Jon B. Alterman writes: Israel, by necessity, has developed one of the most able security and intelligence apparatus in the world. There has been no necessity to develop a world-class political apparatus, however, and it shows.
In a single week, the Israeli army’s chief of staff, the former head of internal security and the former head of external security have all publicly questioned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s judgment on Iran. While the current army chief spoke narrowly about the Iranian government, the former security officials directed their fire at Israeli politicians. On Friday, the former internal security chief told an Israeli audience, “I don’t believe in a leadership that makes decisions based on messianic feelings” — and he was speaking not of Iran, but of Israel.
Last week was Israel’s independence day, traditionally an occasion of pride and celebration. Instead, Israelis are in a deep funk.
At its founding in 1948, Israel seemed an improbable state. An ingathering of Jews from Eastern Europe, the Arab world and beyond had no real economy, no common language and no common idea of what it was to be an Israeli. Tensions between religious Jews and secular Jews, European Jews and Oriental Jews, and Jews and Arabs simmered for decades. They made accommodations in the name of survival, but few conceded the fight for control of the state.
To hear many Israelis tell it now, their nation has become an impossible state. [Continue reading…]
Alterman MUST be an “anti-Semite”! If I’m supposed to be an “anti-Semite,” he must be one too, for he is saying what I’ve been saying for decades now. What? Oh, I see! I’m a dumb goyim, that’s why I’m an “anti-Semite” and he’s just a “SELF-hating Jew”– which is bad but is not banned as is being an “anti-Semite.” Of course, I’m not an anti-Semite; rather am driven to all this unpleasant and taxing involvement out of JUDEOPHILIA and trying to prevent the very Kristallnacht that the Zionists WANT to happen again so that the Diasporics flee the Diaspora to the Zionist’s land of milk and honey, to be fleeced like lambs. Well guess what, the Zionazis and the Zio-radicals are not the judges, juries and executioners. America is STILL a free country and Mr. Alterman only proves another thing I’ve been saying: Diaspora Jews are not rats and Netanyahu is no Pied Piper. Israel-Exclusivists better come back among us mere humans to walk on earth, with us, because otherwise, they’ll fall off their cloud and break their crown. Calling others bad names and Jews less bad names doesn’t work when you’re constantly asking for money. Ya goota learn to say please instead of: if you don’t give it to me I’ll hold my breath and die and that will be another Holocaust for you to bear on your soul forever. We Jews and dumb goyim live here on earth and our money is earth-money. If Israel’s politicos want anymore cash, they had better walk on earth like the rest of us rather that pretend that they can fly on clouds. No, Israel does have a political body. Alas it is now infected by right wing racists and Soviet operatives whom WE took out of totalitarianism but no one took totalitarianism out of them.
If you too are sick of the self-righteous Beinart critics on the left, and the outraged hysterics on the right, have a look at this review by Rick Perlstein:
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/national-affairs/my-crisis-of-zionism-and-ours-20120502