An Open Letter to Senator Bob Menendez (D) NJ

You've probably already seen this on Rafi G's Blog, but I really wanted to try embedding a video for the first time so here it is again, followed by my letter which I sent to the Senator. Cool, the video works!

June 17, 2009

Dear Mr. Senator,

There were so many times during your speech about Israel yesterday where I thought to myself, "Wow, he hit the nail on the head on that one!"

Decoupling the founding of Israel with the Holocaust, G d's Biblical promise of the Land of Israel to the Jewish People, the ties the Jewish people have had with Israel for thousands of years, the truth about the Arab refugees in 1948, the non-equivalency between Hamas and Israel, and the threat of Iran - you touched on so many important points and I wanted to thank you for getting it right and setting the record straight. But there are 2 items I wanted to add to this comprehensive list, please.

You mentioned that the US is not only an ally of Israel, but of its citizens. I am an American citizen living in Israel. I hope you know there are tens, maybe a hundred thousand Americans like me who have chosen to live with their families in their biblical homeland, at the same time continue to be patriotic Americans. For this reason, Iran's threat against Israel is also a threat to Americans living here. Of course it's much more than that. A nuclear Iran isn't only a threat to Israel, it is a threat to the entire free world, including the United States.

You also mentioned you have faith that through talks, agreements can be reached from all sides. While Israel has made peace treaties with more moderate regimes such as Egypt and Jordan, I feel this will not be possible with fundamentalist regimes such as Iran, Syria, Hezbollah, Hamas, not even Fatah. Most people still think the issue is about land and sovereignty and rally behind the two-state solution. But Israel's withdrawal from Gaza proves that for fundamentalist Moslems, it is about the destruction of Israel, which is rooted in their religious faith. There cannot be agreements because doing so would be a violation of their faith, as they interpret it. So they will continue towards their goal of Israel's destruction, either until they succeed, or until they are stopped.

Diplomacy, treaties and talks have their place. But as we learned from Neville Chamberlain's failed policy of appeasement towards Germany, they don't always work. It is a tough decision which sometimes must be made, that your enemy will stop only when stopped. If a Rottweiler comes charging at you with deep growling and teeth baring, you will not succeed in negotiating with him and reaching an agreement. You must either stop him or run away. Mr. Senaor, Israel will not run away. Its enemy must be stopped.

I thank you for your bold speech yesterday in defense of America's allies, its citizens and Americans living here. Please continue to do all you can to keep the United States in Israel's corner, supporting and joining in Israel's right to defend itself against its enemies when all other attempts fail.