Prof questions U.S.-Israel bond, February 3, 2009
The Eagle
American University
Sir—
When a thug demands your wallet at the point of a gun you can either give him what he wants, run, or you can fight. You don’t debate. Force is the antitheses of rational discourse. Although Stephen Walt claims to want a more “open debate” regarding America’s alliance with Israel, such a desire is impossible to fulfill. Kassam rockets being shot from Gaza and the West Bank continually drown out any potential for reasonable dialogue. Instead, rather like witnessing a mugging and pretending not to notice the distinction between victim and thug, Stephen Walt would have us treat those who shoot rockets as equal to those who defend themselves. Despite being morally repugnant, such a notion is also entirely not in America’s interests. There were no Israelis, I’m sure you recall, dancing in the streets after 9/11.
Sincerely,
Zev Barnett
https://theundercurrent.org/blog/give-peace-a-chance/
