ISRAEL AND IRAN

 

War started by Hamas in Gaza was an attack on core values of western civilization.

Hamas holds both Israeli and American hostages.  But it also holds the Palestinian population of Gaza hostage when it uses civilians as human shields.  I would demand the immediate and unconditional surrender of Hamas and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.

Helping Israel defeat Iran is a matter of American self-interest.  Iran threatens a vital “choke point” connecting the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman through which world oil shipments pass.

The ultimate goal must be an expanded Abraham Accord.  There should be a new “Marshall Plan” to repair Gaza funded by many countries and not exclusively by American taxpayers.

It must be recognized that chants of “from the river to the sea” are antisemitic.

Progressives are not supportive of Israel.  Rashida Tlaib calls Israel an “apartheid regime” and supports a “Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions” movement which aims to end “military occupation” by exerting economic pressure on Israel.  Pramila Jayapal made her own antisemitic remarks.  Our progressive representative, Shontel Brown, went silent about all this.

When $6 billion in sanction relief was given to Iran as ransom in a prisoner exchange, Shontel Brown once more went silent.

The Biden Administration relaxed financial sanctions against Iran.  Once again, Shontel Brown was silent.

The Biden Administration revived an Iran Deal that is an existential threat to the entire Middle East and to the world.  And Shontel Brown still again went silent.

Advances in drug development, desalinization projects, and computer technology in Israel prove its importance.  And an Arab culture that once invented algebra, made major efforts to develop medicines, and saved Western civilization during the Middle Ages by preserving Greek philosophy and literature could make a major contribution to the region and to the world.