A record of support
Regarding “The real Obama,” Letter to the Editor, October 27, I am proud to be a Republican and very proud of the overwhelming support Republicans nationwide have for Israel. That includes all of our presidential candidates, excluding Ron Paul.
Republican support for Israel has a very long history. I started my sophomore year at Hebrew University in Jerusalem in the summer of 1974, one week after President Nixon visited the city. I found two wall posters (which I still have) printed by the City of Jerusalem asking all the citizens to come out and greet the president. It was President Nixon who literally saved Israel with his around-the-clock airlift of arms to Israel during the 1973 war.
All Republican presidents since Nixon have been strong supporters of Israel.
President Obama’s reluctant support of Israel is not only contrary to the policies of Republican presidents, it is also contrary to the policies of Democratic presidents! President Truman gave Israel life when the United States became the first nation to recognize Israel. President Kennedy called Israel a true friend in the fight for freedom in the Middle East. All previous Democratic presidents supported Israel while in office. No previous administration — Republican or Democratic — has asked Israel to endanger itself by going back to the pre-1967 borders.
President Obama’s first foreign policy act was to bow to the King of Saudi Arabia. Then he gave a speech to the Arab world in which he hinted that the special relationship between Israel and United States was soon to end.
Had it not been for the criticism of true supporters of Israel, both Republicans and Democrats, the Obama policy on Israel and the Middle East would most likely still be negative for Israel’s security.
I am happy to say that President Obama’s speech to the UN regarding the Middle East was a good one. I’m glad that his policy towards Israel has improved somewhat. I hope that he has finally realized that the only real, true friend the United States has in the Middle East is Israel.
We Republicans do not want a president who is “going to rubber stamp everything Israel wants.” We do want a president who realizes that Israel is an important ally, a source of strength, a friend that America can count on, a creative superpower in the worlds of art, medicine, science, and technology, and, most importantly, a strategic ally in America’s war against international terrorism and jihadism.
If we ever have a Republican president with misguided policies toward Israel, you can count on Republicans nationwide to let that president know exactly how important Israel is to us.
Mark Meyerowitz
Director, Republican Friends of Israel, Inc.
West Orange
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