“The United States of America is a racist, cruel, evil dictatorship, which is oppressive and illegal and has murdered millions.”
I don’t really believe this, and if someone ever said that about this country, I’d have to stand up for it. If I was in Europe or Canada and there were people calling the U.S. a cruel evil dictatorship, I’d have no choice but to correct them. Now I don’t believe the U.S. is perfect; the country has a long way to go to be perfect. In fact, I have many problems with domestic and international aspects of U.S. policy, but that does not make the nation an evil, oppressive, illegal nation.
Thus, I have such a big problem when someone decides to start calling Israel a cruel, racist, evil dictatorship. Israel is far from perfect and there are many issues that I disagree with. But last time I checked, we have yet to have a country on this planet that has reached perfection – not even Liechtenstein or Luxemburg can claim this. When Israel is criticized more harshly than any other country due to hatred rather than logic, something has gone amiss. When people who have never even set foot in Israel claim that it’s an awful country and expect it to be a utopia, then something has gone wrong.
Ishmael Kalidi, who can be contacted through ishmaelkhaldi.com, is a Muslim and an Arab; his home is in Israel and he loves it. He loves it to such an extent that he joined the Israeli army so he could defend his country. He’s definitely not alone. Tens of thousands of Bedouin – once nomadic Arabs but now living in permanent homes – love Israel and volunteer to join its army. They’re not alone.
The Druze, another Arab minority in Israel numbering at over 70,000, love Israel too. They actively work in Israeli companies, universities, and about 90 percent of eligible Druze volunteer for the Israeli army according to http://www.idf.il/newsite/english/0128-4.stm, to defend the country that they love, risking their lives for it.
In fact, gay Palestinians love Israel, secretly escaping the Palestinian territories to Israel where they are free to be themselves without fear of death. The New Republic, in its August 19, 2002 issue, exposed hideous human rights violations by the Palestinian Authority, which hires police squads to capture men who have sex with each other and execute them. The lucky ones have to stand in sewage water up to their necks or lie in dark cells infested with insects; many others are starved to death. On the other hand, in Israel there are members of parliament who are openly gay, and huge gay pride parades take place in the nation’s capital of Jerusalem and neighboring Tel Aviv annually.
Thousands of Lebanese Christian Arabs who were granted asylum in Israel after fear from the U.S. designated terrorist organization Hezbolla, love Israel as well. Israel has given them homes and is now in the process of making them citizens as shown in http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/405882.html.
Over 30,000 Ethiopians, who were rescued by Israel from a devastating drought, love Israel, and nearly eight hundred thousand Jewish Arabs who found refuge in Israel after being expelled from their native countries love Israel as well.
Organizations headed by the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem, issued a statement saying in part, “We cannot ignore the terrible atrocities committed by the PLO against the Lebanese Christians during their reign of terror in Lebanon, as well as general Moslem oppression of Christian minorities in the Middle East.”
The statement called on Christians to visit Jewish villages near Bethlehem, such as Efrat. Other groups that signed the statement include Bridges of Peace, the World Lebanese Organization, the American Coptic Association, and many other groups as well.
Unfortunately, there is job discrimination for Arabs in Israel. This is a problem that Israel has to work on, but at the same time, this isn’t the only country where discrimination is occurring. In just about every country with a minority population, there is discrimination – even in this very country – and it’s a challenge that each nation has to cope with.
On the other hand, many television shows in Israel have Arabic subtitles; each and every road and city sign has the name also written in Arabic, in addition to Hebrew. In no country are Arabs better democratically represented in the Middle East than in Israel. In fact, Arab members of parliament have been allowed to remain in parliament, even though they’ve preached the destruction of Israel in neighboring enemy countries, according to www.zoa.org. What would happen if Senator X went to North Korea and preached for terrorism against the USA?
That’s why thousands of UMass students signed a petition last year in support of Israel. That’s why every year, the Republicans and Democrats in Washington DC don’t seem to agree on a single issue, but when it comes to Israel, they are in overwhelmingly supportive. They understand why so many love Israel.
Gilad Skolnick is a Collegian columnist.
