In another display of the moral and intellectual bankruptcy of the American left, an Israeli-American college student tells of being called a Nazi at a protest against neo-Nazis, because she proudly carried an Israeli flag.

I must admit that I, like many young Jews and Zionists my age, feel betrayed by American liberals. With regards to the Middle East, there seems to be no appreciation of the moral ambiguity, the political nuances, the multiple layers of media spin. Faced with such a complex situation, young people too often ask others to chew it, swallow it and digest it for them, and then tell them in absolute terms which side is most appropriate to their general belief structure.

Are you in favor of affirmative action? Are you for civil liberties and women's rights? Why, then, you must be pro-Palestinian! Anti-Globalization? Humanitarian? Pro- Palestinian! Ever voted Democratic/ Libertarian/Socialist or even abstained from voting for a Republican? Then Palestine is the side for you!

It's so sad how quick people are to hate the Jews. Is it any wonder why Hitler chose the Jews for destruction, or why people applauded his evil?

Why, people?

Deja vu

Some time in 1988-1990, I don't remember exactly, I was called a Nazi to my face during a campus protest.

I was wearing a yarmulka.

The person who called me so (and whose policies and presence on campus I was protesting) was Ralph Nader.

Well, Arabs and even Arab-Americans (like Ralph) do seem to have a problem distinguishing Jews from Nazis...

Wait, wait, Ralph Nader called you a "Nazi" to your face? For lack of better word: Wow.

that's because the modern liberal definition of the word nazi is: anyone who i do not agree with

It's so sad how quick people are to hate the Jews. Is it any wonder why Hitler chose the Jews for destruction, or why people applauded his evil?

You have to be joking. A study of history would help answer your question. Perhaps you have heard of the strategy of the scapegoat? Blame a particular group that no one particularly likes for all the problems of the land. It works real well when the people are desperate as was the case in Germany in the early 30's after the Weimar Republic deliberately destroyed the economy (through grotesque hyperinflation) as part of the plan of getting out from under the Treaty of Versailles - and as a concrete step towards rebuilding a German war machine.

IMHO, Hitler wasn't the primary cause of the Second World War. Someone else would have done it as well. The machine was running. However, it was his perverted genius that enabled him to be in the seat of power. A core part of that strategy was the blaming of Jews. Finally, the elaborate myths woven by German propaganda gave adequate rationalizations to those who profited from the expulsion and massacre of Jews and others. IMHO the propaganda in part wasn't meant to justify the concentration camps and such (though it must have been clear to many what was going on). Instead, I suspect it was meant as a salve for the stunted consciences of the Nazi leaders of Germany. Ie, an illusionary world was created and inhabited. Once you are sufficiently divorced from reality any monstrousity is possible.

This brings us to Israel the country. It has many myths surrounding its creation and its enemies that (again IMHO) are deeply flawed. First, it appears to have acquired part of its land holdings through illegal and even brutal means. Second, that its enemies are irrational and monstrous. While it's clear that some are irrational and some are monstrous, it's equally clear that some of Israel's problems have been self-inflicted. In particular, the current location of Israel is poor if you wish to avoid conflict. Israel sits astride crossroads just as its ancient counter did. And had many wars and enemies just as its ancient counterpart did. The point is that for any nation in the Middle East to consolidate an empire, it must first destroy and occupy Israel (it is awesome that this hasn't happened yet). I might add, this wouldn't have been a problem if Israel were located in say South America (as was once proposed, I hear). The rationalization that God wills this as destiny or that only these homelands will do is a work of propaganda that would be admired by any Nazi schooled in those arts.

Second, while many enemies of Israel have commited monstrous acts (eg, bombings and attempted poisonings of civilians) instead of nonviolent means (apparently these aren't tried because of lack of interest rather than an issue of effectiveness), it's clear that many unfairly characterize the entire Palestinian population as monsters. One might recall that Nazi propagandists excelled at depicting Jews as monsters. Another parallel between then and now. What should one do with monsters? I assert that there can be no conclusion other than that the monster must be destroyed. That's pretty much inherent in the label.

IMHO, no group or nation currently in existence (with the possible exception of Al Quaida or Iraq, which coincidentally are current US targets) demonstrates the combination of willful blindness, overreaching ambition, and sheer brutalness that characterized Nazi Germany or a few of the Communist governments. However, the tools of propaganda, that the Nazis used so well, still exist and are applied widely these days. If one uses these tools as Israel and her US allies have, then one shouldn't be surprised to be compared to Nazis.

OTOH, the abuse heaped upon the lone woman of the story is inexcusable. I'm dubious of her equating "anti-semitism" with the accusations of Nazism that she confronted, but it disturbs me that this group apparently found her more threatening than the neo-nazis that the protesters supposedly were confronting. But then maybe she was the greater "threat" than the loyal opposition.

Karl Hallowell,
Bullshit.

The reason Israel sits where it sits is because the Land of Israel was the traditional home of the Jewish people. There was a suggestion to settle desperate Jews from Russia fleeing pogrom in Uganda, since the Ottoman government in 1903 was refusing to allow Jewish immigration into what became the Palestine madate after WWI. Nobody in the Zionist movement (except Herzl) took this seriously since Uganda was not the right place. The land of Israel was the Promised Land, no alternatives need apply.

Spare me the Nazi analogies, which came straight out of the Soviet playbook. The left turned against Israel when the USSR got seriously hostile to Israel, after the 1967 war. They followed the lead of the Communists on this matter, and have held to that ever since, with few exception. The "colonial-settler" argument, recently reiterated by Nelson Mandela, was framed by a French Communist, long ago. Lies, of the basest sort.

Here is the issue. When Arabs say "peace in the Middle East" they mean the destruction of Israel and the extermination of its Jewish inhabitants. Their governments spew out vast amounts of sordid anti-Semitic propaganda, often straight from Nazi sources. They have revived the Medieval blood libel. The campaign of the Palestinian Arabs is directed against all Jews, not just Zionists. Synagogues are bombed in Istanbul and Tunesia, Jewish centers bombed in Argentina, the recent wave of attacks in France and Germany which seems to have been done by Muslim immigrants show this fact. Did you know there are anti-Zionist Jews? Yes, and some live in Jerusalem. A few months ago the Palestinian Arabs bombed them, killing many women and babies. It is Israel's enemies who most resemble the Nazis. Israel, a democracy, does not. No more weaseling about Israel and Nazis, it is repugnant.

The poor girl in the story is 21. The left has been viciously hostile to Israel throughout her entire lifetime, and she only just noticed?