Nicholas Kristof writing from Hebron

I was going to refrain from posting more NYT links, but I read this immediately after seeing John Hagee on television preaching about how much God loves the state of Israel. I've always found Evangelical Zionism more than a little strange, but I wonder what causes the blind approval of anything the Israeli state does. Is it ignorance of the social and political realities in the Middle East, or does ideological commitment outweigh the facts? And would that ideology be religious ("God's chosen people") cynically political (condemning Israel's imperialism would indict the US) or some mix of the two? Is it a perverted reaction to the terrors of 20th century antisemitism and the Shoah? I ask because the motivation that lies behind this uncritical support of Israel determines how (and even whether) we can profitably engage with Evangelicals about Israel's human rights record (a damning history that we, as Americans, have funded economically and supported politically for decades). Any thoughts?

Kristof's piece:

The Two Israels

A sample:
"It is here in the Palestinian territories that you see the worst side of Israel: Jewish settlers stealing land from Palestinians (almost one-third of settlement land is actually privately owned by Palestinians); Palestinian women giving birth at checkpoints because Israeli soldiers won’t let them through (four documented cases last year); the diversion of water from Palestinians. (Israelis get almost five times as much water per capita as Palestinians.)

Yet it is also here that you see the very best side of Israel. Israeli human rights groups relentlessly stand up for Palestinians. Israeli women volunteer at checkpoints to help Palestinians through. Israeli courts periodically rule in favor of Palestinians. Israeli scholars have published research that undermines their own nation’s mythologies. Many Israeli journalists have been fair-minded toward Palestinians in a way that Arab journalists have rarely reciprocated.

All told, the most persuasive indictments of Israeli actions come from Israelis themselves. This scrupulous honesty and fairness toward Israel’s historic enemies is a triumph of humanity.

In short, there are many Israels. When American presidential candidates compete this year to be “pro-Israeli,” let’s hope that they clarify that the one they support is not the oppressor that lets settlers steal land and club women but the one that is a paragon of justice, decency, fairness — and peace."

Gitmo

It's strange that such a small place should simultaneously house what is best and what is worst about the US military. It's unfortunate that the "worst" is the side taken by both military and civilian authorities. I'm grateful for individual men and women of integrity that represent the rule of law at the risk of their own careers and even their personal liberty. I anxiously await a time when justice and the rule of law are characteristic of the system and not the exceptions.

From the Times:

"Commander Kuebler (pronounced KEEB-ler) is the latest example of a lawyer in uniform attacking the Pentagon’s legal system.

He is no natural agitator. At 37, he is in some ways deeply conventional. Married to the first girl he ever dated in high school, he is a self-described born-again Christian and conservative who has 'never voted for a Democrat.' Tom Fleener, a former Guantánamo military defense lawyer, described Commander Kuebler, saying, 'Take the average conservative guy in the street and multiply that by a million.'”

NYT interview w/ Obama

From the Times online


I like a lot of the NYT's video features online. Since they don't have commercial breaks, they can do longer interviews (this one is about 17 min.), and they bring some of the detail of print journalism to a video format that often works better than print for interviews (or at least works differently). Actually, it's a lot of the same things I like about the News Hour (and do I ever like the News Hour!).

Maybe this will be the year that evangelical voters take seriously the gospel's injunction to care for the poor and not show favoratism to the rich. Probably not, but I can pretend to hope.

OK. I should get back to working on the syllabus for my summer class. I get a fresh crop of summer freshmen on Monday morning. (Can you imagine your first college instructor being ME?!?)

Peace.