There are two reasons, the first having to do with Israel, the second with America, though they are related. I certainly appreciate the sincere feelings of Christian Zionists. I have theological, spiritual, political, and personal trouble (nobody knows the troubles I've seen) with the branch of Christian Zionism that yearns for the destruction of Israel because it holds that Armageddon will be the harbinger of Christ's return, and Sarah Palin has affiliated herself on occasion with people who adhere to this branch.Really? Who are are these Zionists "that yearns for the destruction of Israel" who Sarah Palin has "affiliated herself" with? Mr Goldberg doesn't say because he seems to have just reached into his left-wing bin of preconceived notions to come to that conclusion. He goes on:
But mainstream Christian Zionists -- people who believe that God blesses those who bless the Jews -- well, I'm not going to argue with that point. It is not, then, Palin's theology that bothers me as much as her actual understanding, or lack of understanding, of Middle East politics that is so troublesome.Ah, the 'dumb' meme. You knew it was coming because leftist writers like Goldberg tend to repeat other leftist writers. Word has it that they actually coordinate that sort of thing. They've been pulling the 'idiotic, yet maniacal' card on republicans since Nixon, and I don't see their creativity expanding too far beyond that line of attack.
No, Mr. Goldberg, Sarah Palin does not lack any understanding of Middle East politics. She comprehends who our friends are, who our enemies are, and the difference between the two. Sadly, I cannot say as much for our current Commander in Chief. The tripe continues (emphasis mine):
Palin has positioned herself as a territory maximalist, arguing for the righteousness of continued Jewish settlement of the West Bank, including those parts of the West Bank, presumably, beyond the security fence. This line of argument places her well to the right of the position taken, late in his career, of Ariel Sharon. As I have pointed out on innumerable occasions, this position, seemingly Zionist (or super-Zionist, even) on the surface, actually undermines the idea of Israel as a Jewish state, because settlements are the vanguard of eventual binationalism, not of a Greater Israel. Israel simply cannot absorb the West Bank's Arabs and remain either a Jewish state or a democracy. For an American politician to argue otherwise is a danger to Israel. Sarah Palin encourages the most recidivist elements of the Israeli right, and it is absolutely vital for the Israeli right to grapple with demographic, political and moral reality, before it's too late.
Mr. Goldberg draws his conclusions from twisting her actual stance. Sarah Palin has never stated anything on record that proceeds to outline the final borders for the State of Israel. Quite the opposite, as a matter of fact. What has Sarah Palin actually said on the topic?
While talking to Barbara Walters, back in November of last year, she said the following in response to the dust up between Israel and the Obama Administration over the construction of new settlements in east Jerusalem (emphasis mine):
"I disagree with the Obama administration on that," ... "I believe that the Jewish settlements should be allowed to be expanded upon, because that population of Israel is, is going to grow. More and more Jewish people will be flocking to Israel in the days and weeks and months ahead. And I don't think that the Obama administration has any right to tell Israel that the Jewish settlements cannot expand."Her point being that the State of Israel has an increasing population of immigrants. They have to deal with their population they way they see fit. It is not the job of America, as Israel's ally, to tell it where it can and cannot build in their own neck of the woods. This is a position of pragmatism and respect. That is the foundation of Governor Palin's view in regards to this issue, not the paranoid delusions Mr. Goldberg has in mind. A refreshing position for an American leader to take, and the proper one in my opinion. He continues:
On the second point, the danger she poses to America -- and specifically, to American national security -- Palin has this week argued vociferously against the building of a mosque near the site of Ground Zero in lower Manhattan. She calls the idea of a mosque there a provocation. But it is her opposition to the building of a mosque that is provocative.How's your blood pressure after reading that line? That's what you call a distorted view of reality. His tone sums up the lefts attitude towards this nation's enemies in a nutshell. Some call it "battered wife syndrome," I just call it moronic.
Almost nine years ago, violent Islamic Jihadists attacked this country, killing almost 3,000 innocent people. The extremists who were responsible for the attacks, invoked the religion of Islam as their guiding source for doing what they did. If you have a clear "understanding" of such fanatics, you get that they did not do this because America was mean to them. They did not invoke a place called Palestine while they drove those planes into buildings, or voice any other convenient after thought they sold to America's left. The men involved in the attacked invoked their religion, and they did so in the context of a "global struggle."
Nine years later, a group with questionable financing, and questionable associations, seeks to build a religious monument 600 feet from Ground Zero. I think Governor Palin said it best in her Facebook Note:
This is not an issue of religious tolerance but of common moral sense. To build a mosque at Ground Zero is a stab in the heart of the families of the innocent victims of those horrific attacks. Just days after 9/11, the spiritual leader of the organization that wants to build the mosque, Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf, suggested that blame be placed on the innocents when he stated that the “United States’ policies were an accessory to the crime that happened” and that “in the most direct sense, Osama bin Laden is made in the USA.” Rauf refuses to recognize that Hamas is a terrorist organization dedicated to the destruction of our ally, Israel, and refuses to provide information about the sources of funding for the $100 million mosque. Rauf also plays a key role in a group behind the flotilla designed to provoke Israel in its justifiable blockade of Gaza. These are just a few of the points Americans are realizing as New York considers the proposed mosque just a stone’s throw away from 9/11’s sacred ground.How very provocative of her. I have no doubt what so ever, that if we were attacked tomorrow, the left would go out of their way to blame her (and Bush, of course) for the deeds of our enemies. That's what the left does and will continue to do. They have trouble seeing evil and danger for what it is. To them, any negative action taken by Islamists is nothing more than a reaction to the left's own domestic enemies. What a backwards, upside-down way to view the world. Governor Palin probably has a hard time understanding these people, as do I. That is because she follows a security philosophy that states, "peace through strength." She understands that a strong, secure America, leads to a stronger, more secure world. We are not the bad guys here. Sarah Palin understands that perfectly well.
Jeffrey Goldberg mischaracterized the Governor's position on Israeli settlements and he does not comprehend the purpose to stop the mosque being build at Ground Zero. You could say he, as well as many others on the left, lack an understanding of Middle East politics. Something we should all find "troublesome."
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