In defense of Israel

Perhaps more than any time in recent history, Americans are taking a deep interest in our foreign policy toward Israel and the Palestinians. Osama bin Laden tells us that our Israeli alliance was a major factor in the Sept. 11 attacks, opening the door for Israeli critics to have us overhaul our stance with them.\nWhenever I speak in support of Israel, inevitably someone will take offense to it. What follows are actual questions and arguments I've heard received, along with standard replies.\nQ. Why hasn't Israel offered the Palestinians statehood?\nA. They have offered statehood several times. But Palestinians refused a British partition in 1947. Egypt and Jordan, who hosted the Palestinians between that time and the Six Day War of 1967, refused statehood. Most recently, Yasser Arafat declined statehood at Camp David last year.\nQ. A Palestinian state is nothing without Jerusalem, but Israel won't negotiate. Wouldn't offering more land help bring more peace?\nA. Israel pulled out of key positions on the West Bank, the Temple Mount, large areas in the Gaza Strip and the area around Joseph's Tomb, only to have Palestinians burn it. Each concession was followed by more violence from Palestinians. Now the Palestinians want all of Jerusalem, too? Historical evidence, not just Biblical evidence, demonstrates a 3,000-year relationship to the Jewish people. An Israel without Jerusalem means an Israel without a heart.\nQ. Why is the United States so anti-Palestinian?\nA. We are far from being anti-Palestinian. Both former President Bill Clinton and President George W. Bush supported the concept of a Palestinian state that has reasonable borders and that pledges nonviolence toward Israel. In fact, according to the 2000 World Almanac of Facts, we send more than $100 million a year to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and 20 times that to President Mubarak, despite an anti-American sentiment from their state-controlled press.\nQ. Israel isn't really a democracy, so why should we honor their government over Palestine's?\nA. Israel isn't a democracy to the degree that we are, but then again, very few nations are. Still, one thing remains evident: it's light years ahead of Palestinian democracy. Despite American prompting, Palestine is not a democracy, it has no free judiciary, and it has consistently failed to protect human rights.\nQ. Israel just seems to bully Palestine around. Shouldn't Israel show more restraint?\nA. If either "side" is a bully, it's not Israel. Palestine waged its first three wars not to free the West Bank, but to destroy Israel. The United States repeatedly urges Israel to show restraint in the face of persistent attacks and to negotiate with the perpetrators' backers -- advice the U.S. would never consider if offered by others in response to terrorists attacks against Americans.\nDuring the Gulf War in 1991, Saddam Hussein deliberately attacked Israel with 39 Scud missiles and threatened to strike it with chemical and biological weapons. Rather than retaliate with its military might, the U.S. persuaded Israel to stand down. Most recently, when Israeli Cabinet member Rechavam Zeevi was assassinated, Bush urged the Hebrews to refrain from striking back. As reported in an article Sunday on U.S. News' Web site, Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu compared this to having Secretary of State Colin Powell assassinated and then Israel urging us to do nothing about it. Israel has shown amazing restraint, not aggression.\nTo Israeli critics, I have a question for you: Could we carry on this conversation safely inside Palestine?