Anti-Semitism and the Israel Lobby

Ali Gahrib and James Kirchick discussed the Chuck Hagel nomination on bloggingheads last night. It was generally a good conversation and I recommend it. However, as tends to happen with these types of conversations, the "Anti-Semitism and the Israel Lobby" argument arose. This argument involves one side attributing foreign policy or domestic political outcomes to the actions of a pro-Israel Lobby, while the other side responds with vague non-accusations along the lines of "i'm not calling you an anti-semite but . . ." and then proceeds to argue that the pro-Israel lobby is treated differently from other lobbying groups and is discussed in terms that are arguably anti-semitic. Eli Lake and Robert Wright had the same argument a few months ago.

Anti-semitism has historically involved the charge that a small group of elite Jews use money to disproportionately influence global events in the service of a narrow interest. The accusation is almost always one that is vague and conspiratorial--involving references to an unspecified pressure and influence.

It strikes me that it is more or less impossible to discuss how lobbying works in American politics, without accidentally tripping over an anti-Semitic dog-whistle. This is because lobbying is a partially veiled activity that involves a small group of individuals coordinating and using pressure to influence policy outcomes.

I don't have a good solution for this problem. Racial and anti-semetic dog-whistles aren't acceptable and should be called for what they are. But in this particular area it is hard to imagine someone discussing the influence on the U.S. government--of those who explicitly try to influence the U.S. government--without inadvertently leaving themselves exposed to the charge of anti-semitism. This is why you get the type of discussions I posted above, where both sides know that neither is anti-semite, yet the conversation returns to anti-semitism.