Check yourself, part I

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Politico’s Ben Smith and Josh Gerstein round up the splits in the conservative movement, and between U.S. and Israeli conservatives, over events in Egypt.

(I covered some of this territory earlier this week, within the confines of the pro-Israel community.)

It’s a fascinating round-up, and covers the uneasy ring where pro-Israel and pro-democracy sentiments meet and clash.

But what stuck out, to me, was the article’s kicker:

And in Jerusalem Wednesday, the criticism of American optimism that Egypt – Muslim Brotherhood and all – could find its way to secular, open democracy was even more heated.

The Israeli scholar Barry Rubin summed up the local view of Washington’s high-mindedness: “I have an idea for the prophets of Muslim Brotherhood moderation: Please experiment with the lives of people closer to your own homes.”

"Please experiment with the lives of people closer to your own homes."

Might not that apply to an Egyptian in Tahrir Square, contemplating the pleadings of Rubin and other Israelis re: propping up Mubarak?

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