Yes, Jews do engage in anti-Semitic behavior, By Edward I. Koch, Jewish World Review, February 12, 2004 "Of all the anti-Semitic slurs, one of the most outrageous is that Jews secretly control the world. This false and foolish accusation has been heard many times ... A comparable attack on Jews was made by Pat Buchanan in 1990, when he referred to Capitol Hill as "Israeli-occupied territory." On "The McLaughlin Group," Buchanan said, "There are only two groups that are beating the drums for war in the Middle East — the Israeli defense ministry and its 'amen corner' in the United States" with a litany of Jewish names. Last week we heard yet another version of the same old lie, this time from Tom Friedman in his February 5th column in The New York Times. Friedman, alleging that President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney are secretly controlled by Jews, wrote, "...Mr. Sharon has the Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat under house arrest in his office in Ramallah, and he's had George Bush under house arrest in the Oval Office. Mr. Sharon has Mr. Arafat surrounded by tanks, and Mr. Bush surrounded by Jewish and Christian pro-Israel lobbyists, by a vice president, Dick Cheney, who's ready to do whatever Mr. Sharon dictates…" There are those who say it's paranoid to accuse a fellow Jew of an anti-Semitic remark. I don't think so. Let me cite another example: Bob Novak, a Jew by birth who converted to Catholicism and now defines himself as a "cultural Jew." Over the years Novak's constant attacks on Israel have been, I believe, thinly disguised attacks on Jews. To cite but one example, on his Nov. 24th show, Novak went ballistic on Israel. While discussing the Israeli assassination of Mahmoud Abu Hanoud, a senior military leader of Hamas who was directly responsible for dozens of Israeli civilian deaths, Novak denounced Prime Minister Sharon for ordering his execution. Novak's colleague, Margaret Carlson, called Hanoud a terrorist, and Novak defended him as a freedom fighter. Carlson responded, "Bob, ...you're the only person who would call Hamas freedom fighters." Novak rejoined with, "Oh, no; people all over the world do." Abe Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League, put it well when he stated, "Those who only find fault with the Jewish people, the Jewish State and the actions of the Jewish sovereignty and never find anything that is positive are anti-Semites under the guise of anti-Zionism and anti-Israel." Now comes Tom Friedman, often proclaimed as an expert on the Mideast. When President Bush, Vice President Cheney, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and, to a lesser extent, Secretary of State Colin Powell, come to the conclusion that it is in the national interest of the United States to support Israel, it must be, according to Friedman in his column of last week, because they have been brainwashed by "Jewish and Christian pro-Israel lobbyists." Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is so powerful, according to Friedman, that Cheney is "ready to do whatever Mr. Sharon dictates." Ridiculous ... Tom Friedman, who is full of himself, believes he can resort to the anti-Semitic slur of secret Jewish control, and avoid criticism because he is a Jew. In reality, Friedman disgraced himself and his newspaper. His false words, coming at a time when anti-Semitism is skyrocketing worldwide, are particularly irresponsible and repulsive. If he is capable of feeling shame, I hope he feels it now."