My understanding of Ron Paul's views on Israel

This letter refers to Ron Paul to Haaretz: Israel can get by without American aid

Before I begin I want to thank you for your balanced article on Ron Paul.

I understand the concern in the Jewish community over the streak of conspiracy theory involving what (sadly) more than a few would publicly call "The Zionist Occupation Government." I'm a convert to Judaism and I support Dr. Paul and would not be able to do so if I believed that he shared such convictions. I don't believe he does.

Unlike Pat Buchanan, whom I regard as an anti-Semite, Dr. Paul does not call for unilateral withdrawal of aid to Israel. This leads me to believe that his views on this matter are simply consistent with his general view that the U.S. government should not form entangling alliances with other nations (also a view of Thomas Jefferson). The power that AIPAC wields is undeniably strong and does influence U.S. foreign policy, though hardly to the exaggerated extent that the conspiracy theorists hold. Dr. Paul acknowledges this power and believes it to be the result of U.S. meddling in middle-eastern affairs.

Remember how Bush Sr. told Israel to not retaliate against Iraq over the scud attacks? Israel would not likely have obeyed this order had it not been for the military and economic aid the US provides. Israel's inhibitions in defending herself are undoubtedly affected by this alliance with the U.S.; an alliance that does not (if it ever did) serve either the US or Israeli national interest. It is therefore no great logical jump to believe that such manipulation of Israeli affairs by the U.S. necessitates a strong pro-Israel lobby in the U.S. to get it to do for Israel what the US will not allow her to do herself.

Remember the U.S. condemnation of Israel over the bombing of the Iraqi nuclear reactor in the 80s. One needn't be a conspiracy theorist to see that Israel's reaction to such reactions of the US would reasonably be to say, "OK, well then, do it yourself!"

I love Israel and firmly believe that it was born and survived WITHOUT help from anyone, not even the U.S. You do remember that the U.S. held an embargo of arms shipments to the Jews fighting for independence in 1948 even as it had no such embargo against her enemies? Israel owes her existence and survival to no one on earth outside of the Jewish community of the world. I strongly believe that the U.S. buys Israeli policies that are harmful to her future with its aid and she'd be much better off without it and its strings. I also believe that U.S. invasions and other meddling in Arab/Muslim affairs causes blow-back for Israel that she'd likewise be much better without.

OK, so that's my understanding of Ron Paul's views on Israel. That having been said, no one is paranoid to believe that there is a current of anti-Zionist (which is more often than not a subtle expression of Anti-semitism) conspiracy-mongering within our camp. Dr. Paul appeals to most libertarians, like me, but also appeals to those who want to blame some foreign element for the failures and outright deceit of our government. You'll find anti-immigration fervor sometimes too heated to simply be a dispassionate political position and, often, can safely be construed as racist.

Jews get the bulk of the attention because of our unique history in Europe. Jews are highly represented in some key industries that raise the ire of this fringe: Banking, News & Entertainment (MSM or Mainstream Media), law, and so on. Outside of any conspiracy theory, Ludwig Von Mises and Murray Rothbard (both Jewish economists) rightly blamed the Federal Reserve and fractional reserve banking in general for the destruction of purchasing power of the dollar. To understand why this fringe blames Jews for this mess, one need only consider that the Rothschild family played a role in the creation of central banks around the world and the last two FED chairmen were Jewish.

For people who are looking for scapegoats, one need look no further than this. The mainstream media ignores this issue for the most part and is viewed by many to be nothing more than a propaganda outlet for the government (which AIPAC controls in the conspiracy world). There too, you only need to note the high visibility of Jews in networks and Hollywood to see how Jews stand out in the conspiracy theorist's mind. Need I really elaborate on lawyers? I think you get the picture.

Yes, they are within our camp along with others who are less subtle about their racist views, but I still believe they are a small fringe, albeit a very loud and visible one. They are attracted to Ron Paul's strict adherence to the Constitution just like we libertarians favor. Even as I try to steer these people away from their irrational biases, I'm also trying to get people outside of our revolution to understand that it's only through adherence to the Constitution that such a diverse group of people can live together peacefully.

The Constitution was written by men who believed in natural rights endowed to every individual by G-d, among these being: Life, Liberty, and Property. These are the rights of every individual citizen that the government is supposed to defend. It is not supposed to give any groups special privileges (including the Caucasian majority!). Giving such privileges simply fuels racial, ethnic, religious and other rivalries that are hot enough as it is. Free speech is among our many cherished rights and that means even racists can speak their minds. I don't have to listen, but I do, and I find that many are so surprised by my willingness to listen and respond civilly that they begin to find it hard to continue believing these things.

Now, if only I (and the hundreds of thousands of Ron Paul supporters) could convince many others to listen and speak civilly about the views of Dr. Paul that they consider "kooky," we would see a restoration of liberty in this country that has been eroding for over a century. I believe your article was a good example of such civility.

Thanks again for your thoughtful article on Dr. Paul. Am Yisrael Chai!

Dennis

P.S. Some of the conspiracy-mongers only pay lip service to free markets because they believe it to be fundamentally American. Many of their actual ideas are so contrary to a laissez-faire position that they resemble the socialists they say they despise. Oh, and who do they blame for socialism? You guessed it! Jews.