American Jews, Israel and Public Policy

Abstract

Israel the David has become Israel the Goliath. In the eyes of millions, a much-admired underdog withstood heroically, even miraculously in June of 1967, the threat of annihilation from the giant military menace of the combined Arab armies. Four and a half years later this underdog has become, in the minds of those same millions, an aggressive, obstinate, muscle-bound upstart, not only blocking all possibilities for normalcy in the Middle East but, far more dangerously, threatening the peace of the world. As this reversal of image hardens, political postures change. Here in America, those in the political center see Israel as an obstacle to broader economic trade and thus to easier diplomatic relations with the vast Arab world, while from the left, Israel stands condemned as an imperialist tool of the capitalist powers, preventing the legitimate national liberation of millions of oppressed Arab fellahin.