Even The Most Well-Meaning Pundits Simply Don't Get Why We Have Trump

Daniel Pipes has a fine mind, and he often bucks the trends with regard to the Middle East. His knowledge of the Arab world and Islam makes him a worthwhile read.

But this time? I have no idea what the hell he is talking about, but he is far off the mark. My suspicion is that he has been immersed in the polite Right for too long, even though he disagrees with much of what they say about the dangers of militant Islam and Israel. But this is too much like a typical Acela pundit pontificating about OrangeManBad and accepting the reporting about the intense pressure that President Trump supposedly put on Netanyahu.
How Trump Put Netanyahu in an Untenable Position

For starters, the possibility exists that the congresswomen would have learned something during their travels to diminish their hostility to Israel.

Second, excluding Omar and Tlaib hands them a shiny new grudge to deploy against the Jewish state: its intolerance of criticism. Now in addition to alleging Israel's oppression of the Palestinians, the congresswomen can publicize their own personal maltreatment by Netanyahu. Permitting Tlaib to visit her grandmother will not change that fact.

There's more in the article, and it is equally illogical and incoherent. Israel has the obvious right to exclude those who wish to agitate against the existence of the state, and an equally defensible right to exclude those who wish to create the conditions for civil unrest.

This is a rare misstep, and Mr. Pipes can do better.

posted by CBD at 12:15 PM

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