SUPPORT ISRAEL OVER TYRANNY
Israel is a free, Western country, which recognizes the individual rights of its citizens (such as their right to liberty and freedom of speech). It uses military force only in self-defense. The enemies of Israel, by contrast, are state sponsored terrorist organizations and dictatorships. They do not recognize the individual rights of their own subjects, much less those of the citizens of Israel. They initiate force indiscriminately in order to retain and expand their power.

The Israeli government is the only one in the Middle East that is elected by free citizens -- including Arabs and Muslims.

Most of the Arab and Muslim states do not recognize Israel's right to exist.

Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) official website, Sep 6, 2003: "... is an inter-governmental organization grouping fifty-six States. These States decided to pool their resources together, combine their efforts ... in absolute priority, with liberating Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa from Zionist occupation."

10 out of the world's 33 major terror groups have anti-Israeli agenda

Freedom and terrorism cannot coexist

Fundamentally, Israel is the target of these terrorist organizations and despotic regimes precisely because of its virtues:
Oasis of freedom in a desert of Arab and Iranian tyranny
Oasis of independent judiciary in a desert of Arab and Iranian arbitrariness
Oasis of women rights in a desert of Arab and Iranian women discrimination
Oasis of gay rights in a desert of Arab and Iranian gay persecution

Friday Sermons on Palestinian Authority Television (Oct 13, 2000):
"Kill the Jews Everywhere"

"Palestine is part of the large Arab World, and the Palestinian people are part of the Arab Nation ... The principles of Islamic Shari’a shall be the main Source of legislation." (Palestinian "Basic Law" draft, title 1, articles 1, 4, March 18, 2003)

99.5% of U.S. Congress Commends Israeli Democracy

'Israel's fight is our fight' - Tom DeLay, Majority Leader of the US House of Representatives, Aug 3, 2003

Compare Freedom Score of Israel (Free)
versus 22 Arab regimes & Iran (18 Not Free, 5 Partly Free), Source: Freedom House (PDF, 187 KB)

Compare Freedom Score of Palestinian Authority (Not Free) versus Israel (Free)
Source: Freedom House

Compare Human Development Index of Israel (0.905), 22 Arab regimes (0.662) & Iran (0.719) (PDF, 670 KB) Source: United Nations Human Development Report 2003

Compare Human Development Index of Israel (0.905) & Palestinian Authority (0.731)
(PDF, 670 KB) Source: United Nations Human Development Report 2003

Compare Corruption Indexes of Israel (7.3), Germany (7.3) and USA (7.7)
versus 22 Arab regimes & Iran (1.7 - 5.5), Source: Transparency International (PDF, 1.8 MB)

Compare Corruption Indexes of Palestinian Authority (4.3),
Israel (7.3), Germany (7.3) and USA (7.7) Source: Transparency International (PDF, 1.8 MB)

Israel Comparison Maps (IRIS): Compare the map of Israel with maps of other areas drawn to the same scale, to put Israel's size into perspective. In these maps, Israel is portrayed including all land currently under its authority. Still, Israel is small compared with most countries around the world, most states in the U.S. and most other countries in its region.

99.5% of U.S. Congress Commends Israeli Democracy (Feb 11, 2003) ( PDF, 31 KB) The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to “commend the people of Israel for reaffirming their dedication to democratic ideals”. The resolution, which passed 411-2, also reaffirms the “close bonds of friendship” that have “bound the people of the United States and the people of Israel together through turbulent times for more than half a century,” and urges the Palestinian leadership to act on President Bush’s June 24, 2002, call to elect new leaders, dismantle the terrorist infrastructure, end incitement and embrace democracy.99.5% of U.S. Congress Commends Israeli Democracy (Feb 11, 2003)

'Israel's fight is our fight' Tom DeLay, Majority Leader of the US House of Representatives, Aug 3, 2003): "Freedom and terrorism cannot coexist. This is the irreducible truth of the 21st century. The battle between terrorism and freedom has been waging for years, but has only been joined in earnest since September 11, 2001.

The war will be relentless until it is ultimately decided. In the end terrorism will either destroy free nations, or free nations will destroy it.

Nations around the world have a choice, best articulated by President George W. Bush: "You're either with us, or you're with the terrorists."

There is no doubt where Israel stands in our post-9/11 world. The solidarity between the US and Israel is deeper than the various interests we share. It goes to the very nature of man, to the endowment of our God-given right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It is the universal solidarity of freedom.

It transcends geography, culture, and generations. It is the solidarity of all people - in all times - who dream of and sacrifice for liberty. It is the solidarity of Moses and Lincoln. Of Tiananmen Square and the Prague Spring. Of Andre Sakharov and Anne Frank. And in its name I come to you - in the midst of a great global conflict against evil - with a simple message: Be Not Afraid."

