Tel-Chai Nation

Caroline Glick has written her latest take on the phony peace process, and points out how Charles Krauthammer is actually harming Israel, which made me very angry last week. She says:

Krauthammer is widely perceived by the American public as a firm supporter of Israel. His many readers — who by and large are not close observers of Middle East events — defer to his judgment.

Unfortunately, his latest column shows that trust is unfounded. Krauthammer wrote, "No serious player believes [Israel] can hang on forever to the West Bank."

Not only do many serious players believe Israel can — and indeed should — hang on forever to Judea and Samaria, most close observers of events in the Middle East recognize that the central lesson of the past 17 years is that Israel must hang on to Judea and Samaria. The partial territorial surrenders Israel conducted in the 1990s led to the murder of more than a thousand Israel. Ceding these areas entirely would imperil the country. Even Clinton acknowledged this week that the current situation can continue for thirty years. And as all close observers and serious players in the Middle East know, thirty years is tantamount to forever.

Given Krauthammer's tremendous influence in shaping public opinion and policy in the US, his arrogant and false portrayal of reality is debilitating. This is particularly true in the current electoral season where Americans are seriously questioning the received wisdom of their policy elite for the first time in a generation. Now not only will Israel's supporters need to battle the administration for the US to adopt a rational policy towards the Palestinians and Israel. They will need to battle their supposed allies on the Right.

If Krauthammer cannot support Israel's rights to its birthrights properly, he shouldn't be commenting on the subject. He owes an apology for implying that I can't live where I want in Jerusalem, and that it's okay to remove Israelis from their residence for the sake of "peace". We probably shouldn't expect much from a columnist who works for the Wash. Post, but he's still a writer most unworthy of anyone looking for a hard-hitting commentary on mideast matters.

Labels: Israel, msm foulness, United States