[R-G] Most American Jews Reject the Middle East Militarism Championed by Right-wing Jewish Factions

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

<http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2007/12/12/ajc_poll/print.html>
New poll reveals how unrepresentative neocon Jewish groups are
Most American Jews resoundingly reject the Middle East militarism and
GOP foreign policy championed by right-wing Jewish factions.

Glenn Greenwald

Dec. 12, 2007 | A new survey of American Jewish opinion, released by
the American Jewish Committee, demonstrates several important
propositions: (1) right-wing neocons (the Bill Kristol/Commentary/
AIPAC/Marty Peretz faction) who relentlessly claim to speak for Israel
and for Jews generally hold views that are shared only by a small
minority of American Jews; (2) viewpoints that are routinely demonized
as reflective of animus towards Israel or even anti-Semitism are ones
that are held by large majorities of American Jews; and (3) most
American Jews oppose U.S. military action in the Middle East --
including both in Iraq and against Iran.

It is beyond dispute that American Jews overwhelmingly oppose core
neoconservative foreign policy principles. Hence, in large numbers,
they disapprove of the way the U.S. is handling its "campaign against
terrorism" (59-31); overwhelmingly believe the U.S. should have stayed
out of Iraq (67-27); believe that things are going "somewhat badly" or
"very badly" in Iraq (76-23); and believe that the "surge" has either
made things worse or has had no impact (68-30).

When asked whether they would support or oppose the United States
taking military action against Iran, a large majority -- 57-35% -- say
they would oppose such action, even if it were being undertaken "to
prevent [Iran] from developing nuclear weapons." While Jews hold views
on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict which are quite pessimistic about
the prospects for Israel's ability to achieve a lasting peace with its
"Arab neighbors," even there, a plurality (46-43) supports the
establishment of a Palestinian state.

In the realm of U.S. domestic politics, it is even clearer that
right-wing neoconservatives are a fringe segment of American Jewish
public opinion. By a large margin, American Jews identify as some
shade of liberal rather than conservative (43-25), and overwhelmingly
identify themselves as Democrats rather than Republicans (58-15). And,
most strikingly, by a 3-1 margin (61-21), they believe that Democrats,
rather than Republicans, are "more likely to make the right decision
about the war in Iraq," and by a similarly lopsided margin (53-30),
believe that Democrats are "more likely to make the right decision
when it comes to dealing with terrorism." They have overwhelmingly
favorable views of the top 3 Democratic presidential candidates, and
overwhelmingly negative views of 3 out of the top 4 GOP candidates
(Giuliani being the sole exception, where opinion is split).

Contrary to the bottomless obssession which most neocon pundits and
office-holders have with All Matters Israel, the principal political
concerns of most American Jews have nothing to do with the Middle
East. Thus, they identify "economy/jobs" (22) and "health care" (19)
-- not Terrorism -- as "the most important problem facing the U.S.
today." Still, most American Jews agree that "[c]aring about Israel is
a very important part of [their] being a Jew" -- a common, innocuous
and indisputable attribute that typically triggers noxious charges of
anti-Semitism if pointed out by those who oppose the neoconservative
agenda.

One of the defining traits of war-loving neoconservatives is that
their unrelenting and exclusive fixation on the Middle East places
them loudly at the center of any foreign policy debates. That tenacity
-- combined with their reckless exploitation of "anti-Israel" and
anti-Semitism accusations as instruments in their political rhetoric
and their corresponding, deceitful equation of their own views with
being "pro-Israel" -- often casts the appearance that they are some
sort of spokespeople for the "pro-Israel" agenda or the Jewish
viewpoint.

Manifestly, they are nothing of the sort. Even among American Jews,
they comprise only a small minority, and their generally discredited
militarism is widely rejected by most Jews as well. It is always worth
underscoring these points, which are so frequently (and deliberately)
obscured, and this comprehensive poll provides potent -- actually
quite conclusive -- evidence for doing so.

-- Glenn Greenwald

--
Yoshie
<http://montages.blogspot.com/>