There appears to be a direct relationship between the increasing ugliness and immorality of this war and the extreme lengths to which Israel’s supporters will go to justify it.
This was brought home to me this week in three separate debates, one in print, two on television. What I clearly saw at work in these exchanges was how Israel’s apologists use verbal overkill paralleling Israel’s use of overwhelming military force. They will admit no wrong. They attempt to bully opponents into submission. They deny history and morality. And, maybe most disturbing of all, they seek to present this war (as they have sought to present many of Israel’s previous wars) in exaggerated and near apocalyptical terms.
One of my antagonists, Abe Foxman, head of the Anti-Defamation League, objected to a piece I had written charging the Bush Administration with “criminal negligence,
Ignoring my point, Foxman deliberately miscast my views, accusing me of standing by while Hizbollah and Iran armed themselves and became a threat to the entire Middle East. After absolving Israel from all blame in the killing of hundreds of Lebanese civilians, Foxman weirdly concluded that, “[i]n the end, though Zogby won’t admit it, the Arab world needs an Israeli victory over Hizbollah and Iran as much as Israel and the US. Maybe then, Lebanon can truly become one nation and be rebuilt and the region can begin to change for the better.