Speaking today at the Jewish Federations General Assembly, Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren chided America’s Jewish population, insisting they were obligated to publicly defend Israel’s military offensives and attack opposition to them.
“I think it is fair for Israel to expect the American Jewish community to uphold our right to self-defense,” Insisted Oren, adding that “Israel expects American Jews to fight the Goldstone report,” a UN report which chided Israel for war crimes committed during the 2009 invasion of the Gaza Strip.
Israel’s increasingly far-right government has alienated a large portion of the world with its policies, and Israeli media outlets have regularly expressed concern about the growing disconnect between the overseas Jewish population and the Israeli government officials who see themselves as their representatives on the world stage.
Oren appeared to acknowledge the disconnect, while insisting that US Jews should feel obliged to “respect the will of the people who bear the greatest consequences of their government’s decisions – even if you disagree with us.”
The comments point to a reality however in which Israel’s policies are not palatable to many, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing accusations from a Jewish conference that his government “delegitimizes Israel.” Ambassador Oren appears to have no response except an appeal to knee-jerk loyalty to Israeli policy, an appeal which appears to be ringing more hollow by the day.
So how to American Jews respond when told that although they have no say, they are expected to fight for Israel?
Why, then, should American Jews not have the right to vote on the government whose policies they are now expected to fight for?
"No vexation without representation!"
"Why, then, should American Jews not have the right to vote on the government whose policies they are now expected to fight for?"
This is exactly the point: American Jews are not part of the Israeli polity.
Nor are American gentiles. Which is why the "special relationship" should end.
Very comical. There appears to be a huge disconnect between the way Israeli's view themselves and the way the rest of the world views them.
They ALWAYS view themselves as the victim regardless of the circumstances. When in actuality, most of the time they are actually the victimizers. They completely fail to see blatant war crimes and crimes against humanity.
If there was any justice on this planet at all, Israel would have been invaded a long time ago for ALL the very same reasons that were given to invade Iraq or Yugoslavia.
This is an appeal to tribalism pure and simple/ Actions should be judged on thier own merits and not by who commits them/ For Oren to say that Jews should defend the policies and actions of the Israeli government just because those actions are being done by a self proclaimed Jewish state is totally absurd/
Tribalism. That is the perfect word to describe Zionism. Why in heaven's name are we as a country getting involved on the side of tribalism here in the 21st Century? We need to face the truth – Israel is a failure. It started as a humanitarian idea – to provide solace and refuge for tormented people. Who could predict that they would turn this refuge into a foothold to wage a war of aggression against their hosts? Too much harm has been done; too much hatred engendered to ever make Zionist Israel a survivable idea. As a World we need to scrap Zionism if it only leads to racism, land-theft and primitive tribalism.
Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel — and Oren is definitely a scoundrel. In Oren's case, his patriotism to Israel trumps everything in his miserable life.
Similar views to those of Elliot Abrams.
In his book Faith or Fear: Elliot Abrams wrote, "How Jews Can Survive in Christian America," he writes: “Outside the land of Israel, there can be no doubt that Jews, faithful to the covenant between God and Abraham, are to stand apart from the nations in which they live. It is the very nature of being Jewish to be apart — except in Israel — from the rest of the population." Judaism and the Jewish way of life,” writes Abrams, is not “entirely voluntary, for the Jew is born into a covenantal community with obligations to God.” Jews, he goes on, “are in a permanent covenant with God and with the land of Israel and its people. Their commitment will not weaken if the Israeli government pursues unpopular policies …”
israeli jew – the balfour declaration give us a right to the land…
american jew – but what about the palestinians?
israeli jew – there is no such thing as palistine or palistinians never was, never will be.
american jew – oh ok….. but then where does the balfour declaration say the jewish home land should be??
israeli jew – the u.n. gave us the land and the right to it.
american jew – so what about the u.n. condemnations of israel's actions and its calls for a Palestinian state?
israeli jew – the u.n. is a totally illegitimate originization with no right to tell us what to do.
american jew – what about the occupied territories?
israeli jew – they belong to us because we have won them in a war.
american jew – and what about the plo fatah and hamas
israeli jew – any group that tries to take land by force is totally illegitimate and must be opposed with force.
american jew – ok so i think we need a bit more time to figure this out….
I think it fair for our world to expect Israel to be held to account for crimes against humanity. I think it fair that the dual citizenship crap-o-la be put to rest. You know, like dual Israeli/U.S. citizenship? I think it fair to expect that when pigs sprout wings and take to flying holding patterns over downtown Jerusalem, that just might happen.
Where's Septimus? Should be spooling off endless pages of Zionist boilerplate by now.
Should the Germans here in the U.S. have supported the Third Reich when they marched into Poland, Czechoslovakia or when they began liquidating the ausslanders…?????
why do they hate us???
Tribalism is the last refuge of the scoundrel. American Jews have no more reason to defend Israeli apartheid policies than Muslim do defending self-styled 'Jihadists". At this point, the Israeli government is nothing more than a den of jackals, not to be trusted or befriended.
"A man who thinks of himself as belonging to a particular national group in America has not yet become an American. And the man who goes among you to trade upon your nationality is no worthy son to live under the Stars and Stripes." — Woodrow Wilson
Recent comments from Israeli Rabbi's are showing how extreme Israel has become. Three weeks ago the former Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Yosef stated that non-Jews were created to serve the Jews, like donkeys, and therefore can be killed with impunity. A nice Hitleresque view of a Jewish "master race". Rabbi Yosef is the leader of the Sephardic Jews and part of the coalition goverment with was notably silent about his comment. I have no doubt that the settlers and the ultra-orthodox embrace his comments.