“As the prophet Isaiah
presaged: Israel is indeed a Light unto the Nations.” |
|
|
Israel: A Light unto the Nations
Those who demonize Israel are either misinformed
or malevolent
If that proverbial man from Mars
came to visit and read the world’s newspapers, especially those
in the Arab and Muslim world, he would be convinced that Israel was the
most evil nation in the world and the source of all of the world’s
strife.
What are the facts?
A nation to be emulated. The reality, of
course, is that Israel is a nation, a society, that should be admired
and emulated by many countries in the world. The very fact of how the
State of Israel came into being is one of the most inspiring in history.
Born out of the ashes of the Holocaust, it has emerged as one of the most
advanced, productive and prosperous countries in the world.
The demonization of Israel, assiduously cultivated by the
Muslim world, has reached a crescendo following Israel’s recent
defensive action in Gaza. Instead of being grateful to the hated Jews
for having totally withdrawn, the Palestinian Gazans showed their gratitude
by almost daily pounding Israeli towns with close to 10,000 rockets and
bombs. After countless warnings, Israel ultimately decided to put an end
to this travesty.
When Israel finally did invade Gaza it took the most elaborate
precautions not to hurt civilians. As a first in the history of warfare,
Israel dropped tens of thousands of leaflets, warning the population and
urging it to abandon areas in which military action would take place.
The Israeli military made thousands of phone calls urging people to leave
areas that would come under attack. But fighting in a densely populated
environment is difficult and loss of civilian life is hard to avoid. Hamas
fighters wear no uniforms. It is impossible to tell them from civilians.
Is a person who allows a rocket launcher in his backyard a civilian or
a fighter? And how about using schools, hospitals and mosques as munitions
depots and staff centers? The hue and cry of Israel’s demonizers
in accusing it of “disproportionate force” is totally absurd.
The ultimate insult, comparing Israel to the Nazis, is freely bandied
about by Israel’s detractors.
Israel is not an “apartheid state.”
Another familiar tack of Israel’s vilifiers is to call it an “apartheid
state,” on the model of former South Africa. But that is so ridiculous,
so preposterous, it is hard to believe that serious people can countenance
it. The exact opposite is the case. Israel is the only country in its
benighted neighborhood in which people of all colors and religions prosper
and have equal rights. Israel, expending substantial effort, rescued tens
of thousands of black Jews from Ethiopia. And it has given assistance
and absorbed countless Christian expatriates from Sudan, who escaped from
being slaughtered by their Muslim countrymen. Israel’s over one
million Arab citizens enjoy the same rights and privileges as their Jewish
fellows. They are represented in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament,
and are members of its bureaucracy, of its judiciary, and of its diplomatic
service.
All over the world, Leftists, including in the United States
and, sad to say, even in Israel itself, tirelessly condemn and vilify
Israel. Why would they do that? First, of course, there is good old-fashioned
anti-Semitism. Second, many of those who hate the United States vent their
poison on Israel, which they consider being America's puppet in that area
of the world. But Israel should certainly get top grades in all areas
important to the Left. In contrast to all its enemies, Israel has the
same democratic institutions as the United States. All religions thrive
freely in Israel. Also, in contrast to all of its enemies, women have
the same rights as men. The Chief Justice of Israel’s Supreme Court
is a woman. One-sixth of the Knesset are women. Compare that to Saudi
Arabia, a medieval theocracy, where women are not allowed to drive cars,
where they cannot leave the country without permission of a male relative,
and where they can be and often are condemned to up to 60 lashes if the
“modesty police” deems them not to be properly dressed in
public. Gays and lesbians are totally unmolested in Israel; in the surrounding
Muslim countries they would be subjected to the death penalty.
In spite of demonization and vilification by so much of
the world, Israel is indeed a Light unto the Nations. The State of Israel
is the foremost creation of the Jewish enterprise and Jewish intellect
that has benefited every country in which Jews dwell, certainly our own
country, the United States. Second only to the United States itself, Israel
is the world’s most important factor in science and technology,
way out of proportion to the small size of its population. Israeli Jews
are at the forefront of the arts, the sciences, law and medicine. They
have brought all these sterling qualities to bear in building their own
country: Israel. By necessity, they have also become outstanding in agriculture
and, most surprisingly, in the military. What a shame that the Arabs opted
not to participate in this progress and this prosperity and chose instead
the path of revenge, of Jihad and of martyrdom. As the prophet Isaiah
presaged: Israel is indeed a Light unto the Nations.
This ad has been published and paid
for by
Facts and Logic About the Middle East
P.O. Box 590359
San Francisco, CA 94159
Gerardo Joffe, President
Return to top of page>>
|
|