From Beirut to Jerusalem

Friedman turns to the question of why Israel is such a consistent source of public fascination in the United States. He finds part of the reason in the “super story” of the Jews (428), tracing back to biblical times into the dramatic progression to the founding of Israel, an event that many American Christians regard as theologically significant. At the same time, the mainstream media in the US tends, in Friedman’s opinion, to focus disproportionately on the suffering of Palestinians. Friedman links these two facts and hypothesizes that “the Western press wants to crush the messianic notion Jews gave to the West that human history and politics can lead to something better” (433), which might expose the deficiencies of the Western nations themselves. The West puts Israel on a pedestal and then they enjoy knocking it down, such as by making grotesque comparisons between Israel and the Nazis.

Despite these criticisms, the American public is also eager for good news about Israeli behavior, cheering them on as they seek to “build a ‘normal’ state in the one land that was totally abnormal” (438). Israel has also worked extremely hard to publicize itself abroad, its economic dependence on the United States making it highly conscious of its press coverage.