Rehumanizing the Jews

IN
its March 23rd issue the London Review of Books, a respected British
journal, published an essay titled "The
Israel Lobby." The
authors are two distinguished American academics (Stephen Walt of Harvard
and John Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago) who posted a longer
(83-page) version of their text on the Web site of Harvard’s Kennedy
School…

Is Israel, in Mearsheimer/Walt’s words, "a liability
in the war on terror and the broader effort to deal with rogue states?"

from a New York Times Op-ed piece

Why, because it is the first and foremost victim of that
terrorism? That’s like the rest of the country asking if New York City
is a liability
in the war on terror, because it contains so many attractive targets
and so many swarthy foreigners.

On the other hand, Israel is undeniably a democracy where
fringe parties, dangerous radicals and assorted wackos have a much greater
role and influence than in the United States, and could use some sage
advice and perspective from her elder sister democracies from time to time.