Freeman’s withdrawal is good news for friends of Israel

The minute we heard Charles “Chas” Freeman withdrew as chair of the National Intelligence Council, we wondered, “How long before he accuses the evil Israel lobby of derailing his appointment?”

Not long at all, as it turned out.

The day he withdrew, he said, “The tactics of the Israel lobby plumb the depths of dishonor and indecency and include character assassination, selective misquotation, the willful distortion of the record, the fabrication of falsehoods, and an utter disregard for the truth.”

And some wonder why the Jewish community spoke out against him.

Freeman has a reputation as a “realist.” Supposedly, that means he practices diplomatic evenhandedness when vouchsafing American interests.

However, Freeman is anything but evenhanded. He has a record of making blatantly anti-Israel statements, as well as a troubling closeness with China and Saudi Arabia, with which he has facilitated questionable business dealings. He once suggested that Israel and its relationship with the United States was to blame for 9/11.

That contemptible statement alone is reason enough to keep him far from the halls of power.

Freeman’s nomination was bad news for Israel as well as Darfur, Tibet and other regions suffering from China’s foreign policy. We are glad he will play no role in the Obama administration; National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair never should have appointed him in he first place.

That administration already has plenty of realists, including Middle East Special Envoy George Mitchell and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a strong Israel supporter. We didn’t need someone openly hostile to Israel chairing an all-important intelligence body.

Though Freeman will fade into the woodwork, we are left with some bitterness. Once again, Jews are criticized for speaking out. But since when are citizens required to roll over and accept without challenge questionable nominees for high government posts? Are we not entitled to raise our voices? It is, after all, our government.

Attacks on the much-maligned Israel lobby orchestrated by renegade academics, two-bit pundits and plain old anti-Semites, are an attempt to limit Jewish voices in the public arena.

We will not be deterred by those attempts. There are plenty more Chas Freemans out there, looking for ways to exert influence on foreign policy. Thankfully, the pro-Israel community knows this, expects this and is prepared to challenge them at every turn.

So who’s the realist?