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Israel-lobby denial: The bankruptcy of the mainstream Left
as illustrated by Stephen Zunes
On the issue of the Israel lobby the Left is no more courageous than anyone else.
by Stephen J. Sniegoski
To encapsulate Zunes's position: Instead of influencing American policy, Israel is but the passive instrument of American policymakers. Washington has forced Israel to pursue a belligerent policy to enhance American hegemony in the Middle East for the benefit of corporate capitalists, especially arms merchants. Free of American control, Israel would pursue a peaceful policy toward the Palestinians and neighboring Arab states. Therefore, Israel [representing 'Zionist Jewish dupes who are collectively a weak and hapless victim of the Gentiles,' as Zunes would have you believe] is the victim of the United States.
Moreover, Zunes maintains, those who claim a significant role for Israel and the Israel lobby in determining U.S. foreign policy tend toward anti-Semitism. Thus does the left-wing critic of American policy morph into an apologist for Israel. Like Alan Dershowitz — in some respects worse than Dershowitz — Zunes makes use of misleading half-truths while simultaneously ignoring the unmistakable evidence substantiating the power of the Israel lobby in influencing U.S. policy.
Read more:
http://www.thornwalker.com/ditch/snieg_lobby_left.htm .