Walter Russell Mead: The U.S., Israel, and the Future of the Jewish People

Walter Russell Mead is the Ravenel B. Curry III Distinguished Fellow in Strategy and Statesmanship at Hudson Institute, a columnist at The Wall Street Journal, and Professor of Foreign Affairs and Humanities at Bard College in New York. He has authored numerous books, including The Arc of A Covenant: The United States, Israel, and the Future of the Jewish People.

[@philnewton3096]

I like his pace. Deliberate phraseology? Pauses which enable the listener to digest at her / his rate in small chunks. Nothing rushed. A delight to listen to for it's clarity.

[@haider1950]

$3B annual multiplier ignored. Pocketed by ..............

[@MBBurchette]

Agree with most points, but the U.S. did not support Israel ONLY when she was strong. The U.S. was Israel’s best friend in the run up to and aftermath of the 6 Day War, and her only friend in the Yom Kippur War. As referenced by Dr. Mead, the history of American support for Israel cannot be viewed without understanding the various strategic priorities that competed with support for Israel in the Cold War and the War on Terror.

[@user-lq5yo7qt8f]

Well, he nominally discusses the US support for Israel, which may indeed overlap with the US strategic interests, but the claim that the key parts of the US government are not supportive of Israel because the key people in it are Jey wes or receive money from them is laughable. The intelligence agencies and DOJ are clearly under the thumb in the most corrupt ways

[@jessereichbach588]

The term Jew refers to a national identity, that of the KINGDOM of Judah, not a religious one. They are an ethnic community NAMED after that land. The Hills of Judea and Samaria, the primary heartland of the Kingdoms of Judah and Samaria, are primarily in the west Bank. But Jewish culture, that of the descendants of the people of the Kingdom of Judah, has always had a primary focus, holy book or no, and that is returning home to the land of their namesake. Israel/Judah. Most Jews are secular and most Jews who founded Israel were secular. Jerusalem is the capitol of Israel because it was he capitol of Judah, not because it's the capitol of Judaism, because it isn't. It's a holy city in Judaism, as it is in Islam as it is in Christianity. Which is why the Israeli capitol is Jerusalem. Palestine, if ever created, can have its capitol anywhere. It doesn't need to be Jerusalem. The agenda to ensure Jerusalem as a capitol of a hopefuly Palestinian state is PURELY theological in nature. It is Islam's agenda, not that of the Palestinian people on the ground. And Jerusalem has what has largely held up Palestine becoming an actual nation. Arafat himself stated plainly, without Jerusalem there is no deal, as he walked out of Camp David accords. Israel's "holy book" has to do with anything. The term "Jew" derives from "Iudaeus", which is Latin for the Hebrew "Yehudim". Yehudim, meaning Judean, not the tribe of Judah and not the diverse faith practices of Judah, called Judaism. Of which Rabbinic Judaism is just one branch. But Jews are a nation, named after that land. Yehudim, from Yehuda, and Yisrael, named after the very land. Both identities, attached to the land. With or without the religion or the Hebrew bible. Even without the bible Jewish heritage preaches one thing above all else for 2000 years, "Next year in Israel". So this is an ethnic-wide dream, a diaspora-nationwide dream. It was destined to happen because it is the focal point of all Jewish culture.

[@user-lq5yo7qt8f]

The historical people you are talking about are dead. The culture you have in mind is what it is today ... and it is mostly left wing, marxist, which means violent revolutionary, and controlling. Of course, open violence is not tolerated, nor does their available manpower allow it. That's why the US government institutions are used to persecute their enemies. Very bad people (not all)

[@curlybill3966]

This man is full of it. Our relationship with Israel is a one way street in their favor.

[@marygarrapa3537]

What a long preamble just to say you're sitting on the fence!

[@alionline999]

This guy is scy oping the public buy saying its complicated. Its not. The British and Americans have no authority to establish a state on our land. Sorry if your religion is offended.

[@jiahan3849]

I guess you read only alternative history. Who has authority?

[@carlroberts4540]

The.jews.was.given a.homeland.squatters.right.in.palistine.the.land.in. palistine.was.not.called.isreal..àT THAT.TIME.THE.JEWS.SHOULD.BE. CALLED PALISTIANS. JEWS..Q.E.D..PROBLEM.SOLVED. LOVE..AND.PEACE ❤❤

[@jessereichbach588]

