[Los Angeles Times] Rep. Artur Davis (D-Ala.) and Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) - John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt are at it again, attempting to poison the well of American politics with their misleading depiction of an Israeli stranglehold on presidential candidates and elected officials like us. Mearsheimer and Walt accuse all of us who support Israel in its struggle to live in peace and security of being Israel's "false friends." The accusation is remarkably disingenuous since it implies that Walt and Mearsheimer are Israel's true friends. What kind of true friends write volumes on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and gloss over the thousands of rockets Palestinian terror groups in Gaza launch into Israel? What kind of friend refuses to acknowledge the vicious propaganda machine in the West Bank and Gaza that stokes anti-Semitism and glorifies suicide bombers? The pro-Israel lobby is not responsible for congressional support for a strong alliance with Israel. Like the vast majority of Americans, we support Israel for a very basic and obvious reason: America is at its best when we align ourselves with allies that share our values of tolerance, freedom and democracy. The inescapable truth is that Hamas-led Gaza and heavy pockets of the PA-run West Bank reject a two-state solution. If the PA is powerless to rein in terrorism, and Hamas is committed to the destruction of Israel, with whom are the Israelis to broker a peace?
2008-01-14 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive