The Problem of pro-Israel Lobby Discussion.

The problem with criticizing either the pro-Isreal lobby or evene Isreal isetlf, is that you end up on the side of repugnant extremists - not just Muslim fanatics ho want to get rid of Israel but also with all sorts of neo-nazi or white supremacist morons:

"The Jewish supremacists not only want to control Israel, they want to control America, Europe and the whole world," David Duke announced to a dozen men who crowded around to hear his every word. "The best thing we can do is expose Jewish influence. Then one day the world will rise up, people will fill the streets and call general strikes--just like in Europe." (The Nation)

Needless to say that such anti-semitic views are nothing new but they should not prevent us from discussing the actual issue of AIPAC, and of course, the discussion should be dealt with both Jews and non-Jews. (After all, the discussion on abortion is not limited to pregnant women only!). But still, isn't it annoying that you have to take the risk of being somewhat associated with such morons when you discuss the issue? Isn't that also why some people are afraid of being critical of pro-Israel organizations?

Whether I agree with his criticism of the paper, Daniel Drezner [who has been discussing the issue repeatedly] has a good way of putting it:

Walt and Mearsheimer should not be criticized as anti-Semites, because that's patently false. They should be criticized for doing piss-poor, monocausal social science.