If he keeps this up, we're going to need to make a page of Joe Klein Facts ("there is no need for an Anti-Defamation League. There's only need for Joe Klein, a pair of nunchuks, and some throwing stars."). It is dead obvious to any sentient observer that the security of Israel is an eminent concern to American neoconservatives, and that they're anxious to attack Iran because they are anxious to disrupt a threat to Israel. That's not some, ahem, Straussian deep read, but the explicit argument of most all the hysteria around Iran. Ahmedinejad, after all, is not known for his threats to annihilate the US. He's known for his threats against Israel. And though Ahmedinejad does not actually control his country's foreign policy, those threats have been the explicit reason why Iran cannot be allowed to secure a nuclear weapon. Israel is, of course, our ally, and so it's perfectly fair to argue that America should go to war in order to preempt an attack against Israel. Additionally, many American Jews have an emotional commitment to Israel, and it's perfectly fair for them to argue that its defense is a moral necessity. The problem is when you simultaneously argue that and emit shrieks of "anti-semite!" when anyone points out that you're arguing that. It's a dangerous strategy that makes it harder to credibly argue against those who actually do hate Jews for their intrinsic Jewishness -- all in order to wrest some short-term advantage for the neoconservative agenda. More chillingly, it's frequently paired with calls for offending pundits, writers, and thinkers to be fired by their host institutions. Joe Klein may be on the receiving end now, but he's not the first. Years ago, when I initially came to DC, The Jewish Journal asked me to write an article about AIPAC. While I was reporting out the story, it came clear that the interesting angle was how many people were warning me not to write the story. And I'm not talking about AIPAC flacks: I mean folks who thought they were looking out for my career.
