The recent events in Israel have attracted the attention of the world, prompting many to urge restraint from the Israelis and others to defend the right of the Jewish state to fight its enemies.
These responses reflect a growing disparity in the support for Israel amongst the two sides of the political spectrum, requiring American Jews to reevaluate the political landscape and to reconsider who deserves their political allegiance.
Most liberals and Democrats refuse to acknowledge the true nature of the threat facing Israel. United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan and most European governments are calling for an immediate cease-fire.
But these calls are hollow as neither group offers any serious solutions to the Israeli conflict or to the worldwide terrorist threat.
At the same time, American Democrats remain silent, unable to offer any meaningful support. The best any Democrat can do is offer support for Israel’s right to self-defense.
While on the surface such comments appear helpful, they actually single Israel out among nations. No other nation requires the permission of foreigners to defend itself against attacks across internationally recognized borders (as is the Israeli-Lebanese border). This is a fundamental right of any sovereign state.
Israel needs the support of those willing to allow it to deliver a critical blow to its enemies, not of those calling for restraint or merely willing to allow a response of proportionate force.
Israel also needs the support of those who recognize that Hezbollah’s actions threaten not just a few Israeli soldiers, but the entire West as Iran and Syria attempt to challenge and weaken the United States through their proxy in Lebanon. Republicans and conservatives have offered such support.
Threat from Iran
In contrast to the Democrats’ relative silence during this battle, many Republicans and President Bush have been openly supportive of Israel’s actions. Bush in particular has deflected calls for an immediate cease-fire and encouraged Israel to proceed with their attempts to destroy Hezbollah.
Bush and Republicans do not call for a proportionate response from Israel because they realize that the current fight is not fought simply in response to the soldiers’ kidnapping, but instead to a persistent threat to Israel’s sovereignty from Hezbollah, Syria and Iran.
Strong Republican support of Israel’s fight against Hezbollah is also consistent with support for the United States mission in Iraq. Both battles are being fought against the proxies of an Iranian government bent on regional hegemony and the destruction of any Western-leaning, free government in their midst.
The Middle East will continue to pose a threat to world stability and Western civilization as long as the Iranians are allowed to continue funding terrorism and projecting power.
Leftists in Europe and American Democrats weary of war wish to solve the Iranian problem via diplomacy and incentives. President Clinton tried this with North Korea, only to provide a few years of apparent safety as the North Koreans secretly continued to build nuclear weapons.
Pre-World War II British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain also tried this tactic with German Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, only to allow a bombardment of a woefully unprepared England a few years later. Bush and the Republicans reject these ideas and strive to defeat the West’s enemies.
The Democratic Party is unable to acknowledge the global effect of terrorism, to confront the Iranian threat and to accept Israel’s role in the war on terror.
The only remaining Truman Democrat in the Senate, Sen. Joseph Lieberman (Conn.), supports our actions, but is under fierce attack from leftists in his own party as a result. Polls show that Lieberman is in serious jeopardy of losing his primary to an anti-war opponent.
The future of the Jewish people and their tiny state is precarious. Many around the world view Israel as the aggressor that threatens regional stability.
And the real threat to Middle East stability, Iran, becomes stronger and bolder encouraged by American unwillingness to fight a long hard war and by Israeli retreats from southern Lebanon and Gaza.
Without any check against Iranian ambitions, the Jewish citizens of Israel may soon face the threat of a new holocaust in the form of an Iranian nuclear weapon.
American Jews must recognize these threats and offer their political support to those in America who are truly on their side, President Bush and the Republican Party.
Nathaniel Sattler is chair of the Wisconsin Jewish Republican Committee.
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