| Yes, Gus, just Jews defending Jews, with a little help from their friends. Sure beats calling for a lawyer when SS come to round Jews up, don’t you think? Yes, Israel owes a lot to the US. It is always good to have friends in high places, no? And it ain’t like Arabs don’t have any friends. Remember the Soviet Union with whom Arabs were allied for over 40 years and whom they helped to bankrupt? And what about the rest of the Islamic world? Although it would seem 300 millions Arabs with enormous oil wealth shouldn’t need any help dealing with measly 5 million Jews, do you think? And wouldn’t you support the side that is democratic and tries to protect itself from annihilation rather than despots on the other side that boast that eventually they will drive the Jews into the sea? Although Israel needed a lot of help to take care of millions of refugees, I do think that she is strong enough now to do just fine without US economic aid. The problem is that for the last 25 years our approach to the Middle East has been to buy peace, and it is hard to stop without offending some parties. Military cooperation is a different story. I oppose the idea of US shield for Israel since, first, I don’t want us to become a world policeman, and, second, as you implied, that would defeat the reason for a Jewish state in the first place. But Israel is too small to sustain an extensive military industry, so she will always depend to some extent on the US and others. And I’m afraid Israelis will have to maintain a strong military for a long time. Just a lousy neighborhood, you know. |
