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Steve Rosen: I'm Captain Dreyfuss
You think I can't do this? Post a story so bizarre and then let it stand all by itself, without further comment.
But that is what I'm doing here. Besides, y'all know what I think.
And here is Daniel Pipes, Rosen's employer, agreeing with Rosen.
PS I wonder if the Rosen Espionage Case's not going to trial means that the famous memo Rosen sent me in 1982 ("a lobby is a nightflower. It thrives in the dark and and dies in the sun") is now worth more on Ebay or less. I'll let you know.
Last time I checked, it was worth $15.
Rosen is no Dreyfuss any more than OJ Simpson is Frederick Douglass. But here is an example of an apt historical analogiy Pogroms in Palestine. Now.
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I see that Pipes and Rosen are hyping the threat of electromagnetic pulses (EMP) from Iran. Spooky.
May 7, 2009 5:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
MJ: Why not?
I bet you that for twenty years after the Revolution, just about every War Veteran claimed he had been at Yorktown.
Pipes, for one, has never been constrained by facts.
May 7, 2009 6:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
Mr. Rosenberg, you never cease to amaze me, even on those occasions when I disagree with you. I commend you for fighting what must be one of the most emotionally wrenching good fights out there.
I wonder if you can give me a good answer to something that troubles me a little bit, though.
Sometimes I catch myself feeling guilty thinking "see, look, there's a Jewish guy saying these sensible things, so there's your proof that having a deep suspicion of AIPAC isn't in and of itself antisemitic".
On the other hand, if what you say is really valid, then it shouldn't matter whether you're Chinese, Jewish, or Palestinian.
But as a non-Jewish observer, a supporter of Israel and the Jewish people, an Eastern European, and a firm enemy of the Likud, you can imagine I feel highly conflicted. For instance, talk of double loyalty makes my blood boil. An obsession with Israel's "original sin" makes me furiously angry too, especially coming from Europeans or Americans whose own countries, historically, have engaged in similar or worse behavior and still do.
Anyway, thanks again for voicing the things you do - as an outside observer, your articles definitely help me parse the fine line between true antisemitism and legitimate criticism of Israel.
What it says about me that I bother thinking about Israel at all is a whole other story.
Either way, thank you for being thoughtful and not falling into either of the all-too-predictable camps on this issue.
May 7, 2009 6:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
er ... 'the fine line between true antisemitism and legitimate criticism of Israel' is about justice and morality and the ability to reject propaganda and the lobbying of vested interests such as AIPAC. The Israel lobby is not, as some believe, religion based. AIPAC is about power, the ability to influence and dictate foreign policy and the expansion of the weapons industry. My grandfather from Bialystok was a Zionist who believed fervently in a Jewish homeland that would offer a safe haven from Russian pogroms. He was a wise man who would have recognized in an instant that AIPAC has little do with Zionist principles but everything to do with the self-interest of the pompous panjandrums who parade their power in public whilst sitting safely in America far from the killing fields of Palestine.
May 7, 2009 7:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
Sometimes I catch myself feeling guilty thinking "see, look, there's a Jewish guy saying these sensible things, so there's your proof that having a deep suspicion of AIPAC isn't in and of itself antisemitic".
That's how conditioning works.
Make no mistake that is what is going on here.
2 students are trying to get a professor fired as we speak.
His offense?
He criticized Israel and ANY criticism MUST be anti-Semitic.
That's no joke.
And that's why people don't speak out.
(besides the fact that it is not allowed in the MSM)
May 7, 2009 9:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
My question is: what of Mr. Franklin, who pleaded (pled?) guilty?
Will he remain in jail?
May 7, 2009 6:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
He isn't in jail now.
The feds had put off having him report to prison until after the now-aborted trial of Rosen and his AIPAC colleague Keith Weissman. Presumably, if Franklin's testimony had helped convict them, his sentence might have been reduced.
Your guess is as good as mine as to whether he gets a sentencing deal now. But the guilty plea stands; the charges Franklin faced were more extensive than the ones against Rosen. In a nutshell, illegally divulging top-secret information is more serious than receiving it. Also easier to prove.
As for the Rosen and Pipes articles MJ cites, and their outright claims of anti-Semitism, they insult the memory of Capt. Dreyfus.
May 7, 2009 8:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
As for the Rosen and Pipes articles MJ cites, and their outright claims of anti-Semitism, they insult the memory of Capt. Dreyfus.
Also the claims that modern Iran constitutes the same danger to world peace today as did Germany in the late 30's insults the memory of American leaders in the 1930's. One big difference. Germany had the most powerful land army in the world then. They destroyed French, British and Russian armies from 1939-1940. The US could not even begin to compete with German power in Europe in 1939.
The proIsraeli forces distort history to promote their own agenda. From equating today's Iran with 1938 Germany to equating the Rosen/Franklin spy case with Dreyfus. It is painful to see how easy propagandists can abuse history to advance their political agenda.
May 7, 2009 9:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
Whatever he is or was, Rosen is surely no Dreyfus.
Dreyfus was a loyal soldier not an employee of a notorious political pressure group (that notoriety being partly due to its incessantly-produced avalanche of deceit, ala the sows ear to purse in this example).
May 7, 2009 9:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks for the info.
Yes, Rosen likening himself to Capt. Dreyfus is an eye-roller.
May 8, 2009 9:57 AM | Reply | Permalink
What if a Bush critic like Seymour Hersh or James Risen was charged with receiving classified information? How about someone from the ACLU or a similar lobbying organization?
I bet the reaction would be very different than what is being said about Rosen.
May 7, 2009 9:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
It would be, unless perhaps it was also revealed that they were working for a foreign government seeking to use that information to coerce the US into war.
May 7, 2009 10:07 PM | Reply | Permalink