Jew is an English term. Jews don't call themselves "Jews" in Hebrew. It's Yehudi/Yehudim- Jew/Jews, meaning the people of the KINGDOM of Judah, not the tribe and not the diverse religious practices called Judaism. Judaism is simply what Jews do and believe, their common cultural and religious norms. Not necessarily a specific type. Modern RABBINICAL Judaism is a specific branch of Judaism, a formalized branch. That's what people usually mean when they say "Judaism", but in reality, "Judaism" isn't A strict belief system. But That's what "Jew" means. From the Latin "Iudaeus". It's a nationality. Jews are a nation first, a religion second. When someone converts, they join the entire nation, atheist Jews, messianic Jews, Buddhist Jews, Ethiopian Jews, Yemenite jews, secular Jews. So it's not like "converting" to any other religion. It's more like initiation than conversion really, which is why it's a relatively long and grueling process. And they did not name it Judah, because it is a remake of the ancient Kingdom of Israel in the form of a modern constitutional Republic. Most of both the territory of the Kingdoms of Samaria and Judah. Except for the most important parts..... the Hills of Judea and Samaria. Literally the heartland of ancient Israel, Judah and Samaria, the most important region, and it's mostly today in the West Bank. Most of the coastal region was never even part of ancient Israel, but the Jews accepted it anyway. Why in the world would they call themselves "Palestinian"? The entire reason Jews had to leave Judah, which is what it was called prior, Judah and Samaria, the two Kingdoms of Israel, is because the Romans exiled them, destroyed the region and renamed it "Syria Palestina" specifically after the biblical enemy of the Israelites/Jews, the Philistines. That's where Palestine gets its name. It's a colonial name. First by the Romans, then the Muslims, then the Crusaders, Ottomans and then British and finally, back to Yehudim. It's called Israel because it contains the majority of the ancient Kingdom of Israel. It's debatable whether that Kingdom was a Kingdom united ever, but they were the Kingdoms of Judah and Samaria after the "split". Thus today we have Jews and Samaritans, and both live in Israel. The name Palestine was only used in the same way "New York" is used. If everyone living in New York decided one day that they were now a "New York" ethnicity and nationality, what would you think? And why would the Jews keep the name given to it by the Romans who are the one's responsible for the Jewish diaspora in the first place. And it was actually Jews that had "Palestinian Jew" on their Identification cards, but not the Arab Muslims. Arab Muslims literally never used that term to refer to themselves until some time in the 20th century. And it was never used anachronistically as an ethnicity, or nationality, until after 1947. So no one ever called themselves "Palestinians" historically. There were no "Palestinian people". There were Syrian Arabs, Egyptians, Iraqis, Albanians, Bosniaks, Turks.... those are the ancestors of "Palestinians". Most were "Syrian Arab" , and specifically Muslim. As the entire region was known as Greater Syria. Remember, only Lebanon was really considered it's own separate population because Lebanese is considered a separate identity to the rest of the region. And of course there are many ethnic minorities, Arab Christians, Syriacs, Aramaeans, Druze, Samaritan, and then many foreigners brought in by the Ottoman Empire, especially from Egypt and Mesopotamia , but also Europe/Turkey. Not Syria the modern country which just adopted the name of the region obviously. And "Palestine" only had around 350,00 people living in it prior to the 19th century. So the majority of the ancestors of both most Palestinians and Jews arrived in the 19th century and after. The Ottoman were building a pan Imperial railway, and they brought in tens of thousands of Muslims from all over the Empire, Turkey, Muslims from Europe like Bosnians, Albanians. many, many Egyptians, Iraqi, Algerian , Tunis.... And the Arabs that lived in "Palestine", were mostly Muslim, but also Christian of numerous kind, Bedouin, Druze, and many other ethnic minorities. Which is why Arabs fought with Jews in the War for Independence. Druze, some of the Bedouin tribes and some Arab Christians, fought WITH the Jews in the war for independence. And today they are Israeli citizens. Not Palestinian. And so are about 20% Israeli citizens, most of which are just Arab Muslims, no different than the Palestinian population, except they are Israeli. Palestine was a territory. The term Palestinian evolved in direct contrast to Israeli. Palestine is not an ethnicity, it's a hopeful, yet uncreated nation. Well it wasn't an ethnicity, I suppose now after all these decades it has s lowly became one. But their ancestors were a mix of Ottoman citizens, mostly Arab Muslim specifically. It wasn't all Arabs or even all Muslims who had a problem living with the Jews. It was really just a subsection of the Arab Muslim population of the territory. This term "Palestinian" is too often used completely anachronistically and fallaciously.

[@carlroberts4540]

Are.the.jews.hebrews..then.why.the.seperation.

[@jessereichbach588]

@@carlroberts4540 There is no separation. Not sure what you mean. Jew is just the English word for Yehudim, meaning people of the Kingdom of Judah, who are also Israelites and also Hebrews. There is no separation. These are all generally speaking, the same people. Unless you are talking about the fake Hebrew Israelites? The Anglo Israelites and Black Hebrew Israelites? None of them are actual Israelites, they are Christians who are pretending to be lost tribes. And they aren't the first or only Christians to play that fake "lost tribe" game. There are only two groups of Israelites/Hebrews remaining, both are Israelite, both are and speak slightly different variants of Hebrew, those are the Samaritans and Jews. They are both Israelites and both Hebrews. Any other group calling themselves "Hebrews" or "Israelites' or "Hebrew Isrelites" are Christians in a Torahist identitarian cult. Literally. A cult. Based on white supremcy and black supremcy respectively. Anglo Israelites started a few hundred years ago and are a white supremcist group, literally, who think all Europeans are "lost tribes". The "black Hebrew Israelites", are just the ADOS version of that. The BHI literally just stole the Anglo-Israelite cult gimmick, like 100 years ago, switched white to black and Europe to Africa. Basically, anyone claiming lost tribe status, isn't an actual Israelite. If they were they would no there are no exiled or scattered tribes, only exiled and scattered Israelites. Jews, Yehudim, the people of the Kingdom of Judah, were descended from all 12 tribes. As were people in Samaria, Northern Israel Kingdom. Jews, Hebrews, Israelites, these all refer to the same people. Others coopting and stealing the name, are neither Hebrew nor Israelite. And really, most of the groups claiming to be Hebrew Israelites ARE either white/black supremcist groups. Still to this day. So they should not be acknowledged as Hebrews or Israelites because they literally STOLE that identity from Jews and Samaritans, and they are actively attempting to steal the identity, culture, heritage and religion of Jews and Samaritans. They are anti-Hebrews, anti-Israelites to the core. They just stole the name and made up a completely fake history attempting to connect themselves with ancient Israelites. And yes, all their historical and genetic claims are in fact, fake, made up, complete fictions.

[@Joseph-cu8dk]

Robbing a name referred exclusively to Judea, Land of the Jews, after 2,000 years of Muslims hating this name, does not change the low bar one has to apply when using the greatest and gravest lie in the world today. Tell it without the name robbery!?

[@jiahan3849]

Rome renamed Judea Palestine. Palestine = Judea in the Bible. So Jews did live in Palestine long time ago.

[@4sammyboy]

A fraud