Sharon not the only one who is comatose

In and of itself, criticism of Israel is not antisemitic. I love Israel, but I criticize her government from time to time. Joseph Farah has nothing against Israel per se, but he makes a very compelling case that "the Jewish state is terminally ill."

.... It's not just former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon who is comatose. It seems the whole current Israeli government is brain dead.

How else can one explain Israel's agreement to Lebanon cease-fire terms that amount to unconditional surrender?

I know few other commentators who have explained the development in these stark terms, but this is the reality of what Ehud Olmert's government has done. It represents, in my opinion, one of the biggest strategic blunders in the history of the country.

Let's review what Israel has done:

It launched a war on Iran-directed Hezbollah terrorists after they kidnapped two Israeli soldiers, killed eight others and rocketed northern Israel towns. From the beginning, Israel demanded the return of its troops and the disarming of Hezbollah terrorists.

What did Israel get in the cease-fire deal? No return of the kidnapped troops and Hezbollah terrorists remain under arms.

For the life of me, I don't understand why Israeli civilians are not massing in the streets of Jerusalem demanding the immediate resignation of Olmert and his Cabinet. The Israeli army is returning from Lebanon with its tail between its legs.

How can you ask soldiers to kill and die for a simple objective that is later abandoned without explanation or reason?

Good question. And there's lots more.

Oh, and btw, let's use the Dershowitz criterion to decipher when criticism of Israel is antisemitic, i.e. when a "pernicious double standard" is applied to judging Israel, as when when a trait or an action that is widespread, if not universal, is blamed only on the Jews.

"Like any other democracy, Israel and its leaders should be criticized whenever their actions fail to meet acceptable standards, but the criticism should be proportional, comparative and contextual ..."

Speaking of such things, I'm off to watch Walt & Mearsheimer.

Comments

[h budd]

Joe Farah's comments are essentially correct. Olmert is a shrewd political operator, but clearly not a leader. He's in over his head and the sooner he's back to local politics, the better. The battle in the south of Lebanon is near certain to flair up again and Israel will have a chance to make things right. Notwithstanding all of this, any Israeli leader would have faced great pressure to accept a cease fire agreement, lest Israel's enemies in the world be handed a propaganda coup.