John Podhoretz who, mirabili dictu, by the time the season passes will have become editor of Commentary, had been preparing for real life at the New York Post. But the laws of primogeniture intervened and now here he is dispensing all kinds of insidious bits of gossip, not at this point about Barack Obama but about Joe Biden, the flimsy Obama file having already long ago been exhausted. See Contentions in Commentary on-line. There's a quote from an angry Menahem Begin but only a vague allusion to what Biden is said to have said to the Israeli prime minister. The entire story comes from another story by the former editor of Ma'ariv, an Israeli newspaper, in another Israeli newspaper, The Jerusalem Post. in 1992. Where, for God's sakes, is a citation from the official records of the committee hearings?
The committee meetings, however, were supposed to have taken place not in 1992 but ten years earlier, in 1982, exactly 26 years ago. Is it likely that a nasty exchange between the prime minister of Israel and a distinguished Democratic senator would not have been noticed? By anyone, by me, for example? Biden is alleged to have threatened to cut economic aid to Israel if the building of West Bank settlements was not curtailed. This was the line of the at once unctuous and crude James Baker, who stole the election from Al Gore in 2000 on behalf of George Bush before whom I assume Podhoretz, père et fils still genuflect after morning prayers.
Look, what is happening here is that a senator with a sterling record, an unexceptionable sterling record on Israel is now in the eyes of the snipers, a kind of political terrorism in which evidence has no place, history no relevance and real politics no standing. Joe Biden is one of the most astute and committed supporters of Israel in American politics.
Menahem Begin took easy umbrage at any question that was a real question. He would put down anyone who questioned where he put the comma in a sentence. "I am a proud Jew" was one of his favorite sentences, mostly used as retort to anything he thought questioned his wisdom. I have not the slightest idea as to whether Joe Biden ever did. But it is no sin, and it is certainly not evidence of hostility to Israel. And, frankly, would Israel be better off now if it had not built bivouac camps and outposts in the middle of the densely populated West Bank but instead had established real population centers in the Jordan Valley rift? And around Jerusalem?
Another allegation has circulated today about Biden having said somewhere, someplace that Israel may have to learn to live with a nuclear-armed Iran. Where did he say it and to whom? According to Israel Army Radio we don't know the answer to these questions. But it is said to have occurred three years ago in a secret conversation with Israeli officials. McCain supporters like Podhoretz are playing with fire when behave so as to restrain Israeli leaders from having candid conversations with American leaders. Both have to be able to speak honestly and openly with each other, putting to each other tough questions and answering them honestly.
In the meantime, we know that Biden considers himself a Zionist ("You don't have to be a Jew to be a Zionist") and considers Israel one of our country's most reliable and effective allies. Dayenu! That's enough for me.