Well, here’s the latest on the “will American Jewry every wake up?” front:
The time has come for the centrist and liberal elements of the American Jewish community to get serious about mobilizing support against a nuclear Iran. Their failure to do so until now is somewhat of a puzzle. It may be that they have simply not recognized the absolute urgency of the situation. It may also be that they are not championing this issue because others see it as a parochial one, and American Jews do not like to be perceived as self-serving. Yet it would be a terrible mistake to fall into this trap.
American Jews should never hesitate to promote the welfare of Israel, a democratic ally of the United States. In any case, there is another argument to be made: A nuclear Iran is a clear threat to America’s strategic interests. It would increase the risk of nuclear weapons falling into the hands of terrorists and encourage Egypt and Saudi Arabia to seek nuclear weapons of their own, leading to an arms race that would destabilize the region and the world.
Who is it? Eric Yoffie, who’s done a fair bit of excuse-mongering for the Obama team and cheerleading for its bully-boy tactics with Israel. Yes, this latest message is helpful, but there is no “mystery” as to why Jews have been so silent. It is, of course, the “sick addiction” to the Democratic Party, which is becoming increasingly less pro-Israel and has given us the most Israel-hostile president we’ve ever had. If the president perpetrating an assault on Israel and producing a feeble Iran policy were a Republican, I have no doubt American Jews would be up in arms.
But alas, Yoffie quickly goes off the rails with this doozy:
The time has also come for the conservative wing of the Jewish community to get serious about Iran. Jewish conservatives have been more aware than liberals of the magnitude of the Iranian threat, but they have been acting in ways likely to make matters worse rather than better.
Huh? Conservative Jews not serious about Iran? I’d be interested to find a single conservative elected Jewish leader or candidate or a conservative Jewish journalist who’s not very serious indeed about Iran. What he means is that under no circumstances must Jews criticize Obama, the jewel of the American left. And he isn’t about to launch any serious critique himself. (“The Obama administration has a reasonably good record to date, and has recently adopted a tougher, more confrontational tone.”) And in fact Yoffie’s focus seems to be on those darn critics of Obama: “Too many American Jews — many, but not all, in the conservative camp — have chosen to pour out contempt for the Obama administration in language that is harsher than anything I have heard in three decades of involvement in American Jewish life.”
It’s progress when liberal Jews recognize they’ve been derelict, but rather than “pour out contempt” for conservative Jews — who have been struggling mightily to sound the alarm and rouse their coreligionists — it might be helpful for Yoffie to cease playing defense for the administration and offer a serious challenge: will Obama use military force if sanctions fail? Will he pledge to provide unqualified support for Israel if the Jewish state finds it necessary to strike Iran? Then we might really make some progress with the administration.
