Stephen Walt is definitely not Jewish according to my best information; possibly neither Walt nor Mearsheimer is Jewish: "Political science professors John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, who are not Jewish, caused a sensation when they argued in a paper last year that a powerful Jewish lobby prevents criticism of Israel from entering public debate in the United States." http://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/publish/article_802.shtml I don't think Arab-Americans should be held to any different or higher standard than other American ethnic groups with regard to indulging in the politics of ethnic self-interest and self-promotion, but the reality of the situation is that pro-Israel propaganda outlets in the United States have so seriously (and unfairly) damaged the image of Arabs in general that Arab-Americans would probably be wise not to lean too heavily on identity politics when pressing their case with regard to Mideast politics. Emphasizing universal American values is more effective, and the right thing to do, in my opinion. I don't see much of a future for ethnic nationalism in the world -- this is one of several reasons why I think Zionism as an ideology has a questionable future -- it's a messianic ethnic nationalist movement which, predictably, is polarizing the world against itself, after the manner of *all* messianic ethnic nationalist movements. (This isn't a uniquely Jewish dynamic -- it's a universal human behavioral pattern.) I've never hesitated to criticize some Jews and some Jewish groups with the frankest possible language. I just happen to think it's important not to permit those criticisms to be misused by anti-Semites who have it in for the Jews -- all Jews. There are many real and dangerous anti-Semites out there who are sharpening their knives for the Jews. They need to be beaten down (rhetorically, in open debate), not provided with ammunition to get on with their genocidal schemes.
Albert Underwood <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: I use an algorithm similar to your semantic crosstabulation to analyze his associations and activities. Walt has Jewish credentials in academia: his position, lecture circuit, access to publishers are very similar to the credentials of persons like Naomi Klein, Norman Finkelstein, Alan Dershowitz, and others. Thank you for clearing up the misidentification of Springsteen as Jewish. Springsteen has Jewish credentials in the music industry, similar to the kinds that Klein et all have in publishing and academia. My interest in Edward Abboud is that he is the only Arab-American writer in US history to write about Israel's impact on the US. For a country claiming fealty to First Amendment rights of free speech and underlying tenets of democracy, such as open debate, his absence can only be seen as suppression. To assume that Arab-Americans opposed to Israeli damage to US society and culture are 'Arab nationalists' puts a foreign spin on the one ethnic grouping in the country that is suffering from the results of the 911 witch hunt currently in progress in the US that is pirmarily targeting them, their businesses, families, activities. This is an American problem, not an Arab one. It's really long beyond time to worry if some Jews will get offended by some comments. Forcing one's writinng into a mould to avoid censors serves as self-censorship. The concern is to be accurate in observations. Yes, the article you cited was excellent. Sean McBride <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: On what grounds do you claim that Stephen Walt is Jewish? I don't believe he is. You also falsely claimed that Bruce Springsteen (who is Roman Catholic) was Jewish. Don't you take the trouble to verify these claims before you make them? When you promote Edward Abboud, are you promoting yourself? Are you Edward Abboud? And are you speaking as an Arab nationalist? Attacks on Israel coming from the Arab nationalist perspective, especially if they are tinged with even a hint of animosity towards Jews in general, will never gain much traction in the United States and will instead probably backfire, creating sympathy for Israel and animosity towards Israel's Arab adversaries. The only critique of Israel that will ever carry any weight in the United States is one which is driven by a love of fundamental American values of tolerance, pluralism and trans-ethnocentrism. Ethnic holy wars are ugly things, and most Americans want no part of them. With regard to the article about Hoenlein: what it demonstrates is that militant Zionists are expanding their list of enemies to include almost everyone on the planet. They've lost the support of the American majority on Iraq, and now they are targeting "the US elite" as enemies. With a political movement this self-destructive, one barely needs to lift a finger to oppose it -- it is self-destructing before our eyes. Hoenlein and the Conference of Presidents eventually will be relying solely on Christian Armageddonists like John Hagee for support in the West -- that's the current trendline. Once they've lost the support of the educated and enlightened West, they will never get it back. We are already close to that tipping point. Albert Underwood <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Lots of interesting anomalies in this story. Notice how the headline starts out claiming that there is active poisoning of Israel thought in the US, but concedes that "American support for Israel is presently at an historic high ," a result exactly the opposite to premise of the story. He implies that the 'US elite' he refers to are American Jews disenchanted with Israel. His reference to opposition to Israel is Mearsheimer and Walt, two American Jews whose work is a five year old echo of Arab-American writer Edward Abboud in Invisible Enemy. Farar, Straus & Gireaux are widely known as 'Jewish' publishers, almost exclusively promoters of Jewish writers, Jewish opinions. His needs stress inculcation of American Jews earlier than high school. Sean McBride <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Sent to you by Sean McBride via Google Reader: Hoenlein says US elite being 'poisoned' against Israel - Jerusalem Post via Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations - Google News on May 16, 2007 Hoenlein says US elite being 'poisoned' against Israel Jerusalem Post, Israel - May 16, 2007 ... executive vice-chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, told The Jerusalem Post in an interview on Tuesday. ... 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