Israel Matzav: I get taken to task

I get taken to task

I got an email from Michael Fenenbock (which I have permission to share with you) in which he took me to task for drawing substantive conclusions about American support for Israel, particularly by Evangelical Christian, from poll numbers.

Carl,

You’re reading this as “support for Israel” and that’s backwards. You’re interpreting impersonal poll numbers through your personal prism. My friend Carl’s viewpoint is naturally Jewish centered. An Israeli centric point of view.

Drawing substantive conclusions from poll numbers can be inadvertently deceptive.

Based on a misreading of poll numbers, a Boston Globe columnist recently wrote ecstatically “Americans love Jews.” Silliness.

A Jewish academic with a commentator’s megaphone joined the chorus and trumpeted the same theme, “Americans love Jews.” Absurd.

“We love the Jews” is not what the poll respondent is saying. The poll numbers don’t reflect some heart warming fuzzy feeling for Jews. On this topic polls in America reflect the other side of the equation.

Americans dislike what they see and hear from the Muslim world and this barrage of negative images of Islam reflects in polls. An honor killing here, a plot to blow up subways there, Afghanistan, Ft. Hood, the Christmas Day bomber, a noisy and possibly nuclear Iran . . . America is assaulted hourly by charged images from the Arab and Islamic world.

The pollster forces a “this side or that side” choice. Jews or Arabs. When they choose Jews they’re saying no to the bad guys. To conclude from a “no to the bad guys” response that Americans love Jews is way off base. And, I argue, illusory and dangerous.

For Jews it’s always dangerous when we think we are not on our own. We are on our own. Our fate is in our hands. That proposition hasn’t changed in thousands of years.

We can depend only on ourselves. That is our burden and our responsibility.

Wanna take a guess at how Americans respond to more pointed questions. Strong support for a two-state solution? Jerusalem has equal significance for Jews and Islam? The State of Israel was created to deal with Jewish question after World War II? Should America be even handed? Is Iran an Arab country?

From the current political perspective, support for Israel from Christians is welcome but it’s ephemeral. I know the history of my people. I know in the end we can rely only on ourselves.

At the moment the American political divide has Republicans and conservatives supporting Israel. Not out of love for Jews, but because they view terrorism and the threat of radical Islam as a political priority. Democrats and lefties are vulnerable to charges of soft on terror and apologetic to Islam.

For the “right” in America, it’s a political position. It’s not love.

There is a story about the guy planning his escape from the Warsaw ghetto. Ghetto leaders and friends gathered as he prepared to go over the wall. “Tell the Americans,” they instructed. “Tell the Americans what’s happening here.” How’d that work out?

We can depend only on ourselves.

MF

PS - Lastly, I wonder. . . did the pollster talk to Presbyterians?

FYI. The columnist is Jacoby. A good guy but mistaken on this. The academic is Barry Rubin. Please save me from academics who think they know something about politics. The “pointy headed professor” was invented for these guys.

Do we now refer to you as “Mr. Radio Personality?”

Call me whatever you want. But I probably should get a little more experience at it first. No one has compared me to Rush Limbaugh or Howie Carr yet.

Hmmm.

I still think it ironic that God (who controls the world - think about the Purim story) is using the Evangelical Christians to press for American support for Israel at this time.

Israel Matzav: I get taken to task