When former Secretary of State James A. Baker III accused Israel’s leader this week of undermining the chances of peace in the region, he said nothing more than the kinds of things he had said at times when he was in office a quarter-century ago.
But the instant backlash from fellow Republicans that prompted Jeb Bush, the son of Mr. Baker’s best friend, to distance himself underscored just how much their party has changed on the issue of Israel. Where past Republican leaders had their disagreements with Israel, today’s Republicans have made support for the Jewish state an inviolable litmus test for anyone aspiring to national office.
“If you’re a Republican and you hedge on your support on Israel, it’s viewed as having a flawed foreign policy,” said Ron Bonjean, a party strategist who has worked for Republican leaders in Congress. “It’s a requirement for Republicans these days to be very strong on Israel if they’re going to be taken seriously by primary voters.” Any deviation on that, he said, leads to inevitable questions: “If you’re not supporting Israel, then who are you supporting? Are you supporting Iran?”
—New York Times, For G.O.P., Support for Israel Becomes New Litmus Test
If that’s really true I think we should head for the hills. Haven’t we done enough damage in the Middle East already? What do you think?
March 29, 2015
I hope that the Republicans mean this in all earnest. I wish that your Democrats would also take the same stand. I am all for supporting Israel right or wrong as long as the Muslim world, be it Shiite supported by Iran or Sunni supported by KSA, will not allow Israel to exist as an entity in peace.
I disagree, but it doesn’t matter. They don’t care what we think. 😉
those last two lines of yours . . .
no truer words were ever spoken.
kudos monk.
Thanks. 🙂
I think the West has done enormous damage in the Middle – ever since the British Empire.
I’d like to see some attempt to balance the diverse forces. Esp backing for the palestinians!
HELLO!!!! YES!
thank you evan.
it’s practically sacrilege to say that here.
I think the more the West meddles, the worse it gets. The Arab states no longer trust America to act in their best interests, so they’re forming a coalition to counter Iranian influence and Islamist extremism, especially in Yemen. It should be interesting.