HOW DARE YOU MR. KURTZER?

By Simon Fischler



Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Daniel Kurtzer alleges the Obama administration is rewarding Israel’s “bad behavior” by offering up security and political guarantees for another settlement freeze.

Is it not interesting that Mr. Kurtzer seems to brush aside the ten-month settlement freeze that the Palestinians totally wasted? Does he forget that never before have settlements stopped peace negotiations?

In fact, why does Mr. Kurtzer, an observant Jew, think it is Israel that is behaving badly in this situation? How much does he expect Israel to give without getting anything in return?

How far does he believe the Americans have the right to endanger the Jewish State for Obama’s political image?

What have the Palestinians given the Obama administration? Nothing at all. In fact, the PA has done nothing but up their anti-Semitic, anti-Israel rhetoric. Why should the American administration or American diplomats ask more of Israel?

Just yesterday the PA made it their official policy that the Western Wall has no connection to the Jewish Nation and is a Muslim holy site. Not a word was said by the Obama administration to counter this heinous PA rhetoric.

This American administration’s foreign policy has been nothing more than a joke that at times appears to be run by the Keystone Kops.

Obama and his cadre have literally put Israel’s political safety in jeopardy. Yes Israel is strong militarily, but never before has she appeared so alone – diplomatically -- in the world.

This is all due to borderline self-destructive American diplomacy that could have only been contrived by someone not in the game long enough to understand how important Israel is for America’s safety, or is being advised by a cadre that is basically anti-Israel.

Mr. Kurtzer would do well to remember that appeasing the DICTATORIAL, FASCIST, RACIST, CHAUVINIST and ANTI-SEMiTIC Arab and Muslim regimes was usually left to the great states of Europe, now the E.U.; not America.

It was America that always stood up for Israel, because that meant standing up for justice, freedom and democracy, no matter how hard it was diplomatically. It meant not selling out.

It has never been easy do the right thing; standing up for Israel has always been the right thing; that is why so many great American presidents, and some who weren’t so great, have done it.

Mr. Kutrzer would also do well to remember that going the way of Thomas Friedman may be the easy way to go vis-a-vis Israel. It will surely buy you more readership today. But it is not the right, just way.

Mr. Kurtzer, Israel has offered up peace too many times and been rejected by the Palestinians too many times. This delicate (yes, she is delicate, despite appearances) nation has shown time and again that she is willing to pay the heavy price of peace. We have removed settlements in the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza strip. We have brought our nation to the brink of civil war to offer the Palestinians peace. And it is we who are behaving badly? You should be embarrassed for even writing such nonsense.

The Palestinians consistently have shown that they do not want peace, that they are liars and still seek nothing more than the destruction of the Jewish Nation.

By being either totally ignorant of, or disrespecting of history, Obama has shown no difficulty in appeasing and bribing the Arab and Muslim world at the expense of both Israel and America. You, Mr. Kurtzer, on the other hand, know the history better than anyone, and have no excuse for writing the drivel that was in the Washington Post this week.

You were here as the U.S. Ambassador to Israel from 2001 to 2005. You know more than anyone what Israel was willing to give up when Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak offered Yasser Arafat peace in 2000. You also know what Israel gave up for America when she carried out the Unilateral Disengagement of the Gaza Strip in August 2005.

How dare you accuse Israel of bad behavior, of not respecting America. It is America and this American administration that has behaved badly to its loyal partner Israel. It is America, this American administration and people like you who are selling out truth, dignity and the ideals of liberal democracies to the Oil Chiefs of Arabia.