Reasons to Love and Support Israel

On December 28, the Feast of the Holy Innocents, Secretary of State John Kerry delivered a troubling, very long speech in an attempt to justify why the U.S. "voted present" on a United Nations sanction against Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem. Among many of the offensive things Sec. Kerry said, he indicated that

There are currently about 2.75 million Palestinians living under military occupation in the West Bank, most of them in Areas A and B – 40 percent of the West Bank – where they have limited autonomy. They are restricted in their daily movements by a web of checkpoints and unable to travel into or out of the West Bank without a permit from the Israelis. So if there is only one state, you would have millions of Palestinians permanently living in segregated enclaves in the middle of the West Bank, with no real political rights, separate legal, education, and transportation systems, vast income disparities, under a permanent military occupation that deprives them of the most basic freedoms.

Note the word "occupation," a buzzword for sympathizers of the BDS (Boycott - Divest - Sanction) movement. The moment I heard Kerry say that word, I knew exactly where he stood. On top of that, so much of what he said was either untrue or exaggerated.

In fact, there are many things about the State of Israel that everyone should know, and there is a lot of myth-busting that needs to happen so that people will stop thinking of Israel as another apartheid state. To list a few things:

1. Arab Israelis, including women,  have equal voting rights in Israel
2. Arabs are represented in the Knesset (over 10%)
3. There are several employment centers around Israel who specifically help Arabs to get jobs
4. Along with Hebrew, Arabic is also an official language in Israel
5. Israel initially gained control of the West Bank after it was attacked by Jordan, but it also handed over civilian control to the Palestinian Authority. Israel maintains a military presence there specifically because of Palestinian attacks against Israel
6. Arab Israelis are exempt from serving in the IDF, to spare them the possibility of having to take up arms against other Arabs
7. While the Palestinian Authority issued a fatwah in 1996 against any Muslim who sold their land to a Jew, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled in 2002 that the government could lease land to anyone, regardless of race or religion. The fatwah was renewed in 2008, causing some to be imprisoned
8. While many have been executed under the Palestinian Authority, the death penalty is outlawed in Israel, even for the worst terrorists. The one exception was Adolf Eichmann
9. While Jews are the majority of the Israeli population, Arab Israelis have equal protection under the law. Unlike in apartheid, Israeli citizens have freedom of movement, regardless of race or religion
10. 80% of Palestinians in Palestine and 35% living in East Jerusalem admitted to high admiration for Israel because of its freedoms
11. Despite heinous charges that equate Zionism with Nazism, the population of Palestine has exploded from 1,006,000 in 1950 to 3,736,210 in 2011.
12. The purpose of the checkpoints along the Israel-Palestine border is due specifically to the continual presence of bombs, explosives, and other attempts to attack the citizens of Israel. The only thing that holds back trucks with food and supplies is caused by anti-Israel Palestinian activity
13. Palestinians in need of urgent medical care are allowed through the checkpoints, though it has happened on many occasions that the IDF has recovered bombs and weapons in ambulances heading to Israeli hospitals.
14. Israel is the only country to revive an ancient, unspoken language and use it as its national tongue
15. Israel has the third highest rate of entrepeneurship in the world
16. Israel was the first country to outlaw underweight fashion models
17. Israel is a the forefront of scientific and technological innovation--this includes the cell phone, the Waze navigation app, and many medical breakthroughs
18. 90% of Israeli homes are powered with renewable energy such as solar
19. Israel money has braille
20. Every year, an Israeli Arab hotel manager called Jaaber Hussein buys all of the state’s chametz for Pesach.

What all of this shows is that what John Kerry said is ignorant, politically motivated, arrogant, and downright wrong. While I'm sure that he's not marching for BDS or anything like that, his attitude is extremely offensive nonetheless. It's easy to sit in ones ivory tower of Washington prestige and comfort, and while Kerry has visited Israel and dialogued with Israeli officials, that doesn't mean that he's right in his assessment.

In the end, Kerry's speech is just further evidence that some individuals simply cannot bring themselves to be honest about the Israel-Palestine conflict. They will not accept that a lot of Palestine's problems are self-inflicted, and they will not admit that much of what Israel does is to protect its citizens, including its Arab citizens.

While I'm no fan of President-Elect Trump, as you may know, I hope that he will live up to his words to the people of Israel and show true friendship to Israel. They are the only real democracy in the region, and one of our greatest friends and allies. I can only hope that after January 20, the anti-Israel rhetoric from Washington will cease, and that we will once again partner with Israel to promote real peace in a region that is bloodied and tattered and in desperate need for relief from violence and chaos and terror.

Baruch HaShem!