That's sad. Israel is not a bad country. Yes, their policy towards the Palestinians is terrible but that's not worth vilifying an entire country.
I wonder what would happen with the US-Israel relationship if the money/contribution factor got cut out of lobbying 
I can see the military aid go poof real fast.
Nah. Florida's still too important a swing state.
I would say the American right's support for Israel is pretty blind and unswerving, but I don't think you can say that about the nation as a whole, let alone our government. I mean just look at the Obama-Netanyahu relationship, certainly not the closest of friends.
Politics are based on practicality, not friendship. Whether or not they like each other has no bearing whatsoever on foreign policy.
I should probably post the rest of my paper to show why they don't like each other and why it does have a bearing on their respective foreign policies.
Also it's really hard to support/back proponents of the peace process on the left wing when their rhetoric concerning Israel is so venomous. It's like I'm being shot at by both sides.
And as a second "also," let's try to separate the term Zionist from the hawkish Messianic Zionists who are building all the settlements and whatnot. There are also a lot of Zionists out there, like myself, who believe in and badly want peaceful co-existence. I'm a Zionist in the sense that I believe Israel has a right to exist and should exist, that Jews as a nation and not as a religion have a right to call Israel a Jewish nation (once again making the distinction that it is a state for the Jews as a people, not as religious adherents), and that Israel is important because its continuing to exist will allow the emergence of what it means to be a modern Jew.
I don't believe Israel is infallible or that the cause is totally righteous, but I do believe the state has a right to exist in peace alongside Palestine (and basically that they should be able to expect Palestine to maintain peaceful relations, and rein in those who try to break the peace), just as Palestine is entitled to recognition of its legitimate statehood and peace alongside Israel (and expect that Israel will not encroach on their territory or conduct military operations).
Topic: The Israel Discussion Thread (Read 77421 times)
