Israel Matzav: The 'mystery' of American support for Israel

The 'mystery' of American support for Israel

Here's a hard question for the world's 'Israel lobby' conspiracy theorists like Walt and Mearsheimer: Given that it has been the case for at least the last 60 years that the overwhelmingly non-Jewish American public supports Israel, what basis is there for attributing that support to the 2% of the country that is Jewish?

American foreign policy in the Middle East may not be wise and it may not be right. That subject is and must remain open to debate, and every American citizen is entitled to have and to express an opinion on the topic. But a failure to recognize that long standing, deeply rooted and consistent gentile public opinion is the driving force behind that policy–foolish or wise as that policy may be–is just dumb. And when smart people go suddenly and inexplicably dumb, it’s reasonable to posit the presence of an irrational, uncontrolled mental force — in this case, ILS [Israel Lobby Syndrome]. Not every victim of ILS is an anti-Semite, but the prevalence of ILS shows that anti-Semitism like other forms of racism and unconscious prejudice retains a more powerful place in our society than we would like.

Indeed. Read it all.

Israel Matzav: The 'mystery' of American support for Israel