Editor's Letter
t ot to
Israel's Self-Destiny
T
he Israeli prime minister used a massive Jewish
stage to tell the world that Israel and America will
confront global challenges in lockstep as unswerving
partners no matter the differences these two democratic allies
encounter along the way.
"We stand together because we are
fired by the same ideals and inspired
by the same dream — the dream of
achieving security, prosperity and
peace;' Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu
told 7,500 delegates to the American
Israel Public Affairs Committee
(AIPAC) 2010 policy conference held
March 21-23 in Washington.
"The dream seemed impossible to
many Jews a century ago;' Netanyahu
said.
That's an understatement.
What Netanyahu, also chairman of Israel's Likud party,
said next was interesting and significant, but little reported.
He talked about his father, Benzion, turning 100 in March.
"When he was born;' Netanyahu said, "the Czars ruled
Russia, the British Empire spanned the globe and the
Ottomans ruled the Middle East. During his lifetime, all of
these empires collapsed, others rose and fell and the Jewish
destiny swung from despair to a new hope — the rebirth of
the Jewish state. For the first time in 2,000 years, a sovereign
Jewish people could defend itself against attack."
Therein was the essence of his message to AIPAC: Israel
must always reserve the right to defend itself. It's a message
that resonates given Israel's Middle East neighbors include
Hamas to the south, Fatah to the west and Hezbollah/Syria
to the north — and the most dangerous, Iran's
Revolutionary Guard. Fatah may purportedly
sit across from Israel at the negotiating table
in pursuit of peace, but don't for an instant
forget about its anti-Zionist underpinnings. In
the shadows of the close of the AIPAC policy
conference, Fatah's leader, Palestinian Authority
President Mahmoud Abbas, who governs the West
Bank, promoted Mahmoud Damra, who com-
manded a Palestinian terror unit, to the rank of
major general. Notably, Damra has been impris-
oned in Israel since 2006.
Clarity Of Thought
Israel's commitment to guarding its citizens and land was
underscored for Netanyahu when he met Shlomit Vilmosh
some 40 years ago. Netanyahu, 60, served with Vilmosh's son,
Haim, in the same elite unit of the Israeli army. Haim died by
gunfire in battle in 1969.
"At his funeral:' Netanyahu recounted, "I discovered that
Haim was born shortly after his mother and father had been
freed from the death camps of Europe. If Haim had been born
two years before, this daring young officer would have been
tossed into the ovens like a million other Jewish children.
Haim's mother told me that though she was in great anguish,
she was proud. At least, she said, my son fell wearing the uni-
form of a Jewish soldier defending the Jewish state."
How compelling an image is that?
Time and again, the Israeli army has repelled much larger
armies bent on destroying any semblance of Zionism in the
Middle East. It's important to understand the power of such
force. Egypt and Jordan didn't veer toward the path of peace
until they had witnessed Israel's military might.
A Potent Danger
Still, Israel remains vulnerable if it lets down its guard for
even a moment. Jew-haters — who dispatch terrorists, mis-
siles and threats of atomic bombs — continue to openly call
for Israel's destruction so Palestinian Arabs can claim the
land for the "state of Palestine'
"The ingathering of the Jewish people to Israel has not
deterred these fanatics;'Netanyahu said. "In fact, it has only
whetted their appetite. Iran's rulers say 'Israel is a one-bomb
country' The head of Hezbollah says, `If all the Jews gather in
Israel, it will save us the trouble of going after them worldwide.'"
In its 2006 war with Israel, Iran-backed
Hezbollah proved to be no pushover. We know
the effect of not recognizing, or ignoring, real
danger: 75 years ago, at least 11 million people,
including 6 million Jews, died in World War II,
ignited by Nazi Germany.
Shifting his focus to Tehran, Netanyahu said a
radical Iranian regime armed with nuclear war-
heads could bring an end to 65 years of nuclear
peace. He warned that such a regime not only
might be tempted to use them, but also provide
them to terrorists to attack a common enemy
— with Israel first up. Iran's foray into atomic
Prime Mini ster
warfare also is a grave threat to the region — and
Through The Ages
Netanyahu
Previous to Benzion Netanyahu's lifetime, Jews
ultimately the world — what with the increasing
were subjected to cascades of savagery as well:
sophistication of such weaponry.
the bloodletting of the Middle Ages; expulsion from England,
I urge the Obama administration and Congress to finally
Spain and Portugal; slaughter in the Ukraine; the pogroms in adopt tougher sanctions in hopes of halting Iran's nuclear
Russia, culminating in the Holocaust, which we commemo-
development, which is moving along. As Netanyahu declared in
rate on Yom HaShoah, this year on Sunday, April 11.
his AIPAC speech, "Israel expects the international community
Israel's statehood in 1948 was no deterrent against
to act swiftly and decisively to thwart this danger. But we will
attacks on Jews. "It merely gave the Jews the power to
always reserve the right to self-defense:'
defend themselves against those attacks;' said Prime
As it should and as it must.
Minister Netanyahu, who took office a little more than one
0 : Is America too sluggish with Iranian sanctions?
year ago, on March 31, 2009.
c i
But Israeli Jews clearly have defended the state quite well,
u)
thanks to a formidable military born of necessity amid Arab
in Why is Israel under such a critical microscope?
z
and Islamic neighbors who despise the Jewish ancestral
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homeland and all that it stands for.
a 11
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April 8 • 2010
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