Reality Check.

I am glad to have spurred some impassioned comments with my recent blogs about Israel and Gaza. Pro-Zionists who stick up for Israel's behavior (and not all pro-Zionists do, by the way) need to get used to being on the defensive on this issue. They already find themselves increasingly out of step globally with many constituencies who have been generally supportive toward Israel. They also find their arguments less and less persuasive to some here in the United States, which has been one of the long-standing bubbles of uncritical support for Israel's massive militarism. There are and will continue to be honest disagreements about how to achieve justice between Palestinians and Israelis. But the familiar old selective rationalizations about bad faith (and there is plenty on both sides) will not cut it in a conflict this horrifically imbalanced, nor will gargantuan force ever win long-term safety and stability for Israel. A growing proportion of the world understands this. Pro-Zionists who hitch their positions to the military excesses of Israel are eventually going to have to deal with these realities. The fact that these staunch defenders of Israeli policy are now feeling the heat on this issue is a good thing.