Michael Moore and Me

I have been a fan of Michael Moores since I saw his film, Roger and Me. Bowling for Columbine hit it right on the nose and after I saw Fahrenheit 9/11 I accepted MoveOn's request to host a Fahrenheit 9/11 Party. I wasn't alarmed when I read his book Dude, Where's My Country and read the following: "Hey, here's a way to stop suicide bombings - give the Palestinians a bunch of missile-firing Apache helicopters and let them and the Israelis go at each other head to head. Four billion dollars a year to Israel - four billion dollars a year to the Palestinians - they can just blow each other up and leave the rest of us the hell alone." I rather assumed he was speaking tongue in cheek and expressing his frutration with the Israel/Palestine situation. After receiving an email from a friend that gave examples of, what it purported to be, Moore's anti-semitism, I became not alarmed, but concerned. And so, I sent him the following email, which I will post here. I am looking for some responses with agreement, disagreement, explanations, etc. This is the email I sent.........
Dear Michael,
I am sure this won't be the first or the last email written by a Jewish person concerned with the perceived, and I believe misguided, notion that you are anti-Semitic. I recently had an argument with my husband who is an Israeli-American, defending you against this accusation.

I am also sure you are aware of the email that has been going around (I fowarded it in a separate email), which means to support the notion that you are against Israel, and by Jewish definition, therefore against Jews. It was sent to me by a friend who I had invited to my "FAHRENHEIT 9/11 PARTY. I am further sure that this is far from your main concern, especially at this time. To be frank, my involvement with getting Bush out of the White House, which was strongly fueled by your movie, Fahrenheit 9/11, has far surpassed my recent attention to Israel and things Jewish, regarding this campaign.

I am not a One Issue voter, though Women's Issues, specifically Choice, Gun Control, Funding Education AND Israel top my agenda. I am liberal in my politics and progressive in my thinking. So, I believe we have a lot in common. I have seen all of your movies, as have my two children, 18 years and 23 years old, and we all thought they made their points well and were well worth the watch. Having said all of the above, it does worry and even offend me that you see the Israeli/Palestinian issue through what to me looks like a skewed view. The Left in general takes this position, seeing the Palestinians as the Underdog and the Israelis as the Aggressor. History and Truth would suggest otherwise, or at least provide a VERY long and complicated explanation..

Anyway, what I would very much like to see would be some forum (a debate or an interviw, perhaps,) in which you could speak out on your positions regarding all of this. I know you are not anti-Semitic and I know that even if people have problems with Israel's positions on the Palestinian situation, that they are not necessarily anti-Semitic. Understand, however, that from a Jewish perspective, having a long, long history of Anti-Semitism and all that came from it, we are sensitive to influential people who may be undermining the haven that was established 56 years ago for a people who knew persecution in every other "homeland" in which they lived. The "Palestinians" also deserve their homeland and therein lies the basic dilemma. Hopefully, someday a workable solution will be found. But it will not be found at the expense of a Jewish homeland. If your position is contrary to the last two statements, then I would conclude differently about you than I have. My hope is that you can and do see both sides and that you were just showing your exasperation and didn't really mean it when you said in,"Dude, Where's Our Country" (which I read), "Hey, here's a way to stop suicide bombings - give the Palestinians a bunch of missile-firing Apache helicopters and let them and the Israelis go at each other head to head. Four billion dollars a year to Israel - four billion dollars a year to the Palestinians - they can just blow each other up and leave the rest of us the hell alone."

I know you are busy and may never read my email. I hope, though, that somehow it will catch your attention and that you will find the time, perhaps after Nov. 2nd, to respond. I want to continue to support you and all that you do to further progressive causes. I also want to know that your mind is open and that though you disagree with Israeli Politics, you are nevertheless a supporter of Israel's right to exist.

Very Sincerely Yours,

Sherril