| Topic: |
Politics > Politics-USA |
| User: |
"John" |
| Date: |
13 Dec 2007 09:52:29 PM |
| Object: |
Neocon war loving Jewish groups are a minority poll reveals |
Wednesday December 12, 2007 06:36 EST
New poll reveals how unrepresentative neocon Jewish groups are
(updated below - Update II)
A new survey of American Jewish opinion, released by the American Jewish
Committee, demonstrates several important propositions: (1) right-wing
neocons (the Bill Kristol/Commentary/ AIPAC/Marty Peretz faction) who
relentlessly claim to speak for Israel and for Jews generally hold views
that are shared only by a small minority of American Jews; (2) viewpoints
that are routinely demonized as reflective of animus towards Israel or even
anti-Semitism are ones that are held by large majorities of American Jews;
and (3) most American Jews oppose U.S. military action in the Middle East --
including both in Iraq and against Iran.
It is beyond dispute that American Jews overwhelmingly oppose core
neoconservative foreign policy principles. Hence, in large numbers, they
disapprove of the way the U.S. is handling its "campaign against terrorism"
(59-31); overwhelmingly believe the U.S. should have stayed out of Iraq
(67-27); believe that things are going "somewhat badly" or "very badly" in
Iraq (76-23); and believe that the "surge" has either made things worse or
has had no impact (68-30).
When asked whether they would support or oppose the United States taking
military action against Iran, a large majority -- 57-35% -- say they would
oppose such action, even if it were being undertaken "to prevent [Iran] from
developing nuclear weapons." While Jews hold views on the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict which are quite pessimistic about the prospects
for Israel's ability to achieve a lasting peace with its "Arab neighbors,"
even there, a plurality (46-43) supports the establishment of a Palestinian
state.
In the realm of U.S. domestic politics, it is even clearer that right-wing
neoconservatives are a fringe segment of American Jewish public opinion. By
a large margin, American Jews identify as some shade of liberal rather than
conservative (43-25), and overwhelmingly identify themselves as Democrats
rather than Republicans (58-15). And, most strikingly, by a 3-1 margin
(61-21), they believe that Democrats, rather than Republicans, are "more
likely to make the right decision about the war in Iraq," and by a similarly
lopsided margin (53-30), believe that Democrats are "more likely to make the
right decision when it comes to dealing with terrorism." They have
overwhelmingly favorable views of the top 3 Democratic presidential
candidates, and overwhelmingly negative views of 3 out of the top 4 GOP
candidates (Giuliani being the sole exception, where opinion is split).
Contrary to the bottomless obssession which most neocon pundits and
office-holders have with All Matters Israel, the principal political
concerns of most American Jews have nothing to do with the Middle East.
Thus, they identify "economy/jobs" (22) and "health care" (19) -- not
Terrorism -- as "the most important problem facing the U.S. today." Still,
most American Jews agree that "[c]aring about Israel is a very important
part of [their] being a Jew" -- a common, innocuous and indisputable
attribute that typically triggers noxious charges of anti-Semitism if
pointed out by those who oppose the neoconservative agenda.
One of the defining traits of war-loving neoconservatives is that their
unrelenting and exclusive fixation on the Middle East places them loudly at
the center of any foreign policy debates. That tenacity -- combined with
their reckless exploitation of "anti-Israel" and anti-Semitism accusations
as instruments in their political rhetoric and their corresponding,
deceitful equation of their own views with being "pro-Israel" -- often casts
the appearance that they are some sort of spokespeople for the "pro-Israel"
agenda or the Jewish viewpoint.
Manifestly, they are nothing of the sort. Even among American Jews, they
comprise only a small minority, and their generally discredited militarism
is widely rejected by most Jews as well. It is always worth underscoring
these points, which are so frequently (and deliberately) obscured, and this
comprehensive poll provides potent -- actually quite conclusive -- evidence
for doing so.
UPDATE: Speaking of unrepresentative, fringe, war-loving right-wing neocons,
here is the latest installment -- titled "Jeepers Creepers" -- in the
perversely riveting and revealing melodrama chronicled in yesterday's
updates
UPDATE: The drama concludes just as predictably and lamely as they all do:
War cheerleader beats chest ("Give War a Chance"). War cheerleader panics
and cries for help over a "threat" compelling great "security" to protect
him from scary things. Threat is exposed as completely non-existent, a
by-product of the neurosis and paralyzing fear of the war cheerleader.
Repeat endlessly.
-- Glenn Greenwald
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2007/12/12/ajc_poll/index.html
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| User: "Siegfriedson" |
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| Title: Re: Neocon war loving Jewish groups are a minority poll reveals |
15 Dec 2007 10:23:22 PM |
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John wrote:
A new survey of American Jewish opinion, released by the American Jewish
Committee, demonstrates several important propositions: (1) right-wing
neocons (the Bill Kristol/Commentary/ AIPAC/Marty Peretz faction) who
relentlessly claim to speak for Israel and for Jews generally hold views
that are shared only by a small minority of American Jews; (2) viewpoints
that are routinely demonized as reflective of animus towards Israel or
even anti-Semitism are ones that are held by large majorities of American
Jews; and (3) most American Jews oppose U.S. military action in the Middle
East -- including both in Iraq and against Iran.
That may very well be true; however, the damage has already been done by
organized, well-funded Jewish groups such as the ADL and AIPAC (the
strongest Congressional lobby group in Washington DC). For details of
Jewish power in American politics, see:
http://www.ihr.org/leaflets/jewishlobby.shtml
and
http://www.ihr.org/leaflets/iraqwar.shtml
I suggest studying these articles well.
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