(National Post-Canada) Robert Fulford - A nation of survivors and the descendants of survivors, Israel has now survived for 64 difficult years. By this point it would seem to have staked a reasonable claim on the affections of all nations that share its beliefs in honest elections, independent judges and freedom of speech and commerce. But in the community of democratic states Israel is more often regarded with suspicion. Unwarranted hostility is one of the forces it routinely faces while pursuing survival. Its sworn enemies are routinely treated with more sympathy. The universities of North America have become comfortable homes for a pro-Palestinian movement that is genially tolerated despite its outrageous rhetoric and mobster tactics. The UN is so profoundly prejudiced against Israel that most people no longer notice its behavior; those who believe UN reports must also believe Israel commits more crimes against human rights than all other nations combined. In 1947 the UN approved a two-state partition of Palestine, which the Jews accepted but the Arabs did not. In May 1967, the Arab states again decided they could not tolerate Israel's existence. They gathered their armies and moved toward its borders. "The Arab people want to fight," said president Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt. The Arab states, whose aggressive misjudgment and incompetence caused the West Bank of the Jordan River to fall into Israeli hands, now blame Israel for the sin of acquiring it. Israel has tried to trade back this territory in various land-for-peace schemes, to no avail.
2012-05-25 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive