I’m not always wild about The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg, but I think he has a very perceptive post about Israel’s relationship with the United States. He points out that the ultra-conservative governments that have been in power lately have been doing their best to alienate their potential American supporters, particularly young American Jews. Namely, that actions like Gaza or their continual expansion of settlements will hurt its image in the demographic that Israel used to be able to count on for vocal advocacy in the American public. He says, bluntly, that “compromise is necessary is because American public opinion is one of Israel’s most important battlegrounds.”
I think Goldberg has hit on a very important truth here. He suggests that young American Jews are less likely to be “reflexive” supporters of Israel than their parents, and this has been my experience. I strongly believe in the right of Israel to exist, but I feel very uncomfortable about the actions of the Likud government. Who can defend a government willing to appoint a racist, extremist wackjob like Avigdor Lieberman as Foreign Minister? Their constant pandering to the settler lobby is not only indefensible, but seems calculated to draw them further into occupation of hostile Palestinian territory. Despite my strong feelings about Israel’s continued survival, I have zero interest in using my tax dollars to underwrite Lieberman’s colonial ambitions. The Israeli government can’t afford to lose the American public, and it seems determined to do so.