Support for Israel Should Be Non-Partisan
Israel has become a focal point of debate across both ends of the American political spectrum. Despite there being a time when our country found unity in its support for Israel, we currently see division on the issue. While conservatives have upheld their views on the Middle Eastern country, leftists have abandoned their support.
To understand why conservatives still support Israel, we must look at several factors.
Israel is unique among its neighboring countries. It is the only democracy in the Middle East. It boasts of a thriving economy that has brought forth some of the greatest medical, environmental and technological discoveries in the world. Israel moved up to fifth place in the 2019 Bloomberg Innovation Index, an annual ranking of the world’s 60 most innovative countries.
The nation of Israel protects the rights of all — regardless of gender, religion, or ethnicity, and guards and protects holy sites for all religions. Israel is the only place in the Middle East where Christians can worship openly and freely without persecution. Israel is the only country in its region that allows freedom for women and respect for sexual orientation and basic human rights.
Although it is approximately the size of New Jersey, it holds centuries of history within its borders. For Christians, it is where Jesus Christ was born, crucified and resurrected. It is the land God promised to Abraham and His chosen people documented in the pages of the Old Testament. It is also where Christians believe Jesus will one day return. Because of this, it has been the target of Islamic nations that aim to abolish Israel, as well as anyone in support of Judeo-Christian values, such as the United States.
Israel has been targeted by the surrounding Muslim-majority nations for decades. When Israel declared independence in 1948, the conflicts heightened. Since this time, Israel has been in several major battles including the Six-Day War and the Yom Kippur War. They have also been at the center of terrorist attacks such as the murder of nine Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics. Tensions continue to rise as Israel defends itself against the evils of terrorism.
It is undeniable that we are fighting a common enemy. The same enemy that killed 3,000 innocent people on American soil also seeks to destroy Israel.
Those who died on Sept. 11, 2001, were on both sides of the political spectrum, of varying races, male, female, young and old. When we consider that the left claims to fight for the LGBTQ community, women’s rights and social injustices — we must ask: why are so many against the support of Israel?
A poll from the Pew Research Center in early 2018 showed that only 27 percent of Democrats sympathize with Israel more than they do with Palestinians, compared to 79 percent of Republicans. In her book, “The Lions’ Den: Zionism and the Left from Hannah Arendt to Noam Chomsky,” Susie Linfield, a professor in the journalism department at New York University, suggests that “opposing Israel’s very existence, and boycotting it, are a way for the far left to show that they are ‘woke.'”
She also writes that leftist opposition to Israel’s existence is often driven by “detestation of Zionism per se, not [by] defense of the Palestinians … Leftists, and especially New Leftists, were enthralled by Cuban, Vietnamese, Mozambican, Chinese, Algerian and Palestinian nationalism. But they loathed Zionism as a thing apart.”
Could it be that the radical left despises Zionists and this fuels their anti-Israel approach?
Our politically correct society and media has softened how many view Islamic terrorists. The truth about ISIS, Hezbollah and Hamas are quieted in fear of offending someone. The videos of ISIS throwing gay men from the tops of buildings are shown briefly or not at all. Muslim nations chanting “death to Israel,” “death to America” while burning our flags are not played as a reminder.
The stories of women who are sexually enslaved, only to be repeatedly raped and abused, are not looped on our news stations when President Trump announces the death of Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Instead, The Washington Post refers to him as an “austere religious leader.”
But just because the truth is whispered does not change that it is the truth.
We have to continue to educate people. We have to point out the hypocrisy and lies. We have to stand with Israel.
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