For American Jews, particularly the many who think of themselves as centrist or left of center, Israel today provokes a contradictory and anxiety-producing mass of feelings: pride, discomfort, bewilderment, vexation, frustration, love. The precise mix often depends on the day of the week and the news of the day. It has become a bit exhausting, thinking about Israel.
Gone are the uncomplicated days of Yoni Netanyahu's martyrdom on the tarmac during the raid on Entebbe. Benjamin Netanyahu stirs up knottier and more ambivalent feelings than his late brother ever did. Unlike several previous prime ministers, he seems not so interested in trying to reach an amicable divorce from the Palestinians. So the continued occupation and settlement of the West Bank, which offends the sensibilities of many American Jews and most other people, is becoming Israel's defining characteristic.
How sad it is that a flourishing democracy with a contentious press and an independent judiciary, a haven for inventors and scientists, the only Middle Eastern country where it's safe to be gay - or Christian, for that matter - is coming to be known mainly for its retrograde occupation.
It obscures the underlying cause of the conflict: the inability of many Arab Muslims, and their supporters, to reconcile themselves to the unalterable truth that the Jews are from the place that, before it was called Palestine, was called Judea and Israel.
It also muddies what should be clear: Israel's sins are often exaggerated, while the sins of its enemies - returning to Christie's point - could not be more heinous.
Consider Israel's four principal adversaries of the moment: Iran, Syria, Hezbollah, and Hamas. Few would argue that the Israeli government has not behaved in counterproductive and sometimes brutal ways. But Iran and Syria on their best days don't match Israel on its worst.
