Should American Jews criticize Israel?
Absolutely. Not only do American Jews have the right to critique the policies of Israel's government, they have a responsibility to do so, precisely to demonstrate that Israel is not perfect and should be treated like any other country in the world. That in itself goes a long way toward debunking the idea that Israel should be held to a different standard, an idea you find not only on the right but also on the left.
The three-D test—does the criticism demonize Israel, delegitimize it or apply a double standard?—is a good framework for determining whether someone is criticizing what Israel does, which is totally acceptable, or criticizing Israel as an entity. If someone thinks that Israel itself is fundamentally illegitimate, so everything it does is illegitimate, that's a problem.
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