Can a Jew support the war without being blamed for divided loyalties?

I was taking my time before writing this response to the comments made by Time's Joe Klein on his blog, because I wanted to make sure I was writing a measured response rather than an angry one. And anyway, participating in the ensuing debate between Klein and between those claiming that his remarks are no more than "an ugly smear" can be very tricky for an Israeli. One might argue that Klein's remarks should be debated by Americans only.

So - I'm only writing this in the hope that I do have something to contribute. Because this is also a debate that has a lot to do with the Jewish world, in which I'm a member, and not just with American politics.

Here we go:

1.

Here is what Klein wrote:

"The fact that a great many Jewish neoconservatives - people like Joe Lieberman and the crowd over at Commentary - plumped for this war, and now for an even more foolish assault on Iran, raised the question of divided loyalties: using U.S. military power, U.S. lives and money, to make the world safe for Israel."

He then added this:

"You want evidence of divided loyalties? How about the 'benign domino theory' that so many Jewish neoconservatives talked to me about - off the record, of course - in the runup to the Iraq war, the idea that Israel's security could be won by taking out Saddam, which would set off a cascade of disaster for Israel's enemies in the region?"

2.

A blizzard of reactions to Klein's blog entries came mainly from the right. That's unfortunate, as this should not be a debate of right vs. left, but rather one of people who care about the meaning of words and those ready to use any argument in the service of politics.

3.

Many of the reactions concentrated on the accuracy of Klein's comments. Were the neocons preaching for war because they are Jewish, and because they wanted the war to help Israel?

Here is Max Boot of Commentary denouncing Klein: "The notion that only Jews whose first concern is for the security of Israel could possibly favor the invasion of Iraq is laughable."

Here is Andrew Sullivan supporting Klein: "I can't speak for Joe, but I obviously feel somewhat shafted by some neocon arguments before the war - arguments that I took in good faith and now suspect were made in bad."

4.

Here are my ten cents: Klein comments are really a trap. Saying that Joe Lieberman supported the war in Iraq because of disloyalty to America is basically saying that no Jewish person can ever support a policy that can be perceived as beneficial to Israel. If Condoleezza Rice supports the war - that's legitimate. If Paul Wolfowitz supports the war - it's not. They might have the exact same motives, but Klein will differentiate between the two because one is not Jewish and the other is Jewish.

5.

"Most Jews disagree with their [the neocons'] politics and many Jews are disgusted with their behavior," Klein wrote in a letter to Abe Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League.

He might be right but one has to wonder: Do these Jews oppose the war because they do not care about Israel? Do they oppose it even though they believe that their position will harm Israel ? because they are better Americans? And what if they oppose the war because they believe it is actually bad for Israel, as some left wing Jewish activists say? Will Klein also raise the question of divided loyalties regarding such Jewish Americans who oppose the war?

Here is one opportunity (out of many available): In a dialogue here a couple of weeks ago, Jeremy Ben-Ami, of the leftist pro-Israel J Street Project, wrote this: "An America that is bogged down militarily in Iraq and less able to either inspire or intimidate in the region and the world is bad news for both America and Israel."

Dual loyalty?

If it is, I didn't hear Klein denounce the likes of Ben-Ami for thinking about Israel as they preach for withdrawal of troops from Iraq.

6.

Here's a little mind game with which to demonstrate my point.

Imagine Klein, back in the late Nineties, writing this:

"The fact that a great many Jewish officials in the Clinton administration plumped for this Oslo process between Israel and the Palestinians, and now for an even more foolish summit at Camp David between Ehud Barak and Yassir Arafat, raised the question of divided loyalties: using U.S. diplomatic leverage and money, to make the world safe for Israel."

Can you imagine him writing such thing? Can you imagine him blaming the many-many Jewish members of the Clinton administration for tilting the American agenda toward the peace process only because they want to help Israel?

If you can - Klein is being honest. If you can't - Klein is just using religion to denounce people with whom he has policy differences.