Foreign Policy

In olden days, miners used to carry canaries with them into mining tunnels.  If any noxious gas was present, the small canary would die, alerting the minor to the presence of the often odorless gas.  This would provide precious time for the miner to escape.  But if the miner were too distant from the exit, the miner would suffer the same fate as the canary.  The canary provided a warning signal as to what was about to befall the miner.

If a country ever was a canary in a mineshaft, it is Israel. 

Israel is the only full-fledged democracy in the Middle East.  Unlike its neighbors, its society respects and upholds Western values of freedom, individual liberty, and the sacredness of life.  Suicide bombers are abhorred, not celebrated.  For these reasons – not religion per se – Israel is hated by its neighbors.

America – for many the same reasons – is hated by those who hate Israel.  Israel just happens to be in the same neighborhood as these purveyors of radical Islam, while the US is half a world away.

Due to luck of geography Israel receives the brunt of the attack of those who oppose us first.  But the fate of Israel and the fate of the United States are intertwined.   Like the canary and the miner, what befalls Israel will befall the US.

This is the guiding belief of AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.  For more than half a century, AIPAC has worked to help make Israel more secure by ensuring that American support remains strong.  From a small pro-Israel public affairs boutique in the 1950s, AIPAC has grown into a 100,000-member national grassroots movement described by The New York Times as "the most important organization affecting America's relationship with Israel."

In short, AIPAC urges our Congressional leaders to support a safe and secure Israel because a) it is the right thing to do and b) it is in America’s self-interest to do so.  Israel and America fight the same battle against those who actively seek to destroy our way of life.

In the first days of June, AIPAC held its Policy Conference in Washington, DC.  This conference is the preeminent annual event for the US pro-Israel community.  Over 7500 attendees engaged in dialogue with Middle East, energy and defense experts.  And when 7500 political activists descend on DC, the politicians pay attention.

The conference speakers represented a “Who’s Who” list of leaders.  McCain, Obama and Clinton used the platform to discuss their Middle East views.  Congressional leaders – Pelosi, Reid, McConnell and Boehner – spoke of the special bond between the US and Israel.  Condi Rice delivered the Administration’s viewpoint.   And not to be outdone, Ehud Olmert, the prime minister of Israel, personally addressed the crowd.   At the gala closing banquest, over one-half the members of the US Congress dined with the attendees.  AIPAC’s message of the need for Congress to support a strong Israel is clearly catching on.

And this message needs to catch on.  Israel’s security is in its most precarious position since the 1973 war when its Arab neighbors almost overran the country.  On all sides, Israel is threatened:

To the south, the terrorist organization Hamas now rules Gaza.  Israel unilaterally pulled all its forces out of Gaza in the summer of 2005.  Israel hoped that by ending the “occupation” of Gaza and completely separating, the Palestinians would focus on building their own society and would end terrorist attacks against Israel.  Unfortunately, little has been built in Gaza except for rockets to attack Israel.  Since Israel’s pullout, more than 4,000 rockets have been fired from Gaza into Israeli towns and cities.  Yes, that’s right: 4,000 rockets fired into Israel since Israel’s gesture of peace.  Iran is now providing Hamas with more accurate and longer range rockets, in addition to antitank and antiaircraft missiles and extensive training of Hamas fighters.

To the north, the terrorist organization Hezbollah rules southern Lebanon.  After its recent civil war against the pro-Western Lebanese government, Hezbollah now has veto authority over all major government decisions.  Hezbollah used to be a state within a state.  Now, it basically is the state.  With the help of Syria and Iran, Hezbollah now possesses a 40,000 rocket arsenal – three times its stockpile prior to its 2006 war with Israel.  And remember, until Al Qaeda’s 9/11 attack, Hezbollah had killed more Americans than any other terrorist group.

To the northeast, Syria is flexing its muscles.  Syria openly hosts the offices of Hezbollah and other terrorist groups – you can look up the Hezbollah office in the Damascus phone book.  Israel destroyed a Syrian building in 2007, now revealed to have been a nuclear facility being built with the help of North Korea.  The IAEA is attempting to investigate additional claims of an illicit Syrian nuclear weapon program.

And if these threats were not enough, they pale in comparison to the existential threat Israel (and the US) faces from Iran.  The world’s most radical, dangerous state is trying to acquire the world’s most dangerous weapon.  If Iran is successful in developing nuclear weapons, no country will be safe.  Iran’s Shahib missiles can already reach Israel and much of Europe.  The day is not far from now when Iran will acquire missiles that can reach the United States.

We learned from Hilter that when a leader openly calls for the destruction of another people or state, and is actively building its military might, it is better to stop that leader early on – or the cost in dollars, death and destruction will be much greater later.

With this context in mind, the American Jewish activists descended on Capitol Hill for meetings with their Congressmen.  The activists asked their legislators to support three legislative agenda items: 1) support for the annual foreign aid bill, which includes $2.55 billion in security assistance for Israel; 2) agree to sign a letter to President Bush urging the administration to stand strongly with Israel as it pursues peace and defends itself from the growing threat of Hamas in Gaza; and 3) cosponsor and support a resolution demanding the administration implement tougher sanctions on Iran.

All Americans – Jewish or not – should care about these issues. Our way of life depends on how we and Israel face the threat of radical Islam.  The Israelis understand the threat, as they live with the fear of suicide and rocket bombings every single day and witness an Iran inching closer to delivering a nuclear nightmare.  Let’s hope we understand the threat – and actively fight it – just like Israel does.  Like the canary and miner in the mineshaft, America and Israel will share the same fate.  Let’s work to make it a fate we and our children – not our enemies – desire.

Notes: Rich Sokol attended the AIPAC Conference and led meetings with Congressman Doug Lamborn and Congressman Marilyn Musgrave.  He was also interviewed live on the Al-Jazeera TV network during their nightly news broadcast.  Rich is the former President of the Jewish Republicans of Colorado.