agree. I do think that persuasion should be how we respond. I also think that there is a subtle form of antisemitism that is becoming increasingly influential on the political right and unless one is informed about the various forms that antisemitism can & has taken one can easily be duped into thinking it’s legitimate criticism when it’s not. To me, if we’re demanding to have sort of say in Israel’s military strategy then we should demand the same thing from Ukraine (or any other ally); otherwise it’s a double standard & that indicates bias. Bias against Israel is a subtle form of antisemitism.
Speech is speech. It should not be parsed into prosecutable categories. The First Amendment protects all speech. The response to speech with which you disagree (or agree) is simply more speech, not censorship or prosecution. If we allow that to happen, all is lost.
I hope they paid you more than $7,000 for this piece.
Aurens - walking in the footsteps of Goebbels. Yours are the twisted values Chris cautions us about.
And your values are those of philo-Semitic bootlicking.
Why the fuck should we care about Jews as Europeans?
Give me ONE reason.
Not much. But we should care even less about Palestinians.
Why?
There has to be somebody that compensates for the philo-Semitism existing in the West and the many Jewish people in positions of power and influence.
It's just two Semite populations. They are not different in any significant way for Europeans.
TL;DR - foreigners.
We should care less about them because they are simply experiencing the consequences of their actions and decisions. They have been harassing Israel since 1948, they have started countless wars, they have refused a Two-State solution on several occasions and they voted for Hamas in 2006.
Meanwhile, Israel has a mutually beneficial relationship with the USA and Europe in terms of technology and security. It would be best for us if Israel won the war.
We'll agree to disagree.
Also I am not American so I couldn't care less about like 40% of your country either.
The other 60% that are still European in heart and genetics, God bless.
You miss the whole points of Chris' article: Values.
Judaism's Torah is nothing if not an encyclopedia about good values, and the insistence that Jews should strive their entire lifetime towards being better people. Obviously many Jews fail miserably, but the underlying message never goes away.
Islam, on the other hand, has pretty much the opposite message: Jihad, endlessly build the caliphate despite what horrors are committed to do so, taqiyya, etc...
There you go. Any support of Israel has the accusation of being bought and paid for.
Jews are the most privileged people on earth, privileged in the sense that they are hated by almost all political sides from left to right and even in the center. Candace Owens Tucker Carlson, and going a little farther to the right the KKK all condemn Jews and the Jewish state. In a sense Candace Owens has more in common with David Duke than she has with Martin Luther King. Tucker Carlson swims along the conspiracy theories, yelling, and screaming about a friendly fire incident, which apparently he thinks has a deeper conspiracy, the logic of which escapes the clever minds of many. The left is screaming genocide and starvation. The right is screaming illogical conspiracy theories and the center looks helpless. If the center picks up the scent of Jew hatred, they will support it, but of course with qualifications. “Some of my best friends are Jews“, and then turn around and gladly smile when tragedy strikes the Jewish people. Those Jews with that special condition of Stockholm syndrome, such as Bernie Sanders, or Senator Schumer will do everything to discard their Jewishness and walk out in public deriding the Jewish state and condemning it for defending itself all part of stripping off their Jewish identity.Chaim Rumkoski would be proud of such Jews, he met his end trying to appease the Nazis. Well, the center seeks to justify the death and destruction of Jews. They have all the reasons on top of a stack of antisemitic literature to spread throughout the world by the generosity of Qatar and the Tucker Carlson‘s of the world. A new Hitler Stalin pack has been achieved only this time it’s the extreme left and the extreme right joining hands in its condemnation of Jewish life and existence.
"privileged in the sense that they are hated by almost all political sides from left to right and even in the center."
But how does it operate? I was told that envy of Jews drives people to it, but for too many anti-Semites, I've found that's not it at all. It's a perceived sense of injustice, that is, injustice to *anti-Semites*, and that's how the whole persuasion argument needs to confronted and laid out, no matter how twisted it may seem. Publicly, openly, inclusively, completely, with all of those permanently, if we want actual eradication. Otherwise, I don't understand what we think we're doing here.
Example: Israel's and supporters' focusing on Oct 7 victims is failing as persuasion in the war against Hamas, as it is not addressing Gazans in addition.
