On Israel, America and AIPAC

George Soros on the need for renewed US debate on the Israeli/Palestinian question and the role of AIPAC in this lengthy but excellent article published in the The New York Review of Books.

Third, the professed respect for criticism is a sham when it is not permitted “to condemn Israeli actions and, at the same time, to forego any realistic historical and political frameworks that might account for such actions.” As presented by Rosenfeld, this formula implies that Israel’s actions have to be justified, right or wrong. The appeal to a “realistic framework” aims to rationalize the Israeli position. Criticism ought to be considered on its merits and not by any other yardstick. Suppressing criticism when it is deemed to be unpatriotic has been immensely harmful both in the case of Israel and the United States. It has allowed the Bush administration and the Sharon/Olmert government to pursue disastrous policies. Read on...