And yes,I am well aware that haaretz.com has a left wing - pro-peace slant,but it is the only paper that appears not to be under Sharon's control or direct influence.
What is that supposed to mean? Israel has a free press, and its conservative papers are no more under Sharon's "control" than is the Wall Street Journal under George Bush's "control".
but that does not in any way diminish the factual content of the article I posted.
The factual content was a very small part of the article, compared to the analysis and opinion. As I said, one pamphlet does not a curriculum make, nor do I see a great deal of virtue in teaching kids "the other guy has rights too, more than us even" at the very time when that other guy would deny you your rights and even your existence, if he could. No harm to teach little kids the Israeli side of the story first.
The relevance of that article spirals back to the many many many posts made concerning the " official Palestinian " publications that supposedly show maps of the Me without Israel, and texts for students that encourage hatred of Israel or Jews..etc..etc...etc .....
If you have no sense of proportion. You could quote Rush Limbaugh to prove that nothing has changed since the glory days of the KKK and the Night Riders too, if that was your aim.
.I think most Americans think Israel is a place where people walk around chanting to G-D all day long and that ALL Jews are Orthodox.
They may have many misconceptions about Israel but I seriously doubt that's one of them.
This likely explains their blind support for any and all policies,and their fear of being condemned of or having anti-Semitic sentiments were they to question these policies.It is still taboo in Middle America to even speak about Israel without praise in most circles
First, if you look at the polls, you'll see that support is neither universal nor blind. Most, not all, Americans lean towards the Israeli side but they still have criticisms of Israel. Second, I have a simpler explanation: Americans know that Israelis are fellow democrats, fellow country-builders (like Americans), and fellow followers of Western ethics - i.e. it's not right to massacre women and children. Americans also know that Palestinians are led by thugs and party in the streets whenever the suicide bombers blow up a schoolbus. I don't find American sympathies hard to fathom.
but certainly a credit to the ADL
You give them too much credit. Taken altoger Israel's and all major Jewish groups have a good lobby but lousy PR - one reason Israel takes such a continual beating in the press. |
