The Nation’s Colors Are Running
Dear Mr. President:
I feel compelled to write to the man who represents American
principle.
After the WTC tragedy, your voice was a source of strength
and invigoration. You declared war on terrorism and the nations that harbor
them. We all raised the flag and said, "these colors don’t run."
But now the colors are running, Mr. President - shamefully
so!
Your administration is running with appalling hypocrisy.
I am astonished by the sudden legitimacy your administration
is granting nations that "harbor terrorism."
I am astonished at your double standard regarding the
appropriate response to terror.
While American planes bomb and strafe and kill - yes kill -
the enemy in Afghanistan, you rebuke, condemn and criticize Israel’s acts of
self-defense.
How many Israelis, Mr. President, must be killed before you
say "enough"? Is American blood any redder than Israeli blood?
How many wanton acts of terror must occur before the U.S.
demands that Arafat put a stop to it? How many discussions should be conducted
with blood-hungry terrorists? Why didn’t the U.S. have at least one
discussion with Bin-Laden?!
The only commands ever emanating from Washington to Israel
are: Restraint! Restraint! Restraint!
How ludicrous it is to hear you congratulate the murderer
Arafat for fighting terror! Who are you kidding?
Is this where America’s principles end up? In the Sewer of
Placating Terrorists? Is it the oil that’s behind this?
Don’t you realize that some of our so-called friends, such as
Saudi Arabia for example, are spitting in our face? How can you embrace a man -
Arafat - who has the blood of hundreds of innocent Americans dripping from his
fingernails?
When Israel kills terrorists in acts of self-defense - the
very thing our American troops are doing in Afghanistan - the US demands that
they stop. Where is America’s demand (as opposed to ‘humble request’) that
Arafat and company stop killing innocent civilian and stop waging a war of
terrorism against Israel?
When America was still a wilderness, the Jewish people were a
civilized and educated people. We survived thousands of years of anti-Semitism
and we’ll survive this latest injustice, as well.
An astonished Jewish-American,
Isaac Kohn
Dictionary Definition Of ‘Double Standard’
Dear Mr. Secretary,
Under normal circumstances, I would send a letter of this
nature to the President of the United States. However, after nine months in
office, it is clear that the Department of State is the proper address.
I am a proud American citizen residing in the Land of Israel.
But there are no words that can adequately express my shock, dismay, and
bewilderment at the Administration’s persistent condemnation of the Government
of Israel’s anti-terrorism policy, especially in light of last week’s
assassination of the Minister of Tourism, the late Mr. Rehavam Zeevi.
As you know, the Land of Israel is the chosen place of
residence for tens of thousands of American citizens. I would hope, at the very
least, that the United States would praise military action to counter terrorism,
especially when the lives of Americans abroad are at risk.
Never in my life have I ever encountered a more blatant case
of sheer hypocrisy than the constant denouncements from the State Department.
For this nation’s foreign policy to deny Israel the right of self-defense to the
fullest at the same time it is blasting the Taliban to smithereens is worthy of
entry in Webster’s Dictionary as the clearest example of what "double standard"
means. If the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs would dare issue a similar
condemnation of American air strikes in Afghanistan (which unquestionably have
resulted in civilian casualties), what would your response be? Would you be a
good boy and stop the bombings or would you simply say, "Mind your own
business!" When the American Air Force fire-bombed Dresden in 1944, did anyone
start screaming "Stop the War!" or was this simply the standard form of response
upon an enemy in time of war? In the final analysis, there is a state of war
between Israel and the PLO, a.k.a., PA, and it’s high time that someone just
came out and said it.
Why does the United States treat Arafat differently than it
does bin Laden or Saddam Hussein? Because he is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate?
Arafat is a terrorist and must be treated as such in accordance with American
and international law.
To go one step further, previous Government of Israel
policies of restraint (at the behest of Mr. Peres) are also a large part of the
problem. It is inconceivable to me that the United States and the world
community at-large have yet to grasp fully the reality that the current "peace
process" as represented by the Oslo Accords was a lie from its inception. Arafat
is not, never was, and never will be interested in peace with Israel. America
must come to realize this irrefutable fact. Once it does, it will be far easier
to understand the necessity of actions such as the recent military operations
against Arab terrorists throughout Judea, Samaria, and Gaza.
The purpose of this letter is not to blame you for all this.
The problem at the State Department goes much deeper and is far more
long-standing. For at least half a century, State Department policy, regardless
of who the Secretary of State is, has been automatically against Israeli
military responses to terrorism, state-sponsored or otherwise, and for
territorial compromise to Arabs who will settle for nothing less than the whole
enchilada. As a result, with rare exception, every Secretary of State from John
Foster Dulles to Madeline Albright has followed this line.
Mr. Secretary, please break this pattern for the sake of true
world peace. I urge the State Department to reconsider its policy on this matter
and to express greater understanding and support for Israel’s fight against
terrorism, including the PLO, which should soon, G-d willing, perish from the
earth. A written response is requested.
Sincerely,
Michael L. Dobry
Kiryat Chabad |