Anti-Semitism and the "New Jews"

[question everything]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/crisis/06/052_bw.html

I thought that this was an excellent report and was actually surprised to see this on yesterday's DU homepage.

As I arrived at this paragraph:

" But because U.S.-supported Israeli policies are at the heart of much of the conflict in the Middle East, and thus are connected in some degree to Islamist terrorism around the world, anti-Jewish feelings get stirred up more than usual in these current times."

I was thinking that not many DUers even remember the war of 1967. This was a turning point since it changed Israel from victim to conquerer - with all the baggage that came with it.

But this country did not support Israel then! In 1956, after Israel joined the UK and France to fight Egypt, the Eisenhower administration ordered Israel to withdraw. Israel's military equipment came from France, not from the U.S.

And Israel was attacked in 1967. Blockading the Straits of Tyran, was a declaration of war. No other country would tolerate such an act.

And, whenever I read about Israel being portrayed as the aggressor in the region, I have to wonder how many DUers and other progressive people are even aware of the map of the Middle East. How many realize that the Muslim world stretches from Malaysia to Morocco.

[Misskittycat]

1. It was very good. I also agree that few people seem to know or

understand the actual history of the 1967 war. That makes me very angry, too. It seems to me that in the years after 1967, Israel and the Jewish community did a really lousy PR job in allowing the true facts to recede into oblivion.

[rockymountaindem]

2. I just wrote a paper about the 6 Day War for my intern'tl relations class

Specifically, I focused on US and Soviet involvement in the war. Here's what I learned:

The USSR was using arms sales to expand its influence in the region. The Sovs. wanted there to be a permanent state of confrontation, but not war. They feared two things: 1) rapprochement between Israel and the Arabs, which would mean the Egyptians and Syrians would no longer need Soviet weaponry. If that happened, the USSR could kiss its influence in the region goodbye. 2) War between Israel and the Arabs, which the Soviets feared might demonstrate the inferiority of their equipment and send Nasser and crew into the arms of the capitalist powers.

In order to stoke the flames, the Soviets gave fake "intelligence" information to Egypt and Syria that Israel was amassing forces to attack the Golan Heights. This prompted Egypt to respond by closing the Strait of Tiran and mobilizing its forces. From there, things devolved into war much to the embarrassment of the Soviet Union.

Meanwhile, the Johnson administration hoped at all times to avoid a war, fearing that it might draw the US forces in the Mediterranean into direct conflict with the Soviet Black Sea Fleet and the Red Air Force. The Pentagon, on the other hand, seemed to be the only place where there was widespread confidence in an Israeli victory. Before the war, Defense Dept. officials told Johnson and the Israeli foreign minister Abba Eban that Israel could beat Iraq, Egypt and Syria in under 10 days. This estimate shocked even the Israelis, who feared that they might lose the war and be annihilated.

In any event, Israel was a hapless victim of Soviet maneuvering and Nasser's belligerence.