{"id":1560659,"date":"2024-03-18T23:03:35","date_gmt":"2024-03-18T23:03:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.counterpunch.org\/?p=316611"},"modified":"2024-03-20T05:59:01","modified_gmt":"2024-03-20T05:59:01","slug":"counterpunch-org-2024-03-18-230335","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2024\/03\/18\/counterpunch-org-2024-03-18-230335\/","title":{"rendered":"The Atlantic\u00a0Joins the Chorus of Fear"},"content":{"rendered":"\"\"<\/a>\n
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The Atlantic logo<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

\u201cWe have nothing to fear but fear itself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2013 Franklin D. Roosevelt, First Inaugural Address, 1933.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

These are indeed perilous times for the United States at home and abroad.\u00a0 It is unfortunate, however, that various experts and observers are advancing speculative theories that add an element of fear that is unwarranted and destabilizing. \u00a0U.S. experts on Russia have exaggerated the possibility of Russia\u2019s use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine as well as the possibility that a Putin victory in Ukraine would lead to additional Russian attacks in the Baltics or East Europe. \u00a0Sinologists have exaggerated the threat of a possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan without presenting any new evidence for their assessments. \u00a0Leading experts on North Korea, including Professor John Delury, argue that Kim Jong-un \u201cmay be preparing for war.\u201d<\/p>\n

And now\u00a0The Atlantic<\/em>\u2019s Franklin Foer is spreading fear about the home front.\u00a0 In his cover story, Foer emphasizes a political threat to the U.S. Jewish community that will \u201cend an unprecedented period of safety and prosperity for Jewish Americans–and demolish the liberal order they helped establish.\u201d \u00a0Foer argues that the United States is holding its Jews \u201cat arm\u2019s length,\u201d which makes America \u201cmore intent on hunting down scapegoats than addressing underlying defects.\u201d\u00a0 In any event, Jews in the United States are not the minority most likely to be scapegoated by white supremacists.<\/p>\n

Foer concludes that \u201csuch societies are prone to decline,\u201d citing England\u2019s \u201clong dark age after expelling its Jews in 1290\u201d and \u201cCzarist Russia limping toward revolution after the pogroms of the 1880s.\u201d\u00a0 History may repeat itself, but each time it is different.
\nThe Jewish community in the United States is economically prosperous and politically powerful, and there are no signs that this will change in any way.\u00a0 There has been no Jewish diaspora anywhere in the world that rivals the American homeland.\u00a0 The great regret of the founding generation of Israel was that the Jews in the United States had no interest in making \u201caliyah\u201d to Israel, which is still true today.\u00a0 But Foer lamely supports his arguments for increased Jewish anxiety by citing the efforts of his own mother to get a passport from Poland, the country of her birth, and an immigration lawyer he knows who had obtained a German passport.\u00a0 These anecdotal examples prove nothing of course, and the view that life in Poland or Germany may provide a \u201csafer haven\u201d and assuage Jewish anxiety is risible.<\/p>\n

There are legitimate reasons for Jewish Americans to be concerned by dire international conditions in view of their historical experiences as well as the examples of anti-Semitism that Foer cites. But the notion that the United States is on a course that would be the \u201cend of the Golden Age not just for the Jews, but for the country that nurtured them\u201d is both hyperbolic and polemical. \u00a0In view of the overrepresentation of Jews in the Congress, the judiciary and law, in medicine, in technology, and in finance,\u00a0The Atlantic\u2019<\/em>s handwringing over the plight of Jewish Americans is particularly risible.
\nThe Atlantic<\/em>\u00a0would be better off examining the policies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a factor in the increase of anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism as well as the deep divisions in the progressive movement, the Democratic Party, and even the Jewish-American community as a result of the horrific military campaign that Israeli Defense Forces are waging.<\/p>\n

Even the Israeli military is growing critical of Netanyahu\u2019s leadership.\u00a0 Brig. Gen. Dan Goldfus, who commands the only division still fighting on the ground in Gaza, said that Israel\u2019s political leaders must \u201cget their act together.\u00a0 You have to be worthy of us.\u201d\u00a0 Thus far, Netanyahu has not acknowledged any responsibility for the war and refuses to permit an investigation into \u201cwhat went wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

Netanyahu\u2019s actions have also fractured the Jewish-American consensus on Israel, although this could actually lead to a more cohesive and stronger liberal and progressive order in the United States in the long run.\u00a0 Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer\u2019s criticism of the Netanyahu government suggests that he recognizes the increased opposition within the progressive and liberal movement regarding Israel\u2019s genocidal actions, and as a result has drastically changed his position on the war.<\/p>\n

One of the lessons of the Cold War should have been the danger of exaggerating the threat or key adversaries in order to avoid the great cost of unnecessary military buildups.\u00a0 We spent unnecessarily against a Soviet \u201cthreat\u201d that was hyped beyond reality.\u00a0 Politicians and pundits alike are failing to actually assess the the threat or the adversary, which is contributing to budget deficits and heightened fears.\u00a0 More time should be devoted to the study of diplomatic history in order to examine precedents for improving bilateral relations.\u00a0 Fear is driving us toward arms races; diplomacy could drive us to arms control and disarmament as well as a more stable international environment.<\/p>\n

The attention given to the notion of a threat to the Jewish-American community draws attention away from the horrors that Netanyahu\u2019s right-wing government is doing to Palestinians in Gaza.\u00a0 The ruthlessness of Israel\u2019s military response to the terrible events of October 7th is far more threatening to the cohesion of the Jewish community in the United States than the isolated acts of anti-Semitism that Foer cites.\u00a0 According to the\u00a0New Republic<\/em>, a quarter of American Jews consider Israel an \u201capartheid state,\u201d and 22 percent believe Israel is committing genocide.\u00a0 Shaul Magid, distinguished fellow of Jewish studies at Dartmouth, argues that \u201cAmerican Jewry is kind of broken.\u201d\u00a0 Once again, we have \u201cmet the enemy, and he is us.\u201d<\/p>\n

The post The Atlantic\u00a0Joins the Chorus of Fear<\/a> appeared first on CounterPunch.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

This post was originally published on CounterPunch.org<\/a>. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWe have nothing to fear but fear itself.\u201d \u2013 Franklin D. Roosevelt, First Inaugural Address, 1933. These are indeed perilous times for the United States at home and abroad.\u00a0 It is unfortunate, however, that various experts and observers are advancing speculative theories that add an element of fear that is unwarranted and destabilizing. \u00a0U.S. experts More<\/a><\/p>\n

The post The Atlantic\u00a0Joins the Chorus of Fear<\/a> appeared first on CounterPunch.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,266],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1560659"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1560659"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1560659\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1564600,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1560659\/revisions\/1564600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1560659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1560659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1560659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}