Eitam explains Israeli life

Israel isn’t asking for peace. And it isn’t asking for war, either.

At least, this is what Effie Eitam, Israeli politician, said in a lecture at the Indiana Memorial Union Wednesday. Eitam’s speech was about “Morality and Ethics in Israel” and “Why we should support the state of Israel.”

Eitam stopped in Bloomington as a part of his travels in the U.S. to speak at various college campuses. His speech is part of a dialogue initiative, sponsored by Jewish National Fund, Media Watch International and Caravan for Democracy.

President of Hoosiers for Israel Sara Geboff, senior, said Eitam was a good representative of Israel because of his years of experience in the Israeli defense and political system.

“It’s such a wonderful opportunity to have such an important and influential member of Israel’s society at IU,” Geboff said. “He brings a first-hand account of what it’s like to be in Israel.”

Eitam, who earned Israel’s Medal of Distinguished Service in the Yom Kippur War, said he wanted to “introduce Israel in a different way.” He said much of the media exposes Israel in a negative light, and Israel is a country that extends far beyond Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Eitam talked about Israel’s stable and growing economy and the fact that Israel is what he would call a “start-up country,” both morally and economically. Eitam said he was proud that Israel began helping Haiti right after the earthquake.

He also touched on the topics of nuclear warfare and tense relations among the middle-eastern countries. He said different countries, Iran for example, are willing to sacrifice a lot, but Israel is not yet ready to back down from the battle.

“Israel will not accept nuclear Iran,” he said. He warned the audience that if diplomacy continues to fail as it has in the past decade, an operation in self-defense will happen, if it must.

Eitam spoke about the uniqueness of Israel, and that it remains the only Jewish state in the world, as Jews continue to be expelled from different land masses throughout history.

“The state of Israel is not only a state of Israelis,” he said.

Eitam expressed the idea that withdrawal, a “romantic” fantasy, an embrace with an opposing nation, is not the real issue. Leaving a country under operation would not be a smart idea, he said.

“Israel will make peace with who she wants to make peace with,” Eitam said.

He did not ignore casualties, the loss of innocent victims and civilians that were not supposed to die. He called the deaths “tragic” and acknowledged that the innocent killings are not planned, but “inevitable.”

Eitam is not the only one concerned with such issues. Audience member senior Jessica Gross said she was interested in the conflict, and she found it honorable for a country to still be a “sovereign nation” and have security.

“I think there’s a lot of debate about humanitarian issues,” Gross said.

Eitam, finishing his lecture, stressed the importance of remaining active politically as an American and being able to support Israel.

“You don’t have the right to be passive or involved with apathy,” he said.