Middle Israel: Who lost America? - opinion

It was raining in Manhattan on Sunday, May 16, 1948, but 75,000 people still crowded the sidewalks outside Madison Square Garden, hoping to attend a hastily organized salutation of the newborn Jewish state.Only 19,000 could make it in, The New York Times reported, but thousands stayed put and followed the event through loudspeakers that blared, for all America to hear, the multitude's resounding “Amen” after a rabbi said the blessing of great news, sheheheyanu.Inside the arena, there were no barriers: not between Jew and Jew, not between Gentile and Jew, and also not between Gentile and Gentile.“I congratulate President Truman on his prompt recognition of the new republic,” said Congressman Robert Taft, a Republican and son of former president William Taft.“The new Jewish state is built on the concept of American freedom and equality,” said former New York governor Herbert Lehman, a Democrat.It was the beginning of an era, a political honeymoon between the American people and the Jewish state that lasted nearly 80 years, and now faces a groundswell of discontent.AS LAST week's midterm election made plain, Israel is no longer a matter of consensus. Yes, the likes of Taft and Lehman are still abundant.