March 19, 2003
BLAMING THE JEWS (via Kevin Whited):
Dual Loyalty?: Are Israeli Interests ‘The Elephant in the Room’ in the Conflict With Iraq? (Rebecca Phillips, March 15, 2003, ABC News)In recent months, everyone from Slate's Michael Kinsley to former U.S. presidential candidate Gary Hart to Hardball host Chris Matthews has commented about the problem of "dual loyalty" in this conflict — the question of whether some Americans — especially certain Jewish members of the Bush administration — are supporting war with Iraq because they believe war is in Israel's interests.The debate surfaced in public March 3 when Rep. James Moran, D-Va., told a church forum that, "If it were not for the strong support of the Jewish community for this war with Iraq, we would not be doing this."
The White House condemned Moran's comments and the congressman has since apologized for his comments.
American Jewish groups have not endorsed the war, and many Jews have been active in the anti-war movement. But, as evidenced by Moran's recent comments, the debate continues over Israel's role, American Jewish support of the Iraq war, and a perceived dual loyalty.
Kinsley wrote in October that there has been a "lack of public discussion about the role of Israel in the thinking of President Bush." The Moran flap was the first time the White House has gotten involved. Before, the discussion has stayed in the realm of political magazines and op-ed pages. Below we break down the debate.
Why is it that it's socially acceptable to ask if Jewish proponents of the war are more loyal to Israel than to America but unacceptable to ask if those folks who oppose the war are more loyal to Iraq than to the U.S.? Posted by Orrin Judd at March 19, 2003 3:24 PM
Condoleeza Rice, the National Security Advisor, and Colin Powell,
the Security of State or both African Americans.
(Oops, did I say something wrong?)
Well, didn't Jews run the slave trade?
Posted by: oj at March 19, 2003 3:52 PMThose who support a war are always presumed to have something (personal) to gain. Those who oppose war are always presumed to have only the highest interests of mankind at heart.
One wonders, of course, where the German-American Bund would have fallen in 1941?
Dean:
prison
This makes about as much sense as saying Daschle has dual loayalties to Germany and Moran has dual loyalties to France!
Posted by: D. Woolwine at March 19, 2003 6:01 PMNo, the Jews didn't run the slave trade. Or were you being sarcastic.
There's a fine line between being an American and believing in (Catholicism/Israel/you name it) because you think it compatible with/neceessary to American values, and therefore supporting (you name it), and selling out your loyalty to America by, as Morrison did, turning over government secrets to (you name it -- in this case Israel, which had the bad grace to accept it; not the act of a friendly state).
In the last months before Pearl Harbor, Japanese-Americans, some citizens, some prevented by law from becoming citizens, raised money to buy a bomber so the Imperial Japanese Army could kill Chinese. After Dec. 7, 1941, almost all of these anti-Chinese AJAs demonstrated loyalty to the United States.
Are there Americans with dual loyalty to Israel? You bet. One of my friends is, or was until he got too old, a reservist in both the U.S. Army and the IDF.