Just a load of disconnected thoughts:
A friend of mine told me (he's an American jew) that the strongest Jewish lobby in the US (there's an acronym for it, but I forget what it is) is composed of Jewish women. He told me this lobby group is incredibly powerful.
A while back I met up with another American friend of mine who is well connected and used to work in the state department. He told me that for the first time, The fundamental Christians in the US and the Jews are batting on the same side, due to this 'second coming' event that muck was talking about earlier. If the Jews are not in Israel when that happens, then that will blow the prophesy. Sharon personally welcomed a load of fundamental Christians from the US a couple of years ago...the event was televised.
As I see it, Israel is much more than 'an ally' to the US, to many of Jewish people who live there, it is another US state. As I understand it, without dollar support, the Sheckel would have collapsed a long time ago. Come to think of it, as an ally what DID Israel do for the US during gulf war 1 or gulf war 2?
The Israelis and Palestinians have been brutalising each other since partition, and there is every indication that this is going to continue. I expect that when Bush tore up the 'Road Map', the Arabs just chuckled and said 'like we believed you were going to honour it anyway' (if you remember the road map was a concession made by the US to get world support for the invasion of Iraq). It seems to me that the Bush administration has given up trying to act as a peacemaker in that part of the world and has now pinned its colours to the mast.
Again, something else which my Jewish American friend told me was that most Jewish Americans see themselves as Jews first and Americans second, in strong contrast to the other minorities who have settled in the US over a period of generations.
Ravs.
