And the author of "Reckless Rites: Purim and the Legacy of Jewish Violence" not surprisingly finds Palin to also be utterly unacceptable to the rabid anti-semitic crowd, saying that she would be like Queen Esther:
And, in the Book of Esther, one finds that Queen Esther—Palin’s role model—engaged in intrigues that resulted in the mass murder of 75,000 Persians who were considered a threat to the Jewish people, just as today’s Iran is likewise perceived as Israel’s greatest danger.
While this same crowd has been critical of Biden as well with his self-description as a Zionist, they go off the rails when talking about Palin. One can almost feel the spittle being dripped on the keyboard as these unapologetic haters type their unintentionally funny bile for their adoring fans.
In a similar political note, prominent Arab-American Ray Hanania writes a column that an neat flip side of my argument that Obama might be better for Israel because of his antipathy towards it (and Israel's likely reaction,) arguing that Arabs should vote for McCain because they will be disappointed that Obama, presumed to be their friend, will turn on them:
Arab Americans were hopeful with Obama because Obama comes from an oppressed South Side Chicago African American community, although he is an elitist who has always been above the suffering of African Americans. Nevertheless, Obama was close to Arab activists — most extremists — who he needed when he was running before to help raise funds and generate votes.Notice how while Obama apologists will downplay his connections to radical Arabs in Chicago, Hanania - who was born in Chicago - readily admits them.
...But there is one hope for Arab Americans. It is a theory based on the contrarian view that the best way to help a cause is not to constantly seek the best candidate and always be disappointed. It is the view that the best way to bring change is to keep the environment hostile. That is, don’t support Obama — just because he has a middle name that is Muslim (Hussein is not an Arab name, it is a Muslim name. I don’t know one Aran Christian named Hussein, unlike Abdullah, which is an Arab named shared by Christians and Muslims). The theory goes that instead of supporting Obama, who can’t do the right thing because his hands are tied by the reality of American politics, support John McCain who everyone presumes is more pro-Israel than Obama. The truth is, McCain, with his support of Israel, could do more to force Israel’s government to be more objective and do the right thing.
McCain, by virtue of the fact that he is viewed as being more supportive of Israel, could have the strength to do the right thing.
Obama will let the Arab American community down not because he wants to but because that is the inherent nature of an American political system where the Arab activism is at an extremist and dysfunctional minimal. If Obama lets us down, as he is certain to do, that would be far more traumatic for Arab Americans. Because the worst kind of disappointment come from friends, not enemies.
(I need to stress again that my contrarian argument is based on the fact that Israel's current government cannot stand up for its own Zionist ideals when asked by "friends" in the White House to give more and more concessions, and the real solution is for Israel to get leadership that can articulate its own needs and stand up to pressure from friend and enemy alike, while Americans elect who would be best for America.)