To the editor:
In my letter published in The Sentinel on Feb. 24, 2011, I gave the history of the Jewish people and pointed out that history shows that the Jews are in their own land and that in my opinion, have every right to live safely on their own land.
Sadly, history also reveals that the Muslim nations will never accept a Jewish-governed nation anywhere in the Middle East.
What has secured Israel's earthly survival since statehood, in 1948, has been the unbending support, diplomatically, financially and militarily, by way of armaments, supplies and advisors, by the U.S. With the added benefit of the President Carter-brokered peace treaty with Egypt, and the disarray of the other Muslim nations, Israel's only day-to-day problems have been the constant border violations by any number of Muslim hate groups.
In my letter, written the day Libya's dictator was killed, and published in the Nov. 18, 2012, Sentinel, I lamented that since Mubarak was gone from Egypt, that country would no longer be pro-American, and would definitely be anti-Israel, and the Libya under Gaddafi was at least neutralized when it came to the U.S. and Israel, which won't be the case in the future.
I also opined that, by our actions, our government was laying the groundwork to eventually abandon Israel. Now that brings us to the present. As of this writing on Nov. 18, Israel is currently being attacked by rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, and already Egypt's President Morsi, is siding with the Hamas terrorists, while brokering for a cease fire.
While I don't believe the Muslim nations are yet united to the point that Israel will be attacked, as they were in 1948, I do believe, however, that time is relatively short until all hell breaks loose.
I was pleased to see that our president, in calling for a cease-fire, also stated that the citizens of Israel have every right to live safely in their own land, and the right to defend themselves from aggression. I hope our president's resolve will continue over the next four years, and when the time comes, and it will, we will be right by Israel's side.
Believe me, I would love to be wrong in believing that we will not support Israel at crunch time. Sadly, as I've stated before, Israel doesn't start these border clashes, but after they begin, it is always assumed and expected that Israel will need to give concessions to stop the aggression and have temporary peace until the next time.
In this particular case, both Israel and the U.S. seem to be counting on Egypt's President Morsi to convince Hamas to agree to a cease-fire and negotiations. The irony of all this is that Egypt is governed by the Muslim Brotherhood, and Hamas is their military arm.
This is akin to the U.S. being attacked by the Mexican army, and the Mexican president claiming to negotiate a cease-fire, and then for the U.S. to negotiate concessions with the Mexican army.
What I fear is that the Israelis will put up with all they can take, and will then overreact (overkill), or be accused of over reaction, which will give President Obama an excuse for withholding support from Israel, and invite an all-out attack by most of the Middle East on Israel.
When this happens, Israel will rely on the only true protector they've ever had, The Lord Thy God.
John Kauffman
Belleville
