Joe Klein and Gershom Gorenberg both have very good, and very depressing, takes on the Israeli election. Both of them emphasize the cold reality that Avigdor Lieberman's candidacy was simply anti-Arab in nature, and that an increasing number of Israelis are becoming simply anti-Arab in nature. Joe goes a bit further, saying, "It will be much harder now for the U.S. to continue its unambiguous support if Israel's government prominently features a blatantly anti-Arab party. The ripples of Israeli intolerance will reverberate through the Middle East. It will make cooperation with Israel more difficult for moderate neighbors like Egypt and Jordan; it would make reconciliation with Israel impossible for Syria and Saudi Arabia." America will be in an uneasy position indeed if at the same time that it begins seeking reconciliation with the Muslim world its closest ally in the region takes a sharp turn into anti-Arab bigotry.
