Benjamin Netanyahu |
God's Gift Netanyahu is Hebrew for God’s Gift. There may be those who find such a name unwarranted, although the former prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, was born with that name. He did not name himself.
Shortly
after the Arab terror attack on the World Trade Center, Benjamin Netanyahu was
invited to speak to the U.S. House of Representatives concerning his knowledge
of terrorism. Of course, any Israeli has become an expert at this nightmare
imposed on the Jews of Israel by Hitler’s successor, Arafat Husseini. However,
Netanyahu is more articulate than most others.
He has also distinguished
himself by becoming the youngest prime minister in the history of Israel, and by
writing a whole book on terrorism
called Fighting Terrorism. In addition he also authored A Place Among
the Nations.
When
Benjamin Netanyahu was elected Prime Minister in 1996 he brought to that job his
American education and the heritage of a prominent Zionist family who have
distinguished themselves in the defense of the Jewish people. It was his
brother, Yoni Netanyahu, who led the raid on Entebbe, Uganda on July 3, 1976.
That raid rescued 103 Jewish hostages who had been imprisoned in a Uganda
airport after their Air France plane had been hijacked by Arafat’s terrorists.
Uganda is in Africa, thousands of miles from Israel. It took a seven hour flight
by means of a Hercules plane to effect the rescue of these hostages. That rescue
was so dramatic an event because it revealed a level of courage among young Jews
diametrically opposite the cowardly murders committed by Arab youths, whose sole
cause is murder for the sake of murder.
Those
who know nothing about the Entebbe raid ought to rent a movie by that name and
learn something about Jewish courage, Jewish resourcefulness and Jewish
resistance to tyranny.
Benjamin
Netanyahu’s father, Benzion Netanyahu, is a historian whose life work is his
book concerning the Spanish Inquisition.
Lest
it be thought that Netanyahu is just another diploma chaser, it needs to be
known that he spent five years with an elite special-force unit. In 1972, at age
22, he participated in the successful storming of a hijacked jet on the tarmac
at the Tel Aviv airport.
Today
Benjamin Netanyahu is Israel’s most articulate and successful voice in the
United States. He appears on radio and television programs and defends his
country excellently in face of the Arab terror threat and the anti-Jewish
bigotry of the media.
Nothing
is more evident to anyone who follows the “news” than the gross anti-Jewish
bias of National Public Radio and the CNN news, although Peter Jenkins is
evidently as incapable of saying one good word about Israel or Jews as his
progenitor Joseph Göbbels.
Perhaps
you noticed the letter sent to the News Director of WBFO, Mark Scott, by Dr.
Errol Daniels. That letter and the reply by Mark Scott were published on page
four of the Buffalo Jewish Review on October 12. The letter by Dr.
Daniels concerned the truly hate inspired broadcast by NPR’s Jennifer Ludden
which found nothing wrong with the slaughter of Jews by suicide bombers and
other killers and pretended that the victims, the Jews, are at fault. Similar
trash can be seen on CNN every day.
In
view of the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center the same pattern of
“blame the Jews” is now emerging. Arab apologists and other haters pretend
that the bombing came about because Israel exists. These terror lovers keep
reciting the nonsense about “root causes”, which is a phrase that has come
to mean Jews.
In
face of all this it is most welcome that Benjamin Netanyahu can speak English
like an American and is capable of appearing before numerous audiences in this
country to explain Israel and its people to those willing to listen to Arab
hate.
Benjamin
Netanyahu is of course not the only one who speaks up for Israel. There are
numerous Christians who do so also. Whatever their motive, we are not in a
position to now reject anyone who seeks to come to our aid. According to my
information there are as many as 100 million Christians in this country who view
themselves as Zionists. We need to establish close relations with them because
we ourselves are far too few to make an impression on our politicians. However,
100 million Christians can be most influential.
We
can of course do a great deal ourselves. Keep writing to WBFO and tell them what
you think of their bigotry, and think twice before making a donation to that
station. Write letters to the editor on behalf of Israel. Give public speeches
in favor of Israel and lend your support by
disputing the hate mongers in public appearances. Tell it like it is.
Anti-Israel is anti-Jewish. The artificial distinctions made by the haters need
not influence us.
After
all, Israelis and “Palestinians”, Arabs and Jews, agree on one thing and
that one thing is the “root” of the dispute between Arabs and Jews these 100
years. That fundamental issue is that the Arabs seek to kill all Jews everywhere
even as all Jews everywhere insist on remaining alive. Jewish lives are the only
issue and it is this which is non-negotiable. Surely it has been sufficiently
demonstrated that the sole interest of the Arabs is to kill for the sake of
killing. That is the issue and it is the only one. In that hope our enemies
shall not succeed because we know that despite our minuscule size we will always
survive even as those consumed by hatred will always fail. “So it is written,
so it will be”. The people of Israel will always live, no matter how many
enemies may wish to destroy us. Now it is important to have courage. Illegitimati
non carborundum or Don’t
let the bastards grind you down”. Do something to lift the depression.
Defend Israel wherever you go and remember “Adonai Li, v’lo iyro” or “God is With Me, I Shall not fear”, now or in the future.
“Be strong and of good courage”. Bimhaynu v’yomaynu, Shalom
u’vracha. Dr. Gerhard Falk is the author of Stigma: How We Treat Outsiders (Prometheus Books, 2001) and over 60 other publications. |