Idolatry in America and Israel

From the end of a fascinating article in The Independent:

"There is no major figure in American political life who has been willing to raise the issue of the legitimate needs of the Palestinian people, or even talk about them as human beings," [San Francisco Rabbi Michael] Lerner said. "The organised Jewish community has transformed the image of Judaism into a cheering squad for the Israeli government, whatever its policies are. That is just idolatry, and goes against all the warnings in the Bible about giving too much power to the king or the state."

The piece quoted above is not some sort of defense or apology for Hezbollah, nor is it a condemnation of Israel. The majority of it is simply a condemnation of the media and Congress in the United States for their one sided view of the ongoing mideast conflict, and the blatant attacks on anyone who so much as suggests that an open debate on American policies toward Israel might be in order.

I've been waiting quite a while for something like this, and I wish it had found its way into the Times or the wapo or someplace more high profile. Terrorist organizations of all stripes (including North American neo-nazis, etc.) need to be broken up and put down, but you can hardly make a blanket claim that every single Palestinian is a member of such groups. Nor can you say with any sort of intellectual honesty that the Palestinians have absolutely nothing to be upset about.

However here in America these days, simply writing what I did in the above two paragraphs will get you labeled as an anti-semite and/or a terrorist apologist. Personally, I'm tired of my government using my tax dollars to constantly act like Israel's big brother bully on the schoolyard. I suppose I'll be called an "Ay-rab" next.