Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu gave a speech to congress last week.
By the end of it, I was sure of one thing. We need to get our stance on Israel correct.
Talking about Israel is always controversial. What I am about to say will probably be no different, but I believe it needs said.
I think there are two very dangerous sentiments I continually see in my peers and others. The first involves the idea of a two-state solution and the second involves Iran.
Let me begin with the second one. Iran is a state sponsor of terrorism. There are only four countries currently designated as state sponsors of terrorism by the United States State Department: Cuba, Sudan, Syria and Iran. In order to receive this designation, a country must have — and I quote from the State Department — “repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism.”
According to the State Department, Iran continues to provide “support for Palestinian terrorist groups in Gaza and for Hizballah. It has also increased its presence in Africa and attempted to smuggle arms to Houthi separatists in Yemen and Shia ?oppositionists in Bahrain.”
So my question is, why on Earth would we ever trust Iran? Why would we assume a nation that has been supporting global terrorism since 1984 would suddenly change once it develops ?nuclear technology?
No deal should ever be given to Iran until it radically changes who it is and what it supports. There should be no way around it. Cripple Iran with sanctions, shun it from the international community and make it clear it stands alone. In the choice between Israel and Iran, there should never be a choice.
Now to the difficult question of a two-state solution. I do not support a two-state solution. I am unapologetic about it, and there are two clear reasons why.
The first reason is historical. In 1948, when the state of Israel was created, several Arab nations attacked and took control of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. That is the land often referred to as Palestine today.
However, in 1967 a group of Arab Nations including Egypt, Jordan and Syria attacked again. This time they lost, and Israel regained control of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, as well as the Saini Peninsula, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.
The conflict is more complex than I am making it seem, and I hope you will ?research this issue yourself.
If not, please remember that when you have groups calling for the liberation of Palestine or the Gaza Strip, that is territory the Arab world lost in a war it started.
The second reason has to deal with the current government of so-called Palestine. The Gaza Strip and the West Bank are effectively controlled by Hamas, which was democratically elected. The group has been in power since 2007.
Although non-terrorist governments have been created, they never last. The most recent example was at the end of last year.
If you are thinking Hamas sounds familiar, you’re right. It is one of the reasons Iran is considered a State Sponsor of Terrorism. I quote from the State Department again, “Iran has historically provided weapons, training, and funding to Hamas.”
Let me summarize. We are currently negotiating with a country that sponsors terrorism, the same kind of terrorism that brought our nation to halt in 2001. Many are also advocating for the creation of a Palestinian state run by a terrorist government on the land they lost in a war it started. And yet there are those who still think Israel is the problem.
cgerst@indiana.edu
