The greatest newspaper in the world, Haaretz,
reports that Malcolm Hoenlein, the head of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, said in Jerusalem that he is concerned by all the calls for “change” in the U.S. presidential campaign. Change from what? he asks; it could open the door to all kinds of “mischief.” I.e., questioning Israel policy.
He senses that people who are drawn to Obama and Ron Paul are anti-Israel.
Israel’s support is stronger than ever politically, Hoenlein reports, but he is concerned that the support is “thin” and a lot of Americans now see Israel as “dark and militaristic.”
Hoenlein said that Israel’s supporters should be worried by… “the greater tolerance of anti-Israel statements that wouldn’t have been allowed in the past.” He singled out the Walt-Mearschimer [sic] book on the Israel lobby, that “has become a bestseller and a college textbook” and said that there “is a steady poisoning of the elites, mainly on campuses that could trickle down.”
He also mentioned Republican candidate Ron Paul, saying “he is openly anti-Israel…”
Note that Hoenlein and Marty Peretz disagree sharply, at least for public consumption, re Walt and Mearsheimer’s success. Marty says–also in Haaretz–that the publisher
lost a lot of money and it’s a warning to others not to go there and no one is taking the book very seriously.
Hoenlein says it’s a bestseller and everyone is going there now and it’s poisoning us elites.
Gentlemen, get your talking points straight!
Also note that Hoenlein says that certain anti-Israel statements “wouldn’t have been allowed in the past.” Good point. Like you weren’t allowed to even say that you thought Israel was “dark and militaristic.”
That’s called censorship.
The opinions and views articulated by the author do not necessarily reflect those of Israel e News.
Philip Weiss lives in New York and is an investigative journalist who has been a contributing writer to the New York Times Magazine, Jewish World Review, The New York Observer and other mainstream publications as well as being as being a contributing editor to Esquire and Harper’s Magazine.
