In my recent post, “Israel: Does it Have to Be ‘Love it or Hate it’?” I attempted to explain that “I sincerely and strongly believe that one can support the Israeli people, the Jewish people and, yes, the nation of Israel without cheering on and applauding each and every action or policy undertaken by the Israeli government.”
I don’t know how successful I—a staunch Israel supporter and of Jewish descent—was, but that is neither here nor there.
However, talking about “hate,” I came across a very interesting post at Open Salon, a place where I occasionally post.
Essentially the author, “Jerusalem-Mike,” quotes an article that was written, according to Jerusalem-Mike, by Richard Baehr, circa 2004.
The original title is “Why Does the Left Hate Israel”?
Jerusalem-Mike re-titled it as “Why Do All the Lefties Hate Israel?“—an even more interesting title as some might call me a “lefty,” but I don’t hate Israel.
Anyway, it is—as I said—a very interesting article and I’ll quote just the Introduction and the Conclusion to whet the reader’s curiosity. The author expands amply on every point in the introduction
For the entire article, please click here
WHY DOES THE LEFT HATE ISRAEL?
By Richard Baehr circa 2004
I believe there are several reasons:
1. It is an easy way to express one’s hatred for America.
2. Israel is viewed as an outpost of colonialism, and an active practitioner of it.
3. Israel is a western nation, and hence can be judged by the left. Israel is not protected by cultural relativism, as the Arabs are.
4. Leftist Christian churches can escape any lingering guilt about the Holocaust, by turning Israel into a villain. Some leftist churches hate Israel because they think this will help protect their members in the holy land— in other words they feel threatened.
5. Ferocious Muslim hatred of Israel and the Jews reinforces the natural cowardice of many on the left who go along with the Muslims to stay out of their line of fire.
6. Jewish leftists are prominent in the anti—Israel movement. This opens the floodgates for everybody else.
7. Israel is attacked because the secular left is appalled by the influence of religious settlers and their biblical connections to the land of Israel, and by the support for Israel by evangelical Christians, and Christian Zionists
.
CONCLUSION
The evidence I believe is clear today that Israel faces far greater threats from the left than the right. The left is reflexively anti—Israel and has established important beachheads in significant American institutions— academia, the media, and the old line Protestant ‘high’ churches, as well as in the very seats of government power in many Western European countries, and their intelligentsia. It is not surprising that Israel seems unable to get a fair shake from college professors, the BBC, Reuters, NPR, or liberal churches. Being anti—Israel has become part of their religion.
The numerous “Comments” are also worthwhile reading
The author is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and a writer.