Terrorism will not go away by itself. It's up to people and nations of good will to stand up to it wherever it attacks. Evil cannot be negotiated away, appeased, or pacified. It must fought on every front with every resource at our disposal.

Today, terrorist organizations around the world are being hunted and destroyed. State regimes who support those organizations are being ended. The civilized world has made a conscious decision to tolerate the metastasizing cancer of violent hatred to threaten it no longer. World leaders who fail to join this struggle endanger their people and threaten the peace of the world.

When free nations meet aggression with capitulation, history is clear about the results we should expect. Some things never change.

At its heart, the terrorist ideology is indistinguishable from its murderous forebears, responsible for tens of millions of deaths in the last hundred years. Like Nazism, fascism, and communism, terrorism is borne of the idea that human cruelty can subdue human freedom.

And like Nazism, fascism, and communism, terrorism is a lie.

But because of state-sponsored animosity, controlled-media propaganda, and the economic abuses inherent in all terrorist organizations and regimes, it is a lie - like its 20th century forebears - with millions of adherents.

Only the miracle of liberal democracy will ultimately rid the world of terrorism. Democracies neither enable terror nor instigate war. They do not starve their citizens or torture dissidents or threaten neighbors.

Instead, democracies build stable civic institutions, celebrate religious, political, and ethnic diversity, create unlimited economic and educational opportunities, and protect the inalienable human right to self-determination. The liberty democracies tend to protect is the overwhelming force that can destroy terrorism once and for all.

THAT'S WHY the US is so adamant about the need for real democratic reforms among the Palestinian people. An immediate and total end to Palestinian violence is not a "concession" in the peace process. It is a perquisite to any peace process in the first place.

Peace-loving Israelis and Palestinians shouldn't tolerate any more fool's games in which the "Middle East peace process" becomes more about the "process" than it is about the "peace." Peace is impossible without a viable Palestinian democracy committed to serving the needs of the Palestinian people.

The terrorist leaders who have used the Palestinian people like pawns for decades have no credibility any more. President Bush is right to ignore communication from Yasser Arafat, and instead focus on making peace with those men - not compromised by terror - who are capable of peace in the first place.

This is why Arafat must be isolated and ignored by the international community. His continued influence in the Palestinian Authority jeopardizes the hopes for peace. Nations who consort with him validate him, and perpetuate the violence.

New leaders must emerge. It's not enough for these leaders to condemn terror. They must stop it. They must also recognize Israel's right to exist, secure in its borders, and urge their neighbors in the Arab world to do the same.

Once new leaders emerge - and we can hope Abu Mazen is such a leader - who can finally deliver on the promises of the past, great things will be possible for Israeli and Palestinian alike.

Israel will be able to forge ahead, one of the great democracies of the earth, safe to be free, and free to be prosperous.

And the Palestinian people, committed to a lasting peace, will have a new ally in the US. Just as we helped Western Europe and Japan after World War II and Eastern Europe after the Cold War, the US will help the Palestinian people build the infrastructure and institutions necessary to accommodate and foster democratic politics, market economics, and civil liberties.

The US has fought evil before, in many forms, and, with the help of allies like Israel, we are committed to defeating global terrorism now. Once this battle is won we will put all our resources toward winning the peace, too. But while this battle still rages, it is the position of the people of the US, as expressed by their representatives in Congress, that Israel's fight is our fight.

And so shall it be until the last terrorist on earth is in a cell or a cemetery. It is for this purpose that Providence has put the current challenges before the free nations of the word."

If you're a headstrong Arab or Iranian, bent on protest, Israel is in every respect a paradise compared with any other state in the Middle East:
In Lebanon, don’t try speaking out against the Syrian occupation. You won’t live long.
In Saudi Arabia, don’t try converting from Islam. You won't live long.
In Iraq, don’t try saying the regime has got WMD. You won’t live long.
In Somalia, don’t try refusing sexual mutilation of your sister. She and you won't live long.
In Tunisia, don’t try saying the government is corrupt. You won't live long.
In Egypt, don’t try being a homosexual. You won't live long.
In Sudan, don’t try being a separatist. You won’t live long.
In Iran, don’t try having an affair. You won’t live long.
In Algeria, don’t try fomenting revolutionary jihadism. You won't live long.
In Libya, don’t try asking about her role in international terrorism. You won’t live long.
In Mauritania, don’t try helping a slave run away. He and you won’t live long.
In Syria, don’t try throwing stones at police. You won't live long.
In Oman, don’t try demonstrating for women rights. You won’t live long.
In Morocco, don’t try saying Arab Saharawis have been displaced. You won’t live long.
In Yemen, don’t try apostasy. You won’t live long.
In the Palestinian Authority, don’t try supporting democratic Israel. You won’t live long.

