Jew vs. Israel - Tells Congressmen: 'Don't Go to Israel'

From David Rothkopf's blog:

This week's reports that 20 percent of the U.S. Congress will be visiting Israel this month are stunning. Eighty-one members of Congress -- two thirds of them Republicans, 47 of them freshmen -- apparently think it is more important to be visiting Israel than it is to be at home dealing with the worst economic crisis in modern memory. America's economy is in flames and these guys are taking lobbyist-funded trips to what, watch Israelis take to the streets to protest the high-cost of living in that country? This Jewish, Israel-supporting, foreign policy specialist says, "It's time to come home, ladies and gentlemen."

...These folks should be back at their desks and hard at work. The president ought to take to his podium and demand they return...The political objectives behind these Israel trips are clear and they reveal the opportunity costs to the American people associated with campaign season. Every moment spent jumping through a hoop for a potential group of supporters is a moment spent failing to address one of the many urgent issues confronting the United States. When will these pretenders grow up or make way for serious, committed adults who have the appetite and the spine to grapple with our current challenges?...

You wouldn't know Rothkopf is Jewish from his Wikipedia entry. Nor from his FP bio.

Yes, two years ago, he socked it to Malt and Marshmellow Walt and Mearsheimeir, writing:

They may not be anti-Semites themselves but they made a cynical decision to cash in on anti-Semitism by offering to dress up old hatreds in the dowdy Brooks Brothers suits of the Kennedy School and the University of Chicago. They did what the most desperate members of academia do, they signed up to be rent-a-validators, akin to expert witnesses who support the defense of felons with specious theories served up on fancy diplomas. They would argue that they were daring to speak truth to power. In reality they were giving one crowd in particular precisely what it wanted to hear.

The AIPAC missions are annual and haveing been conducted for many years. Israel is a significant issue. A half week visit is not a great time loss for a Congressman. Congress has done what it can for the economy and there's no rush for any emergency legislation.

One only wonders to which crowd was Rothkopf playing?

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