It doesn’t seem to be getting any better, and it isn’t helped by the super-cynical interventions of the GOP. The US Ambassador just remarked that
“A distinction should be made between traditional anti-Semitism, which should be condemned and Muslim hatred for Jews, which stems from the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.”
It is simply a fact that Israel’s recent actions in Gaza and long-standing settlement policy on the West Bank have isolated Israel from Western publics and fanned the flames of anti-Semitism in the region. Yes, the old bigotries endure and are indefensible; but one way of isolating and stigmatizing them is to remove legitimate reasons for criticism, like the de facto annexation of the West Bank and refusal to halt settlement construction. There’s no excuse for anti-Semitism of any kind, but is it not obvious that the current Israeli government is going out of its way to alienate otherwise friendly observers and friends?
If you run a government that increasingly allows women’s rights to be restricted, passes laws that restrict foreign funding for left-wing NGOs, drafts bill making it easier to sue journalists, and broadcasts ads warning citizens not to marry Americans, then it is perfectly appropriate for the US secretary of state to call you on it. If you have damaged US interests in the region by intransigence and needless antagonism of vital regional allies, like Turkey, and by threats of unilateral action, without any warning, towards Iran’s nuclear threat, then you deserve some tough love from the US defense secretary.
Do fanatics like Jennifer Rubin really believe that Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, David Petraeus, Robert Gates and Leon Panetta are all anti-Semites? What would it take for these neocons to wake up to the threat Israel is posing to itself?
The Dish 