by Steve Painter
Daily Lobo columnist
After the attack on Lebanon and a censure from the U.N. on Nov. 17 for a missile that hit an apartment building in the Gaza Strip and killed 19 civilians, many people are wondering why Israel continues to receive aid from
the U.S.
Well, there are plenty of
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reasons.
To begin with, there has never been a more persecuted people on this planet than those of the Jewish faith. Though Muslims, Christians, African-Americans and American Indians have all been persecuted, 6 million people from these groups have never been killed in just six years, as happened to Jews between 1939 and 1945. If you are like Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, though, you do not believe that the Holocaust ever happened.
The Farhud program in Baghdad in 1941 led to the extermination of about 200 Jewish people and the looting of about 600 Jewish-owned businesses. There was the Munich massacre at the 1972 Summer Olympics in West Germany, where 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage and killed by a Palestinian terrorist group. The Israeli Embassy was bombed in Argentina in 1992, killing 29 people and wounding another 242. Two years later, the Asociaci¢n Mutual Israelita Argentina building was bombed in Buenos Aires, an attack that killed 86 people and wounded about 300 more. These are only a few examples of persecution that occurred in the 20th century.
One of the biggest reasons people refuse to support Israel is because of what happened in 1948. Some people believe that when the state of Israel was created by the U.N., Palestinians had their land taken from them. This might be true, but if one looks at the history of the Jewish religion, then one would realize that Israel is the holy land of the faith. Imagine if Vatican City was suddenly given to Iran or if Mecca was suddenly given to Christians.
If the constant persecution experienced by the Jewish faith or the holiness associated with Israel does not make you believe that the U.S. should continue to support Israel, then maybe the pictures of people celebrating the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, would change your mind. On the morning of Sept. 12, 2001, my hometown newspaper, the Las Cruces Sun-News, featured a picture of Palestinians celebrating the destruction of the Twin Towers. When I saw that picture, I knew from then on I would support Israel, because nobody should cheer for tragedies that occur in the U.S.
The Palestinian government may or may not support the U.S. in its quest to rid the world of terrorism, but the people make it clear they are not behind the U.S. Perhaps this makes sense because of U.S. support of Israel, but I doubt people's minds would change if the U.S. suddenly discontinued its support. Besides, the U.S. needs Israel in its war on terrorism, and Israel needs the U.S. in its war for survival.
Steve Painter is a UNM communication and journalism major.
