Israel doesn’t need “saving”
Former State Department official David Makovsky said of John Kerry’s recent 73-minute tirade against Israel, “To be fair to Kerry, I do think that he cares deeply about this and about saving Israel from itself.” (“Kerry’s post-UN speech one-sided, says former State Dept. official,” Jan. 5)
I am sick of State Department officials, present and former, pompously declaring that they are “saving Israel from itself.” Israel does not need to be saved from itself. Israel has thrived, despite the terrorism and periodic invasions mounted by its neighbors. Israel has prospered, despite the constant hectoring of the UN. Israel has made uncountable contributions to the scientific and cultural betterment of mankind, despite the whining and pressure from J Street. Israel has upheld the highest moral standards in the world — not merely higher than those of its Middle Eastern neighbors (that’s obvious), but of the rest of world, in spite of constant harassment by much of the international news media.
Moreover, Israel has not established a single new Jewish settlement in Judea-Samaria since 1992, despite the fact it has every right to. And Israel withdrew (in 1995) from the areas where 98 percent of the Palestinians reside, despite the refusal of the Palestinian Authority to extradite terrorists, outlaw terror groups, or end anti-Jewish incitement.
And in the face of this reality, the State Department crowd has the chutzpah to say that Israel needs to be “saved from itself” and that they — who opposed Israel’s very creation in 1948 and have championed the Palestinian cause for many decades — are the ones who will do the “saving”? Don’t make me laugh.
Stephen M. Flatow
Vice President, Religious Zionists of America
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