Thursday, March 18, 2010
Why Israel?
American politicians, eager to put aside the snub to our Vice President by the Israeli government over the expansion of settlements in East Jerusalem, declare that Israel is our best and most dependable ally in the world. I won't ask why; we know the answer. It is due to the influence of the American-Israel Political Action Committee (AIPAC) on members of Congress.
There's a more fundamental question, or, rather, inconsistency in our policy. Our nation is a non-religious country. It's not anti-religious, just non-selective with respect to various religious beliefs. We permit blood transfusions and other organ transplants in spite of the religious objections by Jehovah's Witnesses. We have legalized abortion, although with some important controls and limits, in spite of the religious objections of Catholics and many Protestant sects. We allow the consumption of coffee in spite of the religious objections of Mormons. We allow the consumption of wine in spite of religious objections of Muslims, Mormons, and other religions. Although the majority of our residents are Christians we have never set out to be an exclusively "Christian" nation. We welcome immigrants of any religious belief, including those who reject religion. In our foreign policy, we encourage the development of "secular" states and discourage the creation or growth of regimes that favor one specific religious belief for all their subjects. We decry the persistence of sectarianism in our experiment in Iraq. We secretly hope that the Iranian people will rise up and overthrow the "Islamic State" of Iran and replace the government of the ayatollahs with the government of the people.
In spite of all this, we declare that our favorite ally is Israel. Israel was founded as a separate country specifically for Jews. The basic law of Israel declares that any Jew anywhere in the world has a right to relocate and live in Israel. Jews from other countries are encouraged to emigrate to Israel. Non-Jews are not welcome as immigrants although they are encouraged as tourists. The very location of Israel is based on an ancient religious doctrine and on ancient writings that describe and define the geographical location of the Land of Israel (Eretz Israel). According to ancient doctrine this land was given by God to the People of Israel in perpetuity. Others who may happen to be squatting there can just buzz off to make room for all the Jews who choose to live there. The modern name for this quaint doctrine is called "Zionism."
According to ancient writings the Jews didn't depend only on the Lord God to give them the land of Israel. They fought for it. They displaced and slew the Canaanites who live there previously. They needed no help from the United States in those days. They did it themselves. We don't know how much actual help the Lord God provided; perhaps it was mainly moral support and encouragement.
The United States has been trying to achieve a "peaceful" settlement between the New Israel and the New Canaanites (i.e., Palestinians) for many years. Our leaders advocate a two-state solution. However, Israel has been established as a homeland for every Jew in the world. Jews are encouraged to emigrate. To facilitate this immigration, the Israeli government pays for the building of homes for these immigrants. To find room for these homes, the Canaanites (Palestinians) have to be displaced. Eventually all of the "biblical" land of Israel is to be occupied by Jews and there won't be any more Palestinians. That is the path that Israel has followed for all of its modern existence (since 1948). It doesn't matter what the Prime Minister may say in his effort to curry and maintain financial support from the United States. Our policy won't work as long as we try to persuade the Israelis to accept the idea of a separate Palestinian state. Their imperative is to occupy all the land of Israel described in the Bible and to cause the Palestinians who might some day reclaim their lost homes to disappear.
What is to be done? To begin, I think we should stop subsidizing the growth of the settlements. Israel depends on US foreign aid. We should cut off the foreign aid and let Israel go it alone, as they did in ancient times when they took the land from the Canaanites.
There's a more fundamental question, or, rather, inconsistency in our policy. Our nation is a non-religious country. It's not anti-religious, just non-selective with respect to various religious beliefs. We permit blood transfusions and other organ transplants in spite of the religious objections by Jehovah's Witnesses. We have legalized abortion, although with some important controls and limits, in spite of the religious objections of Catholics and many Protestant sects. We allow the consumption of coffee in spite of the religious objections of Mormons. We allow the consumption of wine in spite of religious objections of Muslims, Mormons, and other religions. Although the majority of our residents are Christians we have never set out to be an exclusively "Christian" nation. We welcome immigrants of any religious belief, including those who reject religion. In our foreign policy, we encourage the development of "secular" states and discourage the creation or growth of regimes that favor one specific religious belief for all their subjects. We decry the persistence of sectarianism in our experiment in Iraq. We secretly hope that the Iranian people will rise up and overthrow the "Islamic State" of Iran and replace the government of the ayatollahs with the government of the people.
In spite of all this, we declare that our favorite ally is Israel. Israel was founded as a separate country specifically for Jews. The basic law of Israel declares that any Jew anywhere in the world has a right to relocate and live in Israel. Jews from other countries are encouraged to emigrate to Israel. Non-Jews are not welcome as immigrants although they are encouraged as tourists. The very location of Israel is based on an ancient religious doctrine and on ancient writings that describe and define the geographical location of the Land of Israel (Eretz Israel). According to ancient doctrine this land was given by God to the People of Israel in perpetuity. Others who may happen to be squatting there can just buzz off to make room for all the Jews who choose to live there. The modern name for this quaint doctrine is called "Zionism."
According to ancient writings the Jews didn't depend only on the Lord God to give them the land of Israel. They fought for it. They displaced and slew the Canaanites who live there previously. They needed no help from the United States in those days. They did it themselves. We don't know how much actual help the Lord God provided; perhaps it was mainly moral support and encouragement.
The United States has been trying to achieve a "peaceful" settlement between the New Israel and the New Canaanites (i.e., Palestinians) for many years. Our leaders advocate a two-state solution. However, Israel has been established as a homeland for every Jew in the world. Jews are encouraged to emigrate. To facilitate this immigration, the Israeli government pays for the building of homes for these immigrants. To find room for these homes, the Canaanites (Palestinians) have to be displaced. Eventually all of the "biblical" land of Israel is to be occupied by Jews and there won't be any more Palestinians. That is the path that Israel has followed for all of its modern existence (since 1948). It doesn't matter what the Prime Minister may say in his effort to curry and maintain financial support from the United States. Our policy won't work as long as we try to persuade the Israelis to accept the idea of a separate Palestinian state. Their imperative is to occupy all the land of Israel described in the Bible and to cause the Palestinians who might some day reclaim their lost homes to disappear.
What is to be done? To begin, I think we should stop subsidizing the growth of the settlements. Israel depends on US foreign aid. We should cut off the foreign aid and let Israel go it alone, as they did in ancient times when they took the land from the Canaanites.
Labels: Israel; American subsidy; Canaanites; Palestinians; Snub of Vice President Biden
