The Other McCain

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Sanders Aide Who Used ‘Dual Allegiance’ Smear Against Jews Is an Illegal Alien

Posted on | March 14, 2019 | Comments Off on Sanders Aide Who Used ‘Dual Allegiance’ Smear Against Jews Is an Illegal Alien

 

Interesting developments:

A spokeswoman for Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign apologized Tuesday after questioning whether the “American-Jewish community has a dual allegiance to the state of Israel” — a comment condemned by Jewish leaders across the political spectrum as having anti-Semitic overtones.
“In a conversation on Facebook, I used some language that I see now was insensitive. Issues of allegiance and loyalty to one’s country come with painful history,” Belén Sisa, Sanders’ national deputy press secretary, told POLITICO. “At a time when so many communities in our country feel under attack by the president and his allies, I absolutely recognize that we need to address these issues with greater care and sensitivity to their historical resonance, and I’m committed to doing that in the future.”

Belén Sisa is an illegal alien “who says she was brought to this country illegally from Argentina by her parents at age six [and] is currently protected from deportation under President Barack Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program.” So whose “allegiance” is really at issue here? Doesn’t her defiance of American law bring Belén Sisa’s “allegiance” into question? Can we have her deported now, please?

By the way — and I guess this as good a place as any to insert this caveat — I don’t consider it automatic proof of anti-Semitism to criticize Israel or to question the U.S.-Israel alliance. Modern conservatism’s intellectual godfather Russell Kirk famously said in a 1988 Heritage Foundation speech: “Not seldom has it seemed, as if some eminent Neoconservatives mistook Tel Aviv for the capital of the United States.” Kirk’s remark could be seen as directed toward the obsession with Middle East policy typical of some Jewish conservatives, which subsequently were pushed to the fore in the 1991 Gulf War and the 2003 Iraq War. In both of those conflicts, of course, Republicans rallied in support of U.S. military intervention for reasons not necessarily related to Israel, although this didn’t stop the Left from smearing the GOP as captive to “neocon warmongers.” My own opinions in this regard are nuanced. I am, and always have been, strongly pro-Israel, dating back at least as far as the 1967 Six-Day War, when I was only 7 years old.

Even as a boy, I understood that Israel was fighting for its existence against implacable enemies and, being raised in a Southern Baptist church on Bible stories of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, Daniel and other Old Testament heroes, certainly I cheered the Israelis in their defense of their ancient homeland. Furthermore, the 1967 war and the subsequent 1973 Yom Kippur War were fought in the shadow of the Cold War struggle against communism, and we knew what side the Commies were on, because Israeli’s enemies were armed with Soviet weapons.

To put it quite simply: If being a Zionist is a crime, I plead guilty, and if killing Communists is wrong, I don’t want to be right.

Nevertheless, I understand that debates about public policy require me to consider that people who disagree with me (and who are therefore wrong) may be motivated by sincere concerns that must be taken seriously. One of these concerns is that, in our zeal to prevent Israel from being destroyed by its enemies, the United States has adopted a sort of latter-day imperialism, waging “Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace,” as Russell Kirk warned in a 1991 Heritage speech. Unless conservatives are willing to disavow Kirk, we cannot go around demanding that anyone who voices similar concerns be fired or purged. Obviously, in an age where the likes of Ilhan Omar are embraced by Democrats, there is reason to be alarmed by evidence that dangerous anti-Semitic tendencies are emerging on the Left. At the same time, however, we must be careful not to conflate reasonable policy criticisms with irrational hatred.

Nothing is more likely to provoke anti-Semitic paranoia than efforts to banish from public discourse anyone who questions U.S. policy toward Israel. It is predictable that Jew-haters will point to such attempted suppression as evidence of a sinister Zionist conspiracy. And I would be amiss if I did not warn my readers to beware of agents-provocateurs who provoke online conflicts around such issues. There are all kinds of shadowy “false-flag” trolls out there, who may be political activists or partisan operatives seeking to create evidence of right-wing anti-Semitism. It is also known that various law-enforcement and intelligence agencies engage in undercover operations online, so that for all you know, the Internet account that constantly spews Jew-hating nonsense is an FBI informant or an intelligence agent for a foreign government.

Speaking of things I learned growing up as a Southern Baptist, did you know the Bible repeatedly warns us not to be deceived? Satan is a liar and a false accuser (cf., Revelation 12:9), and the Christian therefore should always be vigilant about deception. “Beware of false prophets,” Jesus warned his disciples (Matthew 7:15) and Paul warned: “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit” (Colossians 2:8).

We live in dangerous times, and deception is everywhere. Be vigilant!



 

Category: Bernie Sanders, Democrats, Immigration, Israel

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