Is the US softening its alliance with Israel?
November 26, 2007
by Daniel Gilbert

During a peace summit in Annapolis, MD, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice has vowed to heavily pressure Israel to divide Jerusalem. Worse, Rice and the current administration are expected to blame Israel for the lack of peace in the region, according to a Palestinian negotiator who spoke to World Net Daily, a conservative online news source edited by Jospeh Farah and financed heavily by Richard Mellon Schaife.

Blame Israel? Perhaps, President Bush and his administration need a history and current events briefing.

Biblically and historically, what has been dubbed “Palestine” has always belonged to the Jewish people. Christians who have studied the Bible know that this land was promised by God to the Jews: In that same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates. —Genesis 15:18, also Numbers 34.

Archeological evidence proves a Jewish presence in “Palestine” for over 3000 years, including coins, pottery, cities and cultural artifacts. No other culture can predate the Jewish claim in this region. In fact, modern-day Jews are considered to be direct descendants of Israelites in the region. Jews continued to persevere and maintain a cultural and physical presence in the area during the Roman’s conquest, (who renamed it “Palestine”), the exile and the destruction of the second Temple.

Historically, “Palestine” was not the economical “prize” that it is, ideologically, today. Only when the increase in Jewish migration to the, now disputed, area transformed a once considered barren wasteland into a thriving community, did “Palestinians,” i.e. Arab refugees, follow and the historic battle began.

Palestinians can only claim the abstract of victimhood and cling to the threat of violence promoted by other Arab states to justify their stake in the region. If Palestinians truly want peace, why have they not jumped at the chance for statehood? Better yet, why have they not demanded the same treatment from other Arab states when under Arab control? The answer is Palestinians are at the mercy of Arab states who ignore the plight of the Palestinian people, promote their victimhood, and exploit the “peace” process for their ultimate goal: the destruction of Israel.

After four major attacks on Israel by Arab states following her establishment in 1948, the country, the most important ally of the US in the region, remained more than accommodating for peace, even as a victorious nation simply defending its sovereignty. Arab nations expressed no desire for a Palestinian state and held out as long as possible to recognize an Israeli state which they increasingly acknowledged as undefeatable.

Consequences of war

Israel agreed to UN “green lines” to end fighting, promote peace and return refugees to their homeland after the Independence War, which ended is 1949. Arabs still refused to recognize Israel. From 1947 to 1967, Arab states, including Jordan and Egypt which controlled the West Bank and Gaza respectively, never considered a Palestinian state.

After the Six Day War in 1967, Israel gained control of the Gaza Strip, Sinai Desert, Golan Heights, and the West Bank. Following the Six Day War, all Arab countries said no to recognition of Israel, no to peace and no to negotiation.

During the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Israel was once again attacked on what is considered their holiest day, even though Judeo-Christian nations today are prohibited by the international community to strike an Arab country during Ramadan. Victorious, Israel and their ally, the US, were punished by an oil embargo where prices skyrocketed from $3 a barrel to $11. Arab countries were not punished for their aggression.

In 1982, Israel responded to several PLO terrorist attacks by creating a security zone in Lebanon. At the same time, Israel agreed to withdraw troops from the Sinai Peninsula as Egypt agreed to finally recognize Israel. Israel also offered Egypt the Gaza Strip, but Egypt declined.

Peace process continues

Since then, the “peace” process has become more interesting. Let’s consider that under the Clinton Administration, Israel offered: a Palestinian State, 95 percent of the territory of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, air space sovereignty, and half of Jerusalem. How did the Palestinians react to such an offer by Ehud Barak, a weak leader elected with the help of Democratic operative James Carville? No deal.

In 2003, President Bush and Secretary of State Rice concocted the “Road Map to Peace” and in 2005, as a good faith effort, Israel used government funding to relocate Jewish settlers out of Gaza. Where did that leave Israel? From 2001-2007 – during “peace” negotiations Israel was hit with steady bombing.

In conclusion

The Democrats complain that the United States has lost many of its allies, particularly in Europe; but we are not fighting a war in Europe, we are fighting a war in the Middle East. Our main ally there is Israel. If the Democrats cannot realize the invaluable asset Israel is to our stake in the Middle East, surely President Bush and his administration should.

All Jews, Christians and Muslims should keep Genesis 13:14-17 in mind:

And Jehovah said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art, northward and southward and eastward and westward: for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: So that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then may thy seed also be numbered. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for unto thee will I give it. Genesis 13:14-17

It is clear that the US should not be involved in the process of giving away any fraction of the land given by God to the Jewish people. In 2000 I voted for President Bush and the Republicans. I had high hopes that with the Republicans in control of the legislature and the executive branches that real change would occur in our government. I thought that the principles that we all thought the Republicans stood for would guide the Republicans to do what is best for the country. I thought I would see a new higher moral standard. What we got was corruption, bribes, moral decline, hearings with no action, tax breaks for big business, McCain Feingold and last year 15,000 earmarks. We get a Republican majority in the Senate and a President who thinks that the best way to handle the illegal alien problem is to give them amnesty. And just last month we had a great break through with the North Koreans where they agreed to not do what they agreed to not do under Clinton. How much will it cost the American citizens this time?

There has to be a change in presidential and congressional leadership to affect change in this country. There has to be a way to get the politicians out and the statesmen in. Those politicians who vote only for the sake of the party, the lobbyist or big business have to be removed. To bring about substantial changes in the government these new statesmen must control the House, Senate and the White House.

A businessman originally from Winston-Salem, NC with a B.S. in civil engineering from Virginia Tech, Gilbert, 61, is a member of the Biltmore Baptist Church of Asheville, NC and the Black Mountain Center Human Rights Advocacy Committee. A conservation Republican candidate for president in 2008, Gilbert describes himself as having grown up on a farm in rural North Carolina, worked hard and long in the hot and the cold, milked cows, slopped hogs, and fed chickens. He held an army ROTC commission stationed at Fort Bragg, NC and Fort Jackson, SC and saw duty in Vietnam. He is married with two grown children and six grandchildren.

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