By way of commenting on l'affaire Moran, Michael Kinsley has written one of those clever turn-the-tables columns at which he excels. Pro-Israel groups and lobbyists like AIPAC have power and influence, and aren't shy about proclaiming it, talking it up, even exaggerating it. Says Kinsley:
you shouldn't brag about how influential you are if you want to get hysterically indignant when someone suggests that government policy is affected by your influence
But Moran didn't just claim that pro-Israel groups were influential. He said that Jews (qua Jews) were responsible for the US's war policy which he found so objectionable; that, if they so chose, they could call the whole thing off; and that they really ought to abandon their sinister plans and do so. Kinsley's observations about AIPAC and other groups are true, unobjectionable, and unremarkable, ironic perhaps, but only in the current context. Without being hysterical, nor being particularly indignant, I can't help noticing that Moran's comments went a bit further than that.
Posted by Dr. Frank at March 12, 2003 10:44 PM | TrackBack