Israel has come up far less than usual during this election campaign. In fact, over the past year or so Israel has been in the news far less than it used to be. I imagine because the US has so many problems of its own, the Israel/Palestine boxing match just seems less and less relevant. Nonetheless, McCain and Palin, in their desperation to win, have pulled it out of their behind again with the so-called Obama-Khalidi connection. Juan Cole does a good job of addressing the “issue.”
My favorite quote is in the comments section:
I think that like all of the people who believe that ‘supporting Israel’ means ‘backing nothing except right wing ultra-hawk Israeli occupationist policies’, they’re always pushing the principle that there can be no such thing as a legitimate Arab or Muslim figure who backs Palestinian nationalism and who criticizes Israeli occupationist actions.
Anyone from an Arab or Muslim background — U.S. citizen, born and raised or not — who ever criticizes Israeli militarist politicians and policies and strongly backs Palestinian rights is pretty much the functional equivalent of a terrorist sympathizer.
Tags: US Politics
[...] The Israel Angle in the US Election Israel has come up far less than usual during this election campaign. In fact, over the past year or so Israel has been in the news far less than it used to be. I imagine because the US has so many problems of its own, … [...]