"The Cause of Israel is the Cause of America"
By SEN. JOHN KERRY
My first trip to Israel made real for me all I'd believed about Israel.
I was allowed to fly an air force jet from the Ovda Airbase. It was then
that Israeli insecurity about narrow borders became very real to me. In
a matter of minutes, I came close to violating the airspace of Egypt,
Jordan, and Syria. From that moment on, I felt as Israelis do: The
promise of peace must be secure before the Promised Land is secure on a
thin margin of land.
Back on the ground on that first trip, I toured the country from Kibbutz
Mizgav Am to Masada to the Golan. I stood in the very shelter in a
kibbutz in the north where children were attacked and I looked at
launching sites and impact zones for Katousha rockets. I was enthralled
by Tel Aviv, moved by Jerusalem and inspired by by standing above
Capernaum, looking out over the Sea of Galilee, where I read aloud the
Sermon on The Mount. I met people of stunning commitment, who honestly
and vigorously debated the issues as I watched and listened intently. I
went as a friend by conviction; I returned a friend at the deepest
personal level.
full: http://www.counterpunch.org/kerry02172004.html
===
Nader Writes to the Anti-Defamation League on the Israeli-Palestinian
Conflict
Dear Mr. Foxman:
How nice to hear your views. Years ago, fresh out of law school, I was
reading your clear writings against bigotry and discrimination. Your
charter has always been to advance civil liberties and free speech in
our country by and for all ethnic and religious groups. These days all
freedom-loving people have much work to do.
As you know there is far more freedom in the media, in town squares and
among citizens, soldiers, elected representatives and academicians in
Israel to debate and discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict than there
is in the United States. Israelis of all backgrounds have made this point.
Do you agree and if so, what is your explanation for such a difference?
About half of the Israeli people over the years have disagreed with the
present Israeli government�s policies toward the Palestinian people.
Included in this number is the broad and deep Israeli peace movement
which mobilized about 120,000 people in a Tel Aviv square recently.
Do you agree with their policies and strategy for a peaceful settlement
between Israelis and Palestinians? Or do you agree with the House
Resolution 460 in Congress signed by 407 members of the House to support
the Prime Minister�s proposal? See attachment re the omission of any
reference to a viable Palestinian state � generally considered by both
Israelis and Palestinians, including those who have worked out accords
together, to be a sine qua non for a settlement of this resolvable
conflict � a point supported by over two-thirds of Americans of the
Jewish faith. Would such a reasonable resolution ever pass the Congress?
For more information on the growing pro-peace movements among the
American Jewish Community see: Ester Kaplan, �The Jewish Divide on
Israel,� The Nation, June 24, 2004.
full: http://votenader.org/why_ralph/index.php?cid=119
