Both Democrats and Republicans have recognized that Israel stabilizes and fortifies the powder keg called the Middle East. For the past 75 years, since the establishment of the modern State of Israel, this has been true. America needs Israel and Israel needs America. It is for all practical purposes a mutual admiration society.
Rashida Tlaib this past week, with the help of Bernie Sanders, threw scalding hot water on that relationship. The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, comes out the hero in all of this. Every civilization survives on truth. When truth is replaced by lies and egregious falsehoods, civilization suffers immensely. Rashida Tlaib, by perpetrating the “Nakba” lie in the halls of Congress, hurts the United States at its core. The media likes to “fact check” everyone except for Rashida Tlaib and her compatriots. The media has a responsibility to bring to the masses the true story of what happened in 1948. By hiding and at the same time propping up Rashida Tlaib, the media does a disservice to America and the world. The United States and Israel suffer collateral damage.
The media is fully aware that Israel accepted the Partition Plan. The Arabs did not. Instead of recognizing Israel’s right to exist, six Arab countries (Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia) attacked Israel. This was not “Nakba” (“catastrophe”) as Rashida Tlaib wants to have Members of Congress believe; this was all-out blood-curdling war. Over 6,000 Israelis were killed in the War of Independence. The war lasted into 1949 when armistice agreements were signed. The Arab countries who attacked Israel lost the war they had started. They did not have to go to war. They could have accepted the Partition Plan but refused to do so. Not one drop of blood had to be shed, but the Arab world wanted to drive the Jews of Israel into the “Mediterranean Sea.”
The Arab leaders told the Arabs living in Israel to leave in 1947. Israel did not expel the Arabs. They did it to themselves. Now the Rashida Tlaibs of the world want to blame Israel for their own mistakes, and their own aggression.
Instead of recognizing the very existence of Israel and making a true and lasting peace, the Rashida Tlaibs out there would rather spew hatred and lies. They follow the principle attributed to Joseph Goebbels that “if you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.” This is the guide for the “Nakba” lie. If Members of Congress fall prey to this ploy and the American people start believing the “Nakba” libel, America will be placed in danger. The rock-solid alliance with Israel will be shaken.
In the end, this hurts both Israel and America. The American People have to stand up to Rashida Tlaib before it is too late.
Joseph M. Frager is a physician and lifelong activist.