nice job of connecting some dots.

looks like you might have exposed one of the republican themes for fall 2006.

What people fail to understand is that the current version of â€Zionism†that is dominant in both Israel and among a significant group of American Jews is better defined as â€Jabotinskyism.†This is the old far-right perversion of Zionism that looked favorably on Mussolini’s fascists in the 1930s and was willing as late as 1938 to come to an accommodation with the Nazis. From the ascension of Likud to majority status in Israel in the late 1970s, this philosophy has become the dominant political power in Israel in exactly the same way â€movement conservatism†has in the United States. And Jabotinsky-Zionism has about as much to do with actual Zionism as American neocon â€movement conservatism†has to do with actual conservatism.

Guys like Peretz are really neocons, so no wonder he’s upset at the thought of the Democrats taking power in Congress.

I think it’s time to recognize The New Republican and that group of GOP shills for the turncoats they are, and to let Peretz go bankrupt keeping his little toilet paper factory in operation.

knock knock Marty, knock knock Joe, knock knock Lanny, the people came to your door last night, can you hear them now? They are the voice, not you.

Dingell is so easily understandable you have to wonder what kind of political suicide the likes of Marty Peretz expect of elected officials. His District includes perhaps the largest Arab American and Muslim American communities in the country — roughly centered on Dearborn, and if he didn’t represent their interests, Dingell would be long gone. And while that community has existed for many years — it has grown substantially over the last decade.

The Peretz issue has a great deal to do with the most healthy and intelligent way to build political coalitions within the Democratic Party. At its root, this problem emerged in the wake of the Civil Rights movement when black democratic voters had to be fully integrated into the coalition — receive authentic influence in policy circles, be supported for elective office, accorded power in congress based on seniority. Now what that means is if the Dem’s win the House — Conyers will head Judiciary and Rangle will head Ways and Means, and Peretz and those who politically calculate as he does really don’t want that arrangement in the Democratic Party or Congress. If the Democratic Party proves able to open the Coalition up fully to the new voting block of Latino’s — elect their representatives, and eventually move those into positions of power and influence, Peretz’s calculations understand that as a zero sum game, and they will fight it. At some juncture Peretz will need to be pushed out of the circle of influence with the help of Democratic Jewish Politicians who do not share Peretz’s ideology — people such as Waxman, Finegold, Levin, and perhaps Boxer and Finestein. Dropping back to my posts here about the 1990 Minnesota Senate Campaign between Wellstone and Boschwitz — and the â€Bad Jew†letter that Boschwitz threw into the mix in the last days of that campaign, — this has been ongoing for a good long time. In fact, this season yet another chapter of it is being played out in my CD. With Martin Sabo’s retirement, one of the most safe Democratic Seats in the country is open, and the DFL nominated an African American Muslim to it. The primary is in early September, and the DLC is here with the money trying to challenge the party endorsement, supporting one of the DLC founders for the seat. But having been through that with the Wellstone campaigns decisions have been taken that are enlightening. Keith Ellison is literally campaigning out of Temple Israel — and the suburban Jewish Community Center — they are sponsoring the debates and forums, and helping raise Ellison’s money. I recently received an invite to a joint Somali Community/Jewish Community campaign event. (We have one of the largest Somali Refugee populations in the Country, and they are becoming Citizens and joining the DFL). That is not precisely what Peretz has in mind as the future Democratic Coalition.

Per My DD and FDL, ABC reporting that Rove has contacted Lieberman saying, â€the boss wants to help.â€
I don’t buy it for a second. I think Rove’s been helping since January, but it’s nice for Ned, nonetheless.
OT, imo TURNOUT was as much a wakeup to all US politicians as the Ned win.
FDL reporting that Barbara Boxer endoresed Ned this morning.

TCinLA,

Do you have references on â€Jabotinskyismâ€? It sounds like a useful term for our political vocabulary.

Stamford Advocate and AP reporting that Lieberman fired campaign manager and spokeswoman.

While I am sure some would disagree with me, I think the Jabotinskyism idea set is well covered in Avi Shlaim’s â€The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World†Norton, 2001. Shlaim is native to Iran, but grew up and was educated in Israel, but teaches at Oxford. Shlaim is one of the â€revisionary†historians who began research and publication in the late 1980’s when archives both in London and Israel became available regarding the pre-48 and the early post 48 period. These historians challenged many of the founding myths — and thus are controversial particularly in the US, but are quite mainstream in Israel. Other authors in this collective would be Benny Morris, Simha Flapan, Ilan Pappe, and I would add for good measure a non-historian, Baruch Kimmerling, Professor of Sociology at Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The Nation and the New York Review of Books on occassion commission articles from this collective — so you may find it useful to google them, and see what might be available on line.

Just a small correction. Shlaim is actually from an Iraqi Jewish Family. You can read an interview with him by The Nation:

Interview With Middle East Scholar Avi Shlaim: America, Israel and the Middle East.

Definitely worth a read if you are interested in these issues.