{"id":3351,"date":"2011-04-12T18:11:37","date_gmt":"2011-04-12T18:11:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/victorhanson.com.108-166-28-151.mdgnetworks.com\/wordpress\/?p=3351"},"modified":"2013-03-26T18:17:00","modified_gmt":"2013-03-26T18:17:00","slug":"foreign-policy-charity-should-start-at-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/foreign-policy-charity-should-start-at-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Foreign Policy Charity Should Start at Home"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bruce S. Thornton<\/p>\n

Advancing a Free Society<\/em><\/p>\n

The outbreak of protests and rebellion throughout the Middle East have quickly generated an orthodox narrative: When people suffering under brutal autocrats and dictators have finally risen up to satisfy the innate human longing for freedom and democracy, we should support these aspirations on moral grounds. As President Obama suggested on March 21, \u201cwe have to take some sort of action\u201d when illegitimate leaders attack their own people, a statement reflecting the idealistic foreign-policy doctrine that a great power has a \u201cresponsibility to protect\u201d those being victimized by their own governments or by foreign aggressors.<\/p>\n

The problems with this doctrine are legion, not the least being that the purpose of the United States military is to protect the security and advance the interests of the American people, not those of some vague and amorphous \u201cinternational community.\u201d What I find curious, however, is the lack of any sense of a \u201cresponsibility to protect\u201d when it comes to one of our most loyal and important allies in the Middle East, Israel. While we know very little about the ideology and sentiments of the various protesters and rebels we are so eager to support, we know for a fact that Israel is a liberal democracy embodying political freedom and individual rights, along with the accompanying virtues of tolerance and pluralism.<\/p>\n

Yet despite this profound affinity between Israel and us, we have gotten used to shrugging off the incessant terrorist attacks on her citizens, except when we take the time to blame Israel for a century of genocidal Arab aggression. At the same time that Westerners were swooning over the \u201cArab spring,\u201d in Israel a family was brutally murdered, a school bus was attacked with a sophisticated rocket that most likely was brought into Gaza from Egypt, a bus was blown up in Jerusalem, and scores of mortars and rockets have been fired from Gaza into southern Israel. When the media even deign to notice these assaults, they do so only to indulge a specious moral equivalence, criticize Israel for not engaging in the mythical \u201cpeace process,\u201d and demand yet again that Israel make concessions that risk the lives of her citizens to placate a foe that has met every previous concession with more murdered and mutilated Israelis.<\/p>\n

This indifference to the thousands of Israelis murdered by terrorists \u2014 nearly 1600 just since the Oslo accords of 1993, the equivalent of 54,000 Americans \u2014 is a blot of shame on our national character. We are so used to Israelis dying that we respond to each new death the way we do to highway fatalities, as a dry statistic factored into the cost of doing foreign policy business. Meanwhile Israel is experiencing what Italian journalist Giulio Meotti calls \u201cA New Shoah,\u201d the title of his\u00a0book<\/a>\u00a0that tells the stories of those victims and restores their humanity.<\/p>\n

The revealing dimension of Meotti\u2019s profiles is the continuity between the Holocaust and Arab terrorism. Numerous terrorist victims were survivors of the Nazi attempt to eradicate the Jews. Yakov Springer, the weightlifting coach murdered at the Munich Olympics in 1972, was one of the few survivors of the Warsaw ghetto revolt of 1943. Lipa Weiss was the only member of his family to survive the Holocaust, and then in Israel lost his son Yanay and his granddaughter Inbal to terrorist attacks. Perla Hermele escaped the Nazis when her family left Poland, only to die in the Park Hotel Passover bombing. The Jews dying in Israel connect in myriad ways to the Jews destroyed in the Holocaust. As Meotti writes, \u201cIn Israel, terrorists have killed those who inherited the names of their parents and grandparents murdered in the gas chambers and in the forests of occupied Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those foreign policy idealists who cry \u201cnever again,\u201d whose moral authority for the \u201cresponsibility to protect\u201d ultimately derives from the monitory example of the Holocaust, are indifferent to the fact that today Jews are still being killed because they are Jews, not because of settlements or checkpoints or the alleged \u201coccupation.\u201d How else explain the virulent anti-Semitism common throughout mainstream Middle-Eastern culture? Koranic Jew-hatred embodied in phrases such as \u201cchildren of pigs and monkeys\u201d is spiced with Nazi imagery dehumanizing Jews as \u201ccancer,\u201d \u201cgarbage,\u201d \u201cgerms,\u201d \u201cparasites,\u201d and \u201cmicrobes.\u201d Absurd anti-Semitic forgeries such as\u00a0The Protocols of the Elders of Zion<\/em>\u00a0are widely available throughout the Middle East, as are iterations of the old \u201cblood libel.\u201d Holocaust-denial is common, as in the doctoral dissertation of the alleged \u201cmoderate\u201d Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Yet we in the West rationalize this dehumanization, which typically precedes and justifies mass murder, as mere rhetoric, an understandable response to the \u201coccupation\u201d and thwarted nationalist aspirations. But as Roger Scruton writes in his Preface to\u00a0The New Shoah<\/em>, \u201cThe \u2018blame Israel\u2019 approach to Middle Eastern politics . . . is an example of the same feeble-minded appeasement that allowed the last wave of anti-Semitism to triumph in Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n

