Posted by
Rogue Historian on Tuesday, August 15, 2006 1:53:34 PM
I am an avid supporter of Israel, but I'm not sure why.
I supported Israel before the current war (pick one) and rationalized that Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East so it deserves and requires our help. True. But democracy is not a compelling reason, because democracies can easily slide into tyranny (Hitler was elected). Perhaps I support Israel because it makes foreign policy sense,i.e., it is in America's best interest. Not sufficient, either. It is probably not in our best interest to defend a small, locally rogue nation when doing so alienates our sources of oil. My support is certainly not religious- I know as little about judaism as I do about the Masons. Maybe it is the Holocaust. Certainly Israel is one manifest attempt to remedy that singular horror- I find it conceivable that the Holocaust wouldn't have happened had the Jews had a homeland. As "transients" Jews were easy scapegoats for zealots. If nothing else (and there is much else) Israel has proven that the Jews are warriors. But I think there is a better explanation.
As a lover of western civilization and admirer of limited democracy, I have always felt threatened by Islamist nations. Call it what you will. I remember when our hostages were finally released from Iran. I recall watching radicals behave like animals in the streets of Tehran. I remember, as a child, watching an Arab woman beheaded in public for adultery (on tv). I think as a proud Westerner, I have a deep-seated aversion to systems of thought that compel human beings to behave viciously and without reflection.
I support Israel because the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
I think.