When cultural historians look back at this week’s J-Street conference in Washington, DC, they will observe that many of the participants invested its proceedings with an almost mystical significance: a Woodstock moment for Jewish politics in America which poked a finger into the flabby bellies of the establishment organizations by declaring, “change has come, move aside.”
Archive for the 'US Jews' Category
This is a guest post by Micky.
Among the more shocking silences in the wake of Saturday’s hateful attack upon a Tel Aviv gay center is that of American Jewish organizations who claim to be dedicated to human rights and dignity and Israel’s safety.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson is known for his careless mouth - remember that recent remark about what he’d do to a certain part of Barack Obama’s anatomy? Such free association has often landed him in fights with the Jewish community. These tend to follow a pattern. He says something outrageous (for example, back in 1984, he referred to New York as “hymietown” in a conversation with a journalist,) a furore follows, he eventually apologizes, there is both hope and expectation that it won’t happen again, and then…it happens again.
Among American Jews, those who identify as liberals outnumber conservatives by more than two to one. When it comes to the Presidential campaign, it is the issues of concern to all Americans - especially the nosediving economy and health care - which guide voting intentions. When it comes to the Middle East, the overwhelming majority feels a sense of closeness towards Israel - but there is general pessimism over the prospects for peace in the region as well as significant doubt over the rectitude of a military assault upon Iran’s nuclear installations.