It seems odd that we are so excited by the presumed flowering of \u201cdemocracy\u201d in the Middle East, even as the current administration jeopardizes with its policies the Middle East\u2019s only truly liberal democracy, and a loyal ally critical for our own interests and security in that volatile region. If we have a \u201cresponsibility to protect,\u201d then we should start at home with our friends like Israel, who shares our political ideals, rather than subjecting that beleaguered country to death by a thousand \u201cpeace-process\u201d cuts.<\/p>\n

\n

\u00a92011 Bruce S. Thornton<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bruce S. Thornton Advancing a Free Society The outbreak of protests and rebellion throughout the Middle East have quickly generated an orthodox narrative: When people suffering under brutal autocrats and dictators have finally risen up to satisfy the innate human longing for freedom and democracy, we should support these aspirations on moral grounds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[22,196],"tags":[366,12,1034,1035,1055,133,153,1027,162,1016,552],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p466Sb-S3","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2545,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/obamas-libya-venture-and-double-standards\/","url_meta":{"origin":3351,"position":0},"title":"Obama’s Libya Venture and Double Standards","author":"victorhanson","date":"July 10, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"by Bruce S. Thornton FrontPage Magazine The champion of shameless chutzpah has always been the guy who murders his parents then throws himself on the mercy of the court because he\u2019s an orphan. But White House spokesman Jay Carney might be the new champ, given his response to the House\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Libya"","block_context":{"text":"Libya","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/the-world\/the-middle-east\/libya\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":634,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/the-democracy-delusion-and-failed-mideast-policy\/","url_meta":{"origin":3351,"position":1},"title":"The Democracy Delusion and Obama’s Failed Mideast Policy","author":"victorhanson","date":"July 19, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"by Bruce Thornton Frontpage Magazine The\u00a0New York Times\u00a0headline on Secretary of State Clinton\u2019s visit to Egypt said it all: \u201cUS Is in a Quandary.\u201d That\u2019s putting it mildly. Better words for this administration\u2019s foreign policy are \u201cconfused,\u201d \u201ccontradictory,\u201d and \u201cdelusional.\u201d Start with Clinton\u2019s meeting with newly elected Egyptian president Mohammed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Middle East"","block_context":{"text":"The Middle East","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/the-world\/the-middle-east\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":390,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/the-stakes-in-tonights-foreign-policy-debate\/","url_meta":{"origin":3351,"position":2},"title":"The Stakes in Tonight’s Foreign Policy Debate","author":"victorhanson","date":"October 22, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"by Bruce Thornton FrontPage Magazine Foreign policy, the topic of tonight\u2019s debate, was suddenly thrust into the voters\u2019 consciousness by the murder of 4 Americans, including our ambassador, in Benghazi on the anniversary of 9\/11. Intensifying the fallout of this event has been the Obama administration\u2019s incoherent, clumsy, duplicitous, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Libya"","block_context":{"text":"Libya","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/the-world\/the-middle-east\/libya\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7605,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/melancholy-lessons-from-iraq\/","url_meta":{"origin":3351,"position":3},"title":"Melancholy Lessons from Iraq","author":"victorhanson","date":"June 25, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"by Bruce S. Thornton \/\/ FrontPage Magazine The unfolding collapse of Iraq\u2019s government before the legions of al Qaeda jihadists is the capstone of Barack Obama\u2019s incompetent and politicized foreign policy. The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), armed with plundered American weapons and flush with stolen money, is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Middle East"","block_context":{"text":"The Middle East","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/the-world\/the-middle-east\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Bombed_out_vehicles_Aleppo-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8729,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/obamas-schizophrenic-foreign-policy\/","url_meta":{"origin":3351,"position":4},"title":"Obama’s Schizophrenic Foreign Policy","author":"victorhanson","date":"October 14, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"An analysis of a recipe for serial disasters. by Bruce S. Thornton \/\/ FrontPage Magazine What are the roots of Barack Obama\u2019s foreign policy? Some focus on the man and his flaws of character, particularly his inability to learn from his mistakes and to adjust his ideas to changing facts\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Our Contributors"","block_context":{"text":"Our Contributors","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/our-contributors\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Photo via FrontPage Magazine","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/ov-500x281.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":967,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/the-muslim-brothers-get-paid-to-threaten-america\/","url_meta":{"origin":3351,"position":5},"title":"The Muslim Brothers Get Paid to Threaten America","author":"victorhanson","date":"February 16, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"by Bruce S. Thornton FrontPage Magazine Remember last year\u2019s giddy bipartisan enthusiasm over the \u201cArab Spring\u201d? President Obama claimed that Egyptians merely wanted \u201ca government that is fair and just and responsive,\u201d Senator John McCain asserted that Libyans were aiming for \u201clasting peace, dignity, and justice,\u201d while Senator Joseph Lieberman\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Islam"","block_context":{"text":"Islam","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/the-world\/the-middle-east\/islam\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3351"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3351"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3351\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3353,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3351\/revisions\/3353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}