Outside of orthodox Jews, there is no religious content in Judaism. Support of Israel is all there is. Which is funny because all the religions of the ancient world, Judaism, Roman and Greek religion,etc., were essentially religions of a national community. Judaism began as a national religion and with the re-establishment of Israel as a state has returned to this status. There is, I repeat, no religious content as we know it, in Judaism. That's why Jews feel compelled to support Israel despite its integral nationalism (a word which means 'on the way to fascism.')

Jews would do well either to get a religion that's really a religion or give it all up. Support of Israel is probably anti-American. But Irish Catholics have supported the IRA terrorists in Northern Ireland. Their religion had become entirely nationalist. So Jews are not the only ones.

J street is an admirable effort. But it's not going to work, unless more serious consideration is done about "stability". A 2 state solution will not work, because it doesn't deal with the injustices the Arabs suffer. We have to deal with the fact that no "nation" can deliver stability no matter who they are, including the US. The only way the Jews and Arabs are ever going to have a tolerable life anywhere near each other, is if the disputed areas (Israel, however defined) are guaranteed and supervised by a world government, under laws which both parties think are more or less fair. No "Nations", get it? What needs to be thought out is how a so-far-non-existent world government could function. Not that difficult theoretically; it's been done elsewhere on a smaller scale for thousands of years. disigny

I would shudder everytime GW or the christian right support my country as this would only enrage the Arab street...

In fact Iraq probably made matters worse..

The same WASPS who support GW also stereotype Jews..I have heard these remarks at work..

Besides..why dont all these Born Again hyprocrites just convert to Judaism?

Judaism====> Christianity right?

There is no logic to what is happening in USA right now..no honest discussion on anything.

They are slowly killing USA to the point we might need Israel's help!

Perhaps J Street will help redefine what it means to be pro-Israel. Despite the rhetoric not many on the right or left are honest when it comes to Israel and the Palestinians. I hope J Street will confront the big lie that the religious right is “pro-Israel”. We all know that behind the “support” is an insidious vision for the end of times and the end of Israel.

I also hope it will confront the prevailing wind from the left that is so hard to take - the arrogant, condescending segment of the left that romanticizes the Palestinians, “understands” terrorism and condemn the “inherent racism” of a Jewish state while supporting the Islamic rule of other nations as “cultural”.

Where do you get this stuff? I don't even know where to start to untangle that ignorance. 2000 of no state = nationalism? Wow that's crazy even by Salon standards.

Anything concrete, substantial, at all, about anything. Negotiate with Syria? Already being done. Negotiate with the Hamas? Already being done albeit indirectly. Remove checkpoints? 44 out of the 50 agreed to last week taken down. Increase day work permits? Done. Continue to send free goods and services into Gaza? Done. Moving the Security fence? Work in progress from stretching over 9% of pre 1967 "Palestine" to 4%. Sending $450 million in aid to the PA (temporarily suspended) http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-5405269/U-S-EU-halting-450.html

Seems that anything that varies from the official Hamas/PA demands of unlimited repatriation, and a free hand in waging war without end would not sit well with J-Street given all the other things that are going on now w/o them. Though I'm willing to listen to anything at all material they have to say about anything.

I await their pearls of wisdom, Gary.

Of course, nothing you know changes the fact that there is a Gaza blockade, that Palestinian civilians keep losing their lands and dying in this conflict, and yesterday the Israelis killed a Palestinian mother and her 4 children. Go ahead and blame Hamas for everything. But that won't change the fact that there is a need for a solution and asking for a 2-state solution does not equate to a belief in Hamas-inspired theology.

What solution would you prefer? Or do you think the staus quo is just fine?

I could not give a flip if someone is Jewish or Muslim, Israeli or Arab. All I care about is our common humanity. It is clear to anybody with an ounce of moral fiber that Israel is brutalizing an entire population. It is clear that Israel's policies are driven by apartheid type racism. It is also clear that the bulk of the violence is directed by Israel (see below). I salute the moral courage of Jews who demand an end to this travesty. I am especially in awe of the many Israeli soldiers who recently came forward to talk about how they had brutalized Palestinian civilians. The facts of the violence are below and speak for themselves.

Palestinians Deaths vs. Israeli Death. September 28, 2000 - February 15, 2006

[Total Number of Palestinian deaths] : 4209

Children: 892

Women : 273

Men : 3044

[Palestinians killed by Jewish settlers] 72

[Palestinians killed as a result of Israeli shelling] : 83

[Deaths as a result of medical prevention at Israeli checkpoints] : 117

Of them stillbirths (born dead at checkpoints) : 31

[Number of Palestinians extra-judicially assassinated] : 561

Of them bystanders killed during extra-judicial operations: 253

[Total Number Israeli deaths]: 1556

Children : 113

Women : 305

Men : 603

Settlers : 213

Soldiers : 322

That is to say, if you watch their video advert, the positive payload is on Olmert, which means Kadima. Now, Kadima is itself a sort of centrist fusion of cadres from Likud on the one side and Labor on the other, with the sadly insignificant Meretz hanging onto its coat-tails. Olmert and Co. are well aware that as things stand in the USA, the AIPAC machine could bring down the Kadima government within a month or so if it put its mind to it, and naturally they don't want that to happen.

But, really, what IS the Kadima policy? When Olmert took up the prime ministership in 2006 he was talking in terms of something called in hebrew, "hitkansut," which is usually translated as "convergence," more or less accurately, but the essential idea was that the settlers would be "converged" behind the wall, and the settlers who still remained beyond it would eventually have to look after themselves. However, this is not quite as straightforward as it seems, because at no point did he even consider giving up control of the ribbon of land immediately abutting the west bank of the Jordan river. If you visualise this, you will see that it is not the settlers who are being "converged" (i.e. concentrated behind a protective barrier) but the remaining Palestinians who are being "converged" by being concentrated in the remaining space between the Israeli controlled territories to both West and East of them. This is not a problem that can be solved by any amount of stylistics, and it is not on JStreet's agenda, or anyone else's, to abandon the aforesaid ribbon of land on the riverbank. See the problem?

p.s. - on a personal note - I am one of the reportedly non-existent Kansas O'Flaherty fans. I have links to all sixteen episodes on my blog somewhere.