Israel: Our Only Middle Eastern Ally

The conflict between Israel and the Palestinians has been one of the most confounding problems in recent history. Various leaders, including virtually every American president since Harry Truman have worked hard to solve it, but tragically to no avail.

Will there ever be peace in the Holy Land? That's a tough question. We can all hope and pray, but for such to happen it will be necessary to root out the terrorists. The Bush Doctrine declares that those who harbor terrorists will not be distinguished from the terrorists themselves. President Bush has refused to meet with Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat, who everyone knows to be a terrorist.

It's obvious that the Israelis and Palestinians do not like each another. However, the Israelis are willing to compromise, and the Palestinians are not. How else can you explain Yasser Arafat turning down Clinton and Barak's generous offer, which would have given the Palestinians 98 percent of what they desired? Many of the Palestinians will not be satisfied until Israel is destroyed.

Not every single Palestinian shares this view. However, large numbers do. Polls consistently show around 70 percent of Palestinians back suicide bombings. Palestinian schools decorate their walls with pictures of "martyrs." Terrorist groups like Hamas sponsor summer camps for children.

In a perfect world, the Israelis, Palestinians, and the rest of the world work together to destroy Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other terror groups. Unfortunately, much of the world doesn't seem interested. Instead, they are more interested in condemning Israeli retaliations. There is no doubt that Israeli retaliations are sometimes harsh, but they are at war for their very existence. Also keep in mind that Israel takes care not to target civilians. The Palestinians do not take such precautions.

"Ending the occupation," which is widely claimed would lead to Middle East peace, will only give Arafat and his terrorist cronies more power towards accomplishing their ultimate goal: the destruction of Israel.
The reason for the hatred of Israel is not the "occupation" or retaliations, but anti-Semitism, which runs high in the Arab world. Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan are usually treated worse than Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza. No one complains about this. "End the occupation" is a popular slogan of those who oppose Israel, but no one ever calls on Syria to end its own occupation of Lebanon.

The other countries in the region are mostly authoritarian regimes whose dictators exploit anti-Semitism (and also anti-Americanism) to justify their own rule. If you doubt this, read some newspapers from the region. Some of the things you'll find are reminiscent of Nazi propaganda. Yet it's Israel that often gets compared to Nazi Germany.

What is most disturbing is the rise of anti-Israel sentiment in other parts of the world. A recent European Union poll found that 59 percent of respondents considered Israel a threat to peace in the world, more than those who considered North Korea, Syria, or Iran a threat. An article in the UK magazine the Guardian wrote, "Israel has no right to exist." Vandalism of Synagogues and Jewish cemeteries are becoming more common.

Is this important? Absolutely! All one has to do is look at the history of Europe in the twentieth century to see the dangers of anti-Semitism.

The UN is also quick to condemn Israel at every opportunity. While there are numerous groups of people all over the world seeking independence and statehood (including the Kurds and Tibetans, among others) none have been recognized by the UN except for the Palestinians. This is not a recent development in the UN. In 1974, Yasser Arafat was invited to address the General Assembly when he was trying to destroy Israel, a UN member.

The United States takes great flak from the rest of the world by supporting Israel, but it is imperative that we continue our support. If we were to end our support, the Arab nations would invade and destroy Israel, and Europe would not lift a finger to help.

Some complain that the U.S. policy in the Middle East is partial to Israel. Imagine that! How dare us be partial towards our one true ally in the region, instead of the people who want to murder us (remember the Palestinians dancing in the streets, celebrating the terrorist attacks of 9/11?)! The Israelis and Palestinians are not on the same moral plane.

Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East, and is our only true ally in the region. We must continue to support the Israelis in their own war on terrorism. Perhaps the greatest case for Israel can be made by this question, "If you had to chose, which Middle Eastern country would you prefer to live in, Saudi Arabia, Syria, or Israel?"

John Brown is a senior in political science at the University of Tennessee @ Knoxville. Contact him at johnnyb325@aol.com, or visit www.johnnorrisbrown.com. This column originally appeared in the November 18, 2003 edition of The Daily Beacon, available here.