Why is it that if I say anything critical of the Israeli government I feel like people want to tie me down and tattoo a swastika on my forehead? If I point out that the Israeli government has what I believe to be an inordinate amount of sway over the US Congress I feel like someone is going to accuse me of secretly operating a gas chamber in my basement, or of secretly funding Palestinian suicide bombers. I actually had a Holocaust survivor's daughter tell me "If you don't like it here (meaning my country, the US), why don't you just leave!" That kind of knee-jerk reaction happens. It is such a touchy subject that's it's just easier to avoid it. It certainly isn't addressed fairly in the US mainstream media on a regular basis. I 'm not saying that both sides don't have valid complaints. I think that there is some benefit for some Middle Eastern leadership, and some Middle Eastern press to encourage the people to focus their anger on the US and Israel. It takes the heat off of them, and their failures. I do believe it's time to have some dialogue, because there are victims on both sides of this conflict.
Well, kudos to Juan Cole, the London Review of Books and Alternet.
And kudos to Paul Findley , who personally dealt with it and wrote about it years ago.
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