The guest commentary of Saturday asked the correct question of an initiative for peace in the Middle East: “Why not?” but failed to provide a response to this question.
The distinction between Israel and the Arab nations surrounding her has been, and continues to be, that Israel is a democracy with a representative government while the Arab nations surrounding her are not, that Israel is committed to respect for human rights and prosecutes her citizens who fail to respect those rights, while the Arab nations do not.
These same Arab nations are the moral supporters (as well as monetary supporters) of the Palestinian Authority. The Palestinian Authority has never rescinded the call of the PLO for the destruction of Israel. Recent elections brought into power a known terrorist group, Hamas, who this month staged a forceful takeover of government offices.
The United States would do much better to strongly support democracy, representative government and human rights in the Middle East. Until then, Israel has no legitimate partner in the Arab world with whom to carry on peace negotiations, as their Arab counterparts do not speak for the people, and their people are not taught the value of peaceful coexistence with other cultures.
Rabbi Yossi Mandel
Director, Chabad Jewish Center of Snohomish County
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
