Israel Lobby vs. Israel Lies

The two pieces of reading required for today's class were by far the most interesting and consuming of all that I have read for this class so far. The Israel Lobby by John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, and it's rebuttal, "Debunking the Newest-and Oldest-Conspiracy" by Alan Dershowitz present many arguments on why to be pro-or-anti Israel support. The television debate between the two provided insight into their individual views as well.

Mearsheimer and Walt provided a paper that is full of research, facts and statistics, and while it still isn't clear to me exactly why the United States supports Israel, there are many things presented that make me question exactly why no one has raised and issue about the amount of support we provide for them, when they are strategically useless, and in my opinion, they act like a spoiled child when they don't get their way. It is argued in "The Israel Lobby" video provided by americanfreepress.net, that while many disagree on the portrayal of United States and Jewish leaders, the one thing that Mearsheimer and Walt point out is that the issue of Israel is taboo and no political leader in the United States really wants to debate it.

Dershowitz rebuttal is disappointing. He addresses some of the issues presented in "The Israel Lobby" most of the paper attacks the sources, and argues that they "are taken out of context." Sources are taken out of context all the time, and I was hoping to see him actually debate the issues at hand instead of simply split-hairs over sources. He does point out that Israel lobbies don't always win US favor, especially when they are competing with Saudi lobbies, who win out a majority of the time. He also brings up the issue of "Paranoid Style of American Politics" which refers to the paranoia of the exaggerated influence of one party on specific governmental policies.

All in all I learned a lot about the Israel Lobby, and frankly I am not happy with what I see. Israels treatment of the Palestinians can be compared to the holocaust many of their ancestors experienced during World War II. The other thing I don't understand is Dershowitz argument that the Jews just want "a small democracy in which Jewish culture can thrive". Israel is not a democracy and never will be as long as church and state intermix. When the US broke off from England, they struggled for year to build a country and economy on their own, with threats of domination from all direction. We didn't take hand outs or rely on one particular country to establish our democracy. If Israel wants its democracy so badly, maybe they should have to actually work for all of the hand outs they are receiving, and maybe they would appreciate it a little more...