Charlie Wilson’s War’ Cites Power of Israel Lobby. Who Gave Them Permission?
I saw “Charlie Wilson’s War” last night. B+. It was too one-note for me. But any Hollywood film that tries to deal with foreign policy gets kudos here. Also, I was pleased to see that the film touches on my favorite subject, the Israel Lobby. Charlie Wilson, a Democratic congressman from East Texas (played by Tom Hanks), tells a rightwing socialite (Julia Roberts) who is pushing him to back the mujahedin resistance to the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan that he can’t give arms to Muslims because of “the Jews.” How many Jews are in your district? she asks. Seven. But those Jews don’t matter. It’s the Jews in New York and L.A. who support his campaign because he’s a friend of Israel, he says. Of course, Wilson is determined to arm the resistance, so he gets both the Israelis and Egyptians on board, and visits Jerusalem and Cairo. The film then addresses a second cliche about Israel/Palestine. When the Egyptian and Israeli start quarreling about history, Charlie Wilson wearily says, “Oh
