I suspect that, in the years to come, Americans' understanding of the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians will become even murkier. The fact of the matter is that most Americans do not understand the roots of the conflict now, and more and more Americans fail to cower when they're called anti-Semitic for questioning Israel's actions against Hamas and Fatah. That dog doesn't hunt anymore.
Most Americans 40 years of age or younger do not see Jewishness as a negative. Like our parents' generation, we don't see the old prejudices and they are not the motivation for our political/social/global perspective. Think of this: in the movie It's a Wonderful Life, curmudgeonly Mr. Potter sneers at George Bailey's efforts to help "a lot of garlic eaters". Do you know what that means? If you're my age (mid-30s), you'd have to know something about turn-of-the-century immigration statistics, geography, and frankly cooking to understand that comment. Certainly if my parents understood it they did not subscribe to it. And the comment drifts completely by my own generation.
So here we are, the new generation of middle America, who doesn't quite understand why we are supposed to support Israel without question or discussion. That isn't going to go away. I don't think its very difficult to present an argument to my generation about why Israel needs our support. I just don't think we're going to continue to offer Israel our unqualified support.
That said, Glenn Greenwald today talks about the ground situation in Gaza, points out that Israel is still unconstitutionally barring journalists from entering Gaza, and shares his experience having a rational discussion about the conflict with an irrational commentator.
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Did you see the Daily Show last night? I think Jon Stewart, being one of the Jewiest Jewish celebrities at the moment as well as a respected political commentator (granted, a comedic one), is in a position to influence "our generation" on this issue. Having dated a Zionist, it's refreshing that Jon is as capable of criticizing Israeli action as Palestinian.
I've noticed that whenever someone is afraid that something important will be taken away from them, they will distort logic and reason wildly out of proportion to defend their possession. This is why to even question Israel's action is often interpreted as being anti-Semetic. The state of Israel is so important to the Jewish people that they can't even entertain an idea that would threaten its sustainability (such as it is). Add to the fact that the only reason that Israel's foundation is considered any more moral than other forms of European colonization is because of sympathy for the Holocaust (and hundreds of years of persecution).
No matter how strongly you support Israel, you have to face that moral ambiguity... just like no matter how strongly you support America, you can't ignore the fact that we are still colonizing and perverting the land of the natives.
Until the natives of this country start strapping bombs to their chest and blowing up buses, Americans won't really understand what's going on.
Some time I should tell you what a Jewish woman I'm friends with said about the importance to her (an American) of the Jewish state of Israel. It was interesting to hear her explain why it is so important that there be one country in the world that is a Jewish country. It was a compelling argument. It didn't change my view that settlement activities over the last 40 years place responsibility for the conflict squarely in the lap of Israel, and until the disputed territories are returned to the Palestinians there is no point in negotiating for a "fair" agreement. But it was an enlightening argument nonetheless and made me feel like I grasped each side more fully.
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