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Last update - 09:18 25/04/2008 Another kiss of death By M.J. Rosenberg Tags: nuclear espionage  For American Jews like me, for whom Israel is central in their lives, this week's story about an alleged spy who worked for Israel in the U.S. two decades ago is another kiss of death. That is because more ugly headlines about Israel - worst of all about an American spying for it - only contribute to the indifference to the Jewish state that seems to be growing every day. I did a quick survey of some friends to find out how much discussion of Israel took place at their seder tables this year. Answer: almost none. All the talk was about the Obama/Clinton/ McCain race and sports. And these are Israel-centered people. The adults have all been to Israel multiple times, while the kids have gone there on family trips or with youth groups. In doing my quick survey about seder conversations, I asked two of my "respondents" why people don't talk about Israel the way they once did. One said: "Because Israel is too controversial these days, and so families are split between hawks and doves, like during Vietnam. Who needs yelling at the Passover table?" The other explained that, "at seder you want to talk about pleasant things." Advertisement Israel is just not what it once was for American Jews. The state's imminent 60th anniversary has aroused hardly any interest here. Yes, the usual crowd is excited. Mostly older, heavily Orthodox, they are the folks who continue to give the campaign dollars linked to "support for Israel." They still march in the "Salute to Israel" parades. Their kids often fight anti-Israel propaganda on campus. But their circle is not widening. In fact, the base is growing ever smaller. Israel no longer is a source of happiness for most U.S. Jews (especially the kids). And in America, if something doesn't make you feel good, forget about it. The last time Israel made most of us feel good was when Yitzhak Rabin was alive. It's not just the peace process that was killed together with Rabin. So was enthusiasm about Israel. And now there is this spy case. It doesn't look like much. The alleged spy is now 84 and the deeds he is said to have committed took place 25 years ago. Unfortunately, though, it is not a stand-alone case. The same Israeli who was "running" Jonathan Pollard was supposedly running this guy. That means the Pollard case will be in the news again and that is not good. It is hard to overestimate how much damage Pollard did to the American Jewish community. Young American Jews who want to work in any security-related government agency know that there is a strong possibility they won't get the job if they are viewed as having too much "Israel" on their resumes. When I was appointed to a U.S. State Department position by President Clinton in 1995, I had to spend hours with the FBI explaining every trip I ever made to Israel. I got the security clearance and the job. But I know people who did not land a position at the CIA or the Pentagon, despite sterling qualifications, and believe the reason was the post-Pollard distrust of American Jews with strong connections to Israel. This case could add further obstacles. This feeling is compounded by the sense that we still haven't wiped off the more recent stain left by the neocons. Many people here, wrongly, believe that the United States went into Iraq because of Israel. It's not true. But it does not help American Jews when the loudest advocates for the war were people known to have close affiliations to right-wingers in Israel. Nor do these neocons seem to care that when they are simultaneously defending Israel and urging America to go to war in Iraq (or Iran), they leave the impression that their allegiances are confused, at best. (In fact, Jews, more than any other ethnic group other than African Americans, opposed the war.) Nor do Jewish congressmen help when they take to the airwaves to defend every action of Israel's government while simultaneously criticizing American policies. (The same congressmen who excoriate the U.S. administration for killing noncombatant kids in Iraq seal their lips when it comes to dead Palestinian kids in Gaza.) It's not good. You start with a situation in which genuine ardor for Israel has been diminishing year after year. Add to it the association of Israel with defenders of a war most Americans oppose. Add to that the upcoming trial of two Jewish AIPAC employees accused of passing classified information to Israel. And then, out of the blue, Act II of the Pollard case explodes in the media. None of this will immediately damage American Jews or, probably, even Israel. But, in the long run, who knows? One thing is certain. My generation, Jews like me who became ardently pro-Israel in 1967 and remain involved with Israel in good times and bad, are increasingly out-of-step with the Jewish population at large. In my opinion, this alienation is only increased by pro-Israel organizations and community leaders so consumed with promoting the Israel "line" that they have forgotten about Israel, the place. They seem to prefer going after Jimmy Carter and the "anti- Israel" authors Walt-Mearsheimer than convincing Americans that, no matter what they think of the occupation, Israel itself is a dynamic, diverse and joyous country. They seem unable to grasp that invoking the Holocaust at every opportunity, and publicly worrying that Israel is about to be destroyed by the crazed mullahs in Iran, is just about the worst possible way to encourage American Jews to take pride in the Jewish state. Worst of all, they use Israel as a bludgeon against real or imagined enemies - something that may be good for organizational fundraising, but which is ultimately terrible for Israel. All by itself, the latest wrinkle in the Pollard story wouldn't matter. But combined with the seemingly endless Israeli- Palestinian conflict and the inept hasbara (information) efforts of Israel's defenders, it almost surely will. The long honeymoon between Israel and American Jews could be ending. M.J. Rosenberg is the director of policy analysis for the Israel Policy Forum in Washington, D.C. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Clear, present danger Survey : 52% of youth believe Israel faces existential threat. Feeling guilty Europe's criticism of Israel is more than just anti-Semitism.   1.   Hasbara is the real issue 11:17  |  Sherlock Holmes 25/04/08   2.   American Jews and Israel 11:23  |  Joe 25/04/08   3.   Israel`s image 11:29  |  Ben Azai 25/04/08   4.   J Street 14:41  |  W 25/04/08   5.   Does MJ Stand for Meshugana Jew ? 21:47  |  Tod Zuckerman 25/04/08   6.   Are American Jews subject to Israel-Profiling? 07:58  |  Gary S. 26/04/08   7.   Another kiss of death 09:25  |  www.kibush.co.il 26/04/08   8.   Apathy is Always Temporary 12:44  |  dyinglikeflies 26/04/08   9.   you wastin you breath, MJ 15:19  |  Rowan 26/04/08   10.   Antipathy, not apathy 15:26  |  Chanalau, Tova 26/04/08   11.   The popularity of Israel among West European Jews 16:08  |  Shoshana Thomasson 26/04/08   12.   The Whining of American Jews 18:10  |  Dave 26/04/08   13.   Israel`s image 18:53  |  David Allen 26/04/08   14.   The Disapora is a lot more than the USA 19:14  |  Fortuna Benmayor 26/04/08   15.   "apathy"-shmapathy 20:16  |  Robert 26/04/08   16.   its the security stupids 21:45  |  Eli 26/04/08   17.   US taxpayers watch out 21:47  |  US taxpayer 26/04/08   18.   #14. Last time I checked the Columbian Jews were not... 22:00  |  ManintheMiddle 26/04/08   19.   To #11 - Shoshana from Amsterdam 02:44  |  Gary S. 27/04/08   20.   To #5: Easy to be a hawk 21:16  |  yoni 30/04/08

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