Blog Credo

The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.

H.L. Mencken

Sunday, August 2, 2015

The Israeli and American Right

When I saw that an orthodox (I'm assuming) Jew attacked a gay pride parade in Israel with a knife, wounding several, it occurred to me that the American and Israeli Right really are in synch with one another.

They rely on religious fundamentalists for their political support.  They embrace the idea that their country is only for certain kinds of people.  They are bellicose in their foreign policy and are basically distrustful of the rest of the world.

When I read someone comparing the Iranian regime to Hitler - which is done in both US and Israeli right wing circles - I realized they also share an historical illiteracy.

Iran today has about 30,000 Jewish citizens.  Their synagogues are protected by law and they are guaranteed a single seat in the Majles.  But, yeah, that's the same as the Final Solution.

So, it's no surprise that Netanyahu gets a warm reception from the GOP on the Hill.  He's basically an accident of birth away from being the 2016 GOP frontrunner.

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