Saudi religious and morality police launch website (MEMRI, May 13, 2003) : "... the arrest of an Asian man belonging to the Sufi sect of Islam who "engaged in witchcraft," a study on the role of the Authority in the struggle against "ideological invasion, ... On the photo, under the heading "The Jewish Doll," is a story titled "The Strange Request." The story reads: "One girl said to her mother: 'Mother, I want jeans and a shirt open at the top, like Barbie's!!' The dolls of the Jewish Barbie in her naked garb [sic], their disgraceful appearance, and their various accessories are a symbol of the dissolution of values in the West. We must fully comprehend the danger in them."

Why Arabs love Israel (Joseph Farah, WND, Apr 9, 2003): "Arabs in Israel vote. They elect leaders to the Knesset [Israeli parliament]. They have their own political parties. They have their own newspapers. They have full rights to citizenship. They are free to speak their minds. As an Arab-American journalist who has spent a good deal of time covering the region, I can tell you there is more freedom for Arabs in Israel than in any Arab state."

Israel: religious freedom for all - including Moslems

Moslems at Al-Aksa Mosque in Israeli capital Jerusalem

Christian churches in Jerusalem/Israel (Israeli Yellow Pages)

Compare freedom for all religions in Israel
vs. religious apartheid in Saudi Arabia and Palestinian Autonomy:



Saudi and Palestinian religious apartheid against Non-Moslems
Palestinian National Authority Official Website, Jul 2, 2003: "President Arafat Condemns Israeli Decision to Allow Non-Muslims into Al-Aqsa ... Officials from the Waqf—the Islamic trust running the site—banned Jews and other non-Muslims from visiting the site ..."

Palestinian Pretense & Israeli Reality. What the world knows, but can’t say, to be true (Victor Davis Hanson, NRO, Mar 18, 2003): "Much of the problem, then, quite simply is also psychological and arises because a Jewish state is right smack in the middle of the Arab world — and by every measure of economic, political, social, and cultural success thriving amid misery. Without oil, without a large population, without friendly countries on its borders, without vast real estate, and without the Suez Canal, it somehow provides its citizenry with a way of life far more humane than what is found in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, or Egypt. Yet the world listens to the Palestinians' often-duplicitous leadership — despite the corrupt nature and murderous past history of Mr. Arafat's regime — because its sponsors sell a good part of the globe's oil. And to risk their wrath, one would have to support a few million Jews, not hundreds of millions of, say, British, Swedes, or Italians. And so we give not a damn over millions of innocents elsewhere butchered over millions of acres each year worldwide, but instead focus on what the Palestinians lost while attempting to destroy their neighbors."

A "Friend of Israel" is a friend of democracy. Israel is the sole democracy of the Middle East.

A "Friend of Israel" is a friend of peace. The Israeli people, in its vast majority, yearns for peace. This has been proven by multiple efforts and concessions, which remain unanswered to this day.

A "Friend of Israel" is a friend of human rights. We equally desire peace, welfare and democracy for all of Israel's neighbors.

A "Friend of Israel" is a friend of civilians. We denounce the use of civilians in any armed conflict.

A "Friend of Israel" is a friend of the values of justice and equity. These humanistic values are threatened by any form of fundamentalism.

A "Friend of Israel" is a friend of non-violence. Nothing can ever justify resorting to terrorism and hatred.

A "Friend of Israel" is a friend of the free world. We call upon the free world to favor the emergence of Arab leaders who sincerely seek peace and democracy and choose negotiation rather than confrontation.

A "Friend of Israel" is a friend of Jerusalem. As long as religious freedom, and any freedom, shall be respected by the State of Israel, we shall recognize Jerusalem as its capital.

A "Friend of Israel" is a friend of the oppressed. Israel is the land of refuge for millions of oppressed Jews and their non-Jewish family.

A voice from Bangladesh (Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, editor of Weekly Blitz in Dhaka, Bangladesh, published in JP, Aug 3, 2003): "Israel is the only country in the Mideast that has been able to create an educated, cultured and civilized society. We know quite precisely how little respect an economically weaker Muslim national gets from Arab sheikhs. Mostly they term us miskins - beggars. Is there any valid reason why a rich Arab sheikh - or any other Arab, for that matter - should term a poorer Muslim a miskin? Definitely not. But if someone had the chance to visit Israel, he or she would see the clear difference between Israeli Arabs and Arabs elsewhere."

A light unto the immigrants (Yair Sheleg, Haaretz, Jul 28, 2003): "They came from the Philippines and Croatia, Mexico and Poland, Nicaragua and Sri Lanka - immigration officials seeking to learn from Israel's extensive experience in integrating newcomers from around the world into the local society."

Why Support Israel? It would certainly be easier not to. (Victor Davis Hanson, NRO, Feb 4, 2002): "The answer is found in values ..."

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