Schneider: Preserving the U.S.-Israeli Alliance
By Adam Schneider, Guest Columnist
Published on Thursday, February 9, 2012
In his recent column (“The Case Against the Israel Lobby,” Feb. 7), Don Casler blindly leveled the highly controversial assertion that the so-called “Israel Lobby” manipulates American foreign policy against our national interest. In his piece, Casler fails to provide any legitimate evidence supporting his claims, but instead, he reverts to a conspiracy theory of the Zionists controlling the media and the government to prop up his claims.
The article cites the essay “The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy,” by John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, which asserts that a loose coalition of countless, unrelated Jewish and Zionist organizations control American foreign policy. Casler endorses this claim despite the fact that government officials and scholars across the political spectrum have described the work as a travesty. David Gergen, former presidential advisor to President Reagan and President Clinton, described the charges as “wildly at variance with what I have personally witnessed in the Oval Office.” Walt and Mearsheimer’s claim of the existence of an Israel Lobby amounts to nothing more than, in the words of former Secretary of State George Shultz, “a conspiracy theory, pure and simple.”
That being said, I do not deny that many of the pro-Israel interest groups in America are powerful. However, their power does not arise from Jewish political influence as Casler claims, but rather from the moral and strategic asset that Israel truly is to America. In the entirety of the Middle East, Israel is the sole country that is host to a liberal democracy, that preserves freedom of speech and the freedom of the press (Israel has more newspapers per capita than any other nation) and that ensures the rights of women and minority groups are preserved.
Israel’s free-market economy, also the only one in the region, is a hub for high-tech and environmentally sustainable inventions, as well as a home to cutting edge research in its academic institutions.
Few countries in the world have military ties as close as those between the United States and Israel, and intelligence sharing and defense cooperation have been credited with saving thousands of American lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. For example, the reactive armor tiles found on American combat vehicles, which are a key defense against the explosive devices responsible for killing countless American servicemen and women, were developed in Israel and made in cooperation with General Dynamics in the United States. Furthermore, Israel — surrounded by countries in upheaval such as Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Iraq — is the last remaining platform of pro-Western stability in the Middle East.
While the future of the region is unclear, the existence of an island of democracy and stability in a sea of turmoil is invaluable to our national interest. These are the reasons that the U.S. government and the American people have such a strong relationship with Israel, not because of Jewish money and political power as Casler claims.
To assert that the hostility built up across much of the Muslim world toward America stems from our support for the tiny state of Israel and our continued refusal to allow it to be wiped off the map — a threat it has faced ever since its inception — is willfully ignorant. In fact, Israel is often the first line of defense against the threats posed by these hostile entities rather than serving as the underlying cause. There is a long list of grievances that precede the Arab-Israeli conflict which contribute to our tenuous relationship with much of the Muslim world.
Instead of attributing this strong relationship between the U.S. and Israel to a conspiracy theory about how the Zionists control the government, it behooves us to consider what America’s real national interests are and how they can be pursued. If maintaining a strong relationship with the only liberal democracy and bastion of freedom in the Middle East does not constitute a legitimate national interest worthy of the support of the American people, I do not know what else does.
Adam Schneider ’15 is the vice president of Dartmouth Students for Israel.
An excellent response, Mr. Schneider. Dead on, well done.
By Davis on Feb 9 | 1:45 am
Thank you, Mr. Schneider, for your reasoned and thoughtful response that is compelling for anyone of good will.
By Yacher Koach on Feb 9 | 9:30 am
Adam Schneider is correct. There is no powerful Jewish lobby controlling US policy and more importantly Jews do not control US media. These are mere myths. Yes, it is an undeniable fact that all major US newspapers and networks are owned by Jews. New York Times is owned by Sulzberger; Washington Post owned by Katherine Meyer (Graham); Wall Street Journal was owned by Kahn and now owned by Murdoch whose mother Joy Greene was an orthodox Jew; LA Times is owned by Sam Zell, a zionist. NY Post and US News are owned by Zuckerman, the former head of a major jewish orgnization. All major TV networks are Jewish owned or run. However, just because the media is either owned or run by Jews, does not mean they are Jewish controlled, in a way that we, for example, control the speed of our vehicle. Also, it is an undeniable fact that while Jews are less than 2% of US population, Jews provide more than 65% of campaign money to candidates to both parties. However, that does not mean our politicians are controlled by the Jewish lobby in a way, for example, we control the speed of our vehicle. Our politicians are after all very honest individuals and that is why they were elected by us. The honesty and integrity of our politicians are on display by the manner they pledge their love and support for Israel and denounce Palestinians as mere terrorists. For example, after casino billionaire and zionist Sheldon Adelson gave a total of $10 million to Newt Gingrich, who is a man of decency and integrity, Gingrich promptly called the Palestinians as “invented people”, although Palestinians has inhibited Palestine for thousand years while the vast majority of Israelis moved to Israel after 1947. Some people may unfairly characterize Sheldon Adelson as a parasite who became a billionaire by sucking the blood out of Americans, we must not overlook his good deeds.
By Rich Goldberg on Feb 9 | 1:29 pm
Adam, fantastic article.
I’m posting here in response to Rich Goldberg’s comment, which I think he made sarcastically (if I’m wrong, he wasn’t being sarcastic, and he didn’t intend to traffic in anti-Semitic discourse, my apologies). Mr. Goldberg, your entire comment is full of a disgusting anti-Semitism that deserves the full condemnation of the Dartmouth, and global, community.
The utter disgrace of your comment is illustrated in its last line, discussing the Jewish Sheldon Adelson “as a parasite who became a billionaire by sucking the blood out of Americans.” Nice, Mr. Goldberg. I’m not sure if you realize the year is 2011, and we aren’t currently in Nazi Germany, 1938.
By Paul Lazarow ‘13 on Feb 9 | 4:13 pm
Dear Mr. Goldberg:
Here is a list of 50 industries ordered by the size of their campaign donations this cycle from the Center for Responsive Politics:
http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/mems.php
Notice that the Pro-Israel lobby ranks in at 40th. That is far behind the likes of the Oil/Gas lobby which came in 9th with over 3 times the donations, or lawyers/ law firms which topped the list with $21 million dollars donated this cycle. So before you provide seemingly incredible statistics, Mr. Goldberg, I would recommend that you check your facts first with a reputable source.
By Real Facts on Campaign Donations on Feb 9 | 4:51 pm
Rich Goldberg’s comments are ridiculous. They recall the concern that Jack Kennedy would be loyal not the the Constitution and the USA, but to the Pope in Rome, because Kennedy was Catholic. As any Jew can tell you, the opinions of Jewish people towards Israel are varied in the extreme. In fact, as the old saying goes, put two Jew together and you will have at least three opinions on any issue.
Does Rich Goldberg hold his (sarcastic) opinions because he is — I assume — Jewish? Do Barack Obama and New Gingrich hold their beliefs because they are Christians?
By Does this work? on Feb 9 | 6:12 pm
Adam, wonderful article. Your response is filled with dignity and grace and true facts.
Rich Goldberg, your comments are disgraceful. It is people like you who remind the world why Israel is so necessary for the Jewish people.
By R on Feb 10 | 10:57 am
Adam, phenomenal article.
I’m glad to see that there are people like you who will defend and clarify the reality of the Israeli-American relationship. Be careful when saying that Israel preserves the rights of all minority groups because many proponents of Israel feel otherwise. This was a great response to the ignorant Casler’s article. Keep up the good work!.
By Zach Spellma on Feb 18 | 3:51 am