By Dr. Steve Carol ©
Dear Friends in Israel:
In reply to your just released letter: “Joint Statement by Mattot Arim, Professors for a Strong Israel and Women in Green: Jews Abroad, Do Not Remain Silent At This Time!†let me add my voice to those who have already written to you. There are those of us in the Diaspora, myself included, who have not “remained silent†and are very active in promoting Israel’s case for a Jewish state in all of the Land of Israel, Judea, Samaria, Golan and even Gaza included! We have written articles (see many of my 60 articles – copies of which have been forwarded to all of you – and many of which are posted on our Middle East Radio Forum website and broadcast a radio show (one of only two in the entire U.S.A.) dealing with these very points for over the past three years. We have helped educate many as to the real facts of the situation and swelled the ranks of those Jews and non-Jews REALLY concerned about Israel’s current plight and indeed its very survival.
That said, we are dismayed and distressed that the people of Israel have acquiesced to the path being taken – the “disasterous experiments†as you call them – by the current government, indeed by all governments since 1993. This is a path that, we believe, if followed will lead to the termination of the third Jewish commonwealth. It took 1,875 years to re-establish a Jewish state. If it vanishes now, only God knows if and when another will ever reappear. To mention that should such an event take place, the status of Diaspora Jews would quickly take a turn for the worse.
The key issue is, however, where are the Israelis? Where are Israeli citizens out demonstrating en masse – tens of thousands in every city – banging pots and pans, shouting “The government must go� Where is a nationwide strike to force the government to step down? Where are the massive calls for reforms to be made, for a sound policy voiced and for Israel to return to the image, status, and power it had at the conclusion of the Six Day War?
Today, Israel projects, not strength but weakness to the entire world and especially to its enemies, who like sharks smelling the blood in the water, are circling ever closer for the kill.
Excuses of U.S. “pressure†on Israel have been made and will be made again. But Israel itself is doing the work of the Arabists in the U.S. State Department. The U.S. need not pressure Israel anymore, when the Israeli government voluntarily takes the steps that will ensure the states demise.
The reality is that Israeli people themselves must exhibit the will to take harsh, perhaps unpleasant actions to correct its course. Israel should not commit politicide for the sake of “world opinion.†It should not continually weaken itself with unilateral territorial retreats, such as from southern Lebanon in 2000, and Gaza in 2005. Israel’s mortal foes have become more emboldened and demand even more. Now “Israeli†Arabs openly consort with the enemy, make demands for changes in the Israeli flag, anthem and structure calling for a bi-national state. Even Egypt, which has had a “cold war†– not a “cold peace†with Israel for some 28 years, now demands Eilat and portions of the Western Negev, while Syria demands not only the Golan but the eastern shorefront of the Sea of Galilee (Lake Kinneret).
It is the people of Israel who must take the lead in reversing the present course. It is the Israelis themselves who must save their own nation. When the Israelis take such action, they will gain more backing from their supporters, more respect from those “disinterested†parties, and be feared by its enemies. That is the reality of the world. Unless and until this occurs, the relatively few voices supporting Israel will shrink to fewer still, as Israel vanishes. It is up to the Israelis to save their own nation. Taking the necessary steps to reverse course, show firmness, and determination will find many supporting the Jewish state.
Dr. Steve Carol
Prof. of History (retired)
Official Historian “Middle East Radio Forum†www.middleeastradioforum.org
Scottsdale, Arizona
