Arabs for Israel for Freedom
Burglar-in-chief-elect Barack Obama didn’t surprise too many people by picking Rahm Emanuel as his new chief-of-staff. A relentless, high-powered sort that served as deputy chief-of-staff under Clinton and has lots of friends amongst Democrats (and mortgage company executives), Emanuel has all the right credentials to run the life of the guy that will soon run the lives of 300m Americans.
But he hasn’t taken office yet, and he’s already being dug into holes. In an interview with an Israeli newspaper, his father, Benjamin Emanuel kinda put his foot in it for his devoutly Jewish son:
Obviously he will influence the president to be pro-Israel. Why wouldn’t he be? What is he, an Arab? He’s not going to clean the floors of the White House.
Huh?
My family background is Arab. And guess what? Not only are they a darn-sight more successful than floor cleaners, but I’m a darn-sight more pro-Israel than any of the cowards in government, either here or in the United States - and that includes Rahm Emanuel.
I want Israel to be safe. If that means building a fence in the West Bank, fine. If that means stretching from the Suez Canal to the River Jordan, even better. I won’t stop agitating for Israel to defend and/or expand its borders until one of two things happens: either Israel’s neighbours (including those backwards Syrians that most people call ‘Palestinians’) stop pointing weaponry at the Israeli devil, or they ‘get’ freedom.
The state exists for one reason and one reason alone: to protect its citizens’ rights. It is pointless if it fails in this goal, and illegitimate if it actively works against this goal. Israel is not as free a country as it could be - which of ours is? - but it’s a heck of a lot better than the tin-pot oil-drum dictatorships that lie slightly to the east, or even its (marginally less abhorrent) neighbours.
Government is bad enough without it basing its actions on the religion or race of the guy in charge. Racism and nationalism, after all, are arch-collectivist devices. But we need to stand up for freedom for freedom’s sake. By couching our argument in terms of race, even as a slip of the tongue, we give our enemies a free shot at our liberties.