Hamas is a death cult They expose their civilians to harm on purpose. Martyrs are much more valuable to a death cult than living people whose lives are protected by the just in this case, the unjust has taken control and the world which Gazans inhabit have exposed themselves in a suicide pack with the Islamic world.
Well said.
Exactly, it’s so scary
"On the right, many supporters of Israel, including prominent Republican politicians, argue that America has a theological duty to support the Jewish state. Their view is based on a complex interpretation of biblical prophecy....."
NOT just that but political, practical reasons
"Supporters of Israel should make clear exactly where the lines of the Venn diagram intersect."
We DO, and the Tucker Carlson's (I could Name Others) Don't listen.
After 2 years since October 7, most of Jews should realize that we cannot win the PR war against Islam and against indoctrinated leftists and extreme right that dusted off again the oldest Jew hatred fueled many times by foreign money. All Jews in Israel and in Diaspora can only achieve peace by strength and not just only by defensive strength. Our enemies everywhere must fear our offensive strength. We must be self reliant and not be dependent on our allies for moral or military support; start by changing IDF to IWF! We cannot wait for another October 7.
Well said on a most divisive subject. I have an issue with your mention of the ADL as an advocacy group. They are a fringe leftist group representing themselves and NOT any sane Jews.
"I have engaged in the debate on domestic policy but have hesitated to comment on foreign policy, where I am less certain."
Would that more people would do that! And Not just on foreign policy/affairs.
Now we need to get you Chris on a national University board to oversee changes the support our western American values and thwart extremism simultaneously.
Well reasoned argument.
Reason must prevail over unfettered emotion. Emotions are natural but must be submitted to God or else more blood will be needlessly shed.
Our enemies rely on our emotional reactions to ‘checkmate’ us into making bad behavioral choices. History is riddled with evidence to back up this view. After all, what exactly is ‘hate’?
Watching world events unfold too often reminds me of watching unsupervised toddlers trying to negotiate the pecking order in a room equipped with a few attractive toys. Some resort to bad behavior as they lay claim on a favorite to play with. Is this how ‘adults’ are supposed to behave as they play with bigger more lethal toys? I think not.
Maybe the so-called ‘adults in the room’ are not adults at all but merely large people with poor ‘locus of control’ and deceptive subtext guiding them as they enlarge their store houses, filling them with more money and bigger bombs.
All one has to do is study human history seriously for a day or two to discover how what I’m talking about has played out since humanity was banished from the garden of Eden.
We need something more powerful than new laws to change our behavior. We need to be rewired internally. Not by engineers but by the transformation of our minds humbly placed by trust under a new spirit. A holy spirit that is able to renew our thinking. Thinking that is compatible with treating others more highly than ourselves. Thinking that willingly offers our toys to another, along with instructions for how to use them to the benefit of all, not just to satisfy selfish desire.
Ultimately, America’s best interest should encompass the best interest of all human beings regardless of color, language, geographical location. How can this work practically? Ah, that’s the billion dollar question that no one can agree on.
It's been said "Insanity Is Doing the Same Thing Over and Over Again while Expecting Different Results"
The Israel-Arab-America conflict qualifies to be defined in this way. Agree or disagree?
Are we all satisfied with behaving like insane people? Seems so.
The instruction manual I've been reading says this about that:
Ephesians 4:25-32
25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.
26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil.
28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.
29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Excellent analysis of our current quagmire and I especially loved your opinion on how to crawl out from under the dross. One thing to keep in mind is that it's not just us Jews who are being hunted and reviled. We're usually the first to be put in the line of fire, but now it's Christians and other denominations of people having religious beliefs. Politicians holding conservative values and love of our beautiful country are included in the unhinged lefts gun sights. There is such clarity now of who stands on the side of good and who stands on the side of evil. May all of us on the side of good prevail and save our nation.
I should know better, but I’m still shocked that so many people are conned into hating Jewish people.
Victim blaming is just as ugly here as it is when children are blamed for being abused by pedophiles.
Thank you for speaking up for victims and for course correcting people’s anger.
Presently, there are specific segments of the population that are granted extra special status, which your suggesting would negate. Your concept of equal treatment and protection is a unicorn fantasy dream as long as anti Semitic clubs and influential moneys coming from anti Semitic Islamic groups are allowed to continue to spew their hatred and influence on college campuses. This also included Chinese communist and left wing groups and professors which support these agendas.