Political Perspective: A-A May Help Democrats Look More Favorably on Israel

Just give peace a chance! Sounds great conceptually but probably not practical in the Middle East as Odd Squad-supported Hamas reigns rockets upon Israelis. Few liberal lunatics, let alone Arab states, recognize the existence of the state of Israel, which is roughly the size of New Jersey and surrounded by hostile dictatorships with 40 times as many citizens.

Factitiously, perhaps former President Barack Obama, a JV basketball player for Occidental (Calif.) and one of a number of politicians who played the game, could steer Plagiarist Di-dumb and fellow Democrats into looking more favorably upon Israel if the landscape resembled several decades ago when there was a striking number of impact Jewish hoopers. In a 30-year span from 1933-34 through 1962-63, occasional powerhouses CCNY, LIU, NYU and St. John's each featured three different Jewish All-Americans on CollegeHoopedia's comprehensive list.

Obama, who received more than 3/4 of the Jewish vote in 2008, said his commitment to Israel was "unshakable," but many Jewish State advocates think such an "I've-got-your back" claim is the height of diplomatic chutzpah. His White House administration refused to allow non-official photographers to record a multi-layer lecturing of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and no statement was issued afterward upon the PM being ushered out the back door like a scorned referee. The administration subsequently reinforced its stance by insisting that Israel stop building homes in Jerusalem, demanding it move back to pre-1967 indefensible borders and attempting to stall Israeli military action while neighboring Iran develops its nuclear technology.

Thus the remedy for Israel generating more political support might be another prophet Moses surfacing for the Jewish community as it copes with a current U.S. basketball exodus of sorts for them. They're in the midst of wandering 40-plus years across the hoop desert seeking another All-American from this country. And the Promised Land isn't within sight since Tennessee's Ernie Grunfeld was the last American Jewish honoree (1976 and 1977).

Israel native Doron Sheffer, a Connecticut guard, was named an All-American in 1995-96. Three additional Israeli products earned all-conference recognition - Connecticut forward Nadav Henefeld (Big East in 1989-90), Wright State center Israel Sheinfeld (Midwestern Collegiate in 1999-2000 and 2000-01) and California forward-center Amit Tamir (Pacific-10 in 2002-03). More than half of the following American Jewish All-Americans secured such an honor before the State of Israel declared independence in mid-May 1948:

U.S. Jewish All-American, School (Year)
Irv Bemoras, Illinois (1953)
Jules Bender, Long Island (1937)
Meyer "Mike" Bloom, Temple (1938)
Harry Boykoff, St. John's (1943)
Tal Brody, Illinois (1965)
Howie Carl, DePaul (1961)
Marvin Colen, Loyola of Chicago (1937)
Irwin Dambrot, CCNY (1950)
William Fleishman, Western Reserve (1936)
Don Forman, New York University (1948)
Larry Friend, California (1957)
Moe Goldman, CCNY (1934)
Don Goldstein, Louisville (1959)
Hyman "Hy" Gotkin, St. John's (1944)
Ernie Grunfeld, Tennessee (1976 and 1977)
Art Heyman, Duke (1961 through 1963)
William "Red" Holzman, CCNY (1942)
Barry Kramer, New York University (1963 and 1964)
Jerry Nemer, Southern California (1933)
Bernie Opper, Kentucky (1939)
Lennie Rosenbluth, North Carolina (1956 and 1957)
Oscar "Ossie" Schectman, Long Island (1941)
Alan Seiden, St. John's (1959)
Sid Tanenbaum, New York University (1946 and 1947)
Irv Torgoff, Long Island (1939)
Neal Walk, Florida (1968 and 1969)