Was Robinson a battle worth fighting?

American Jewish Congress acting co-executive director Marc Stern writes in the Forward that the Jewish communal response to the Mary Robinson award "more harm than good":

Robinson’s award, which she received at an August 12 ceremony honoring her and 15 other individuals, does not change a thing on the ground in the Middle East. And it was self-delusion to expect that the president would back away from the award under criticism from pro-Israel groups.

Certainly, it was incumbent upon Israel’s supporters to clearly, but privately, let the administration know that honoring Robinson fueled doubts over its commitment to Israel’s security. It was neither prudent nor productive, however, to pick a public fight with no chance of success over a purely symbolic matter. Moreover, the near-immediate Jewish attack on Robinson’s award — with little acknowledgement of the useful things she has done — lent credibility to the charge that Israel’s supporters brook no criticism at all of the Jewish state.

There will be real fights ahead on the Middle East. Abraham Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League has correctly called out the Obama administration for placing the burden of peacemaking on Israel. The Obama administration’s decision to put the settlement issue at the heart of the peace process — as if no other impediments existed — and the clumsy way it disavowed the understanding that Israel had reached with the Bush administration over settlements are both deeply troubling.

In contrast, the award for Robinson was not one of the battles that Jewish organizations had to fight. The Jewish community should have saved its political capital for more important matters.