March 26, 1998
Herbert Zweibon, Chairman
Americans For a Safe Israel
Dear Mr. Zweibon:
Thank you for the petitions recently delivered to my office and for the testimony you submitted for the Subcommittee on Near East and South Asia Affairs hearing on the Peace Process. I appreciate the benefit of the views expressed in the petition and your testimony, and the efforts that the members of the Alliance for Israel are making on behalf of Israel and peace in the Middle East.
I remain committed to the views expressed in your petition: The U.S. must make sure that Israel remains strong and secure; terrorism must never be rewarded and efforts to secure religious freedom around
Insisting that Israel meet the letter and spirit of Oslo while the Palestinians continue their violations is sheer hypocrisy.
Israel is a vital strategic ally and a genuine democracy. The United States must not attempt, in any way, to force Israel to make concessions in the peace process that would compromise its security. Agreements must be adhered to by both sides, and insisting that Israel meet the letter and spirit of Oslo while the Palestinians continue their violations is sheer hypocrisy.
Clearly, the Clinton Administration's policies in the Middle East leave a lot to be desired. I will do what I can as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to monitor the Administration's statements and actions concerning the region and to support the goals outlined in your petition.
I will appreciate your sharing this response with other petitioners and organizations that are part of the Alliance for Israel, as it will be impossible for me to respond to each petition individually. Please rest assured that I am, and will remain a good friend of Israel.
Sincerely,
Jesse Helms
(Editor's note: the following letter was recently sent to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu by seven members of Knesset.)
25 March 1998
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu
Jerusalem
Honorable Prime Minister:
We, the undersigned, wish to make clear to you that if the government decides to carry out an additional withdrawal from areas of the Land of Israel, we will no longer be partners in the coalition or support it, and will act to bring the government down.
We wish to note that until now, the Palestinian Authority has not fulfilled even one of the obligations which it took upon itself in the Oslo accords, and the Government itself said that in the absence of reciprocity, Israel would not carry out additional withdrawals.
Honorable Prime Minister, do not force us to express no confidence in you and your government. Stand strong for the completeness and security of the Land of Israel. It is through strength that we will earn peace!
God shall give strength to His people, God shall bless His people with peace!
Binyamin Elon / Ze'ev Binyamin Begin
Rehavam Ze'evi / Zvi Handel / Hanan Porat
Moshe Peled / Michael Kleiner
From the Editor
(Continued from p.2)
a Jordanian university, duly reported in the
Jordanian newspaper Al-Dastour. First
Daroushe bragged of his success in persuading
Israeli Bedouins not to serve in the Israeli army, but
instead to join "the struggle of their nation," i.e.
work with the PLO to destroy Israel. Indeed,
Daroushe refused to even use the word Israel, instead
referring to the "Tel Aviv regime." (Never mind,
says Plaut, that the government sits in Jerusalem,
where Daroushe himself sits in the Parliament.)
Daroushe denounced Zionism as a movement designed
simply to dominate Arabs and on and on--the reader can fill in the rest. Plaut observes that while
Jewish anti-Oslo dissidents have been sentenced to
punishments for "sedition" because they blocked a
traffic intersection or expressed unpopular
opinions, Daroushe spouts his hatred with impunity.
Early Zionism's harsh critique of the diaspora Jew as weak and cringing, as Ruth Wisse has written, now applies to the Jewish state.
Outpost - 8 - May 1998