Thursday, April 12, 2007

Weinraub's "Accomplices" Explains "Israel Lobby"

According to Jonathan S. Tobin, of The Jewish Exponent, one theme of Bernard Weinraub's play set during World War II is a dispute over American Jewry's appropriate role in US politics (another version published in The Jerusalem Post):
According to a growing number of academics and political extremists, the Jews have too much power in America.

This backlash against the so-called "Israel Lobby" has predictably caused many to wonder whether the assertive voice of contemporary Jewish political activism is too loud, too brash and, most of all, too pushy in making its case.

Those who wonder what the world would be like if only those pushy Jews listened to their critics need not engage in science fiction. All you need is a history lesson about how American Jewish organizations and leaders -- the predecessors of the ones that are today considered the take-no-prisoners cornerstone of "the lobby" -- acted during the Holocaust. And to do that, a visit to an off-Broadway theater this month will do nicely.
More here, in the Downtown Express review by Jerry Tallmer.