Is Israel Deserving Of America's Unquestioning Support?

Articles

Is Israel Deserving Of America's Unquestioning Support?

By Eric George
Sept. 13, 2004

Wow- what a week-end! I've had buckets of vitriol poured over my head by True Believers and I'm beginning to yearn for contact with a thoughtful liberal. Anyone will do!

I want to pose a question: is Israel deserving of America's unquestioning support? It is a fact of the modern world that you can not be an ardent supporter without sacrificing sympathy in the Muslim world. Sad, but true. So what is it about Israel that makes her worth supporting?

Sure she has a culture that has European as well as Jewish roots. Sure she has a form of democracy that works (although it helps to be Jewish or even Zionist if you want the full benefit). Sure she is an effective guardian of holy places, both Christian and Muslim. But what else?

Her pre-1967 borders were established by force to create a Jewish state. This was detrimental to the Arab minority (both Christian and Muslim again). It was even more detrimental to those inhabitants who fled their homes, never to beallowed back.

To make matters even worse, major players in the new state were members of the Irgun and the Stern Gang i.e. terrorists who fought for political ends using - yes - terror. Even planted a bomb in the King David Hotel and killed people. (Oops - sorry - that can't have been the Israelis. Must have been Yasser Arafat. Or aliens.)

And as for the post-1967 frontiers, well - exactly where are they? Do they include or exclude the choice bits of the West Bank that have been 'settled'? Do they run along the new 'Berlin Wall' (which, by the way, is built on what used to be thought of as West Bank territory)?

So back to the original question: what exactly is America supporting, and why? Why is it not possible to tap Sharon on the shoulder and say 'Look, guy, hop back over your old frontier - OK, hang on to East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights if you must - just build yourself big wall and don't let ANYONE through. Not even the low class Palestinian workers you used to enjoy. Just let them do their own thing over there, and you do yours on your side. Forget your 'facts on the ground', you made them - you can unmake them. The Palestinians don't have the where-withall to mount a war of conquest against you, and we will put together a peace- keeping force to make sure they remember it.'

Or could it be that Israel can only be supported on its own terms i.e. including the 1967 land grab and its consequent demographic time-bomb. Isn't that a frightening thought for the future? The number of non-Jewish Arabs under Jewish political control is growing steadily. Israel has an increasing percentage of non- Jewish inhabitants. What will America's position be as the population balance tips further and further? Some kind of Final Solution?

------------

About the author: Eric lives in tropical Queensland and writes books - some naughty, some nice - that can be found through Renaissance eBooks (renebooks.com) He reads widely and when he is not thinking about lunch, worries about the state of the world.

Email: ericge@westnet.com.au

Tell a friend about this site!

------------