Today, in President Barack Obama, we have a President who is hostile to Israel, who works to make a deal with Iran which endangers Israel and the entire Western world. While Prime Minister Netanyahu rightfully works to raise awareness about the dangers of the deal with Iran, during this hostile American administration, it is worth examining a previous occasion when America had issues in the Middle East.
The difference then was that while there was also a Prime Minister from the Likud Party in Israel, there was a Pro-Israel President in the White House, President Bush. And during those times, Israel was willing to stand down, as there was a partner that the Israeli government trusted in the White House.
Former New York Governor George Pataki at the Republican Jewish Coalition in 2004 spoke wisely of this issue:
“…in the first gulf war, I don’t know how many of you remember when we were leading this coalition to remove Saddam Hussein.
When Israel was being attacked by scud missiles and no one knew if those missiles may have contained chemical or biological weapons, and I remember the images of Israelis in Tele-Aviv and Jerusalem wearing gas masks, old men and babies, not knowing if they were going to have their lives risked, not because of anything they had done, other then being Jews.
Less than 50 years after the Holocaust, less than 40 years after the Holocaust people were being targeted by barbarians again, for one reason only, they were Jews. I’m a Roman Catholic, but when I saw that on television, it was in the evening when I first saw the pictures of the families with the gas masks in Israel , I went up and woke up my kids, and I said to my kids, thank God you weren’t alive during the Holocaust. But I want you to see this and I want you to remember this that people are being targeted children and old adults for one reason, because they are Jews and we have got to stand up and fight anti- Semitism.
Those who don’t understand how important it is that we stand with Israel, because of its values and its greatness and because its such a wonderful ally, don’t understand what Israel has done for us and I again think back to 1991 first gulf war, when those scuds were raining down on Jerusalem and on Israel, The Israeli army and American people have to remember this, had the ability to go into Western Iraq and take out those missiles, before they were able to hit the people of Israel, but Israel was such a strong and loyal ally, that they couldn’t jeopardize the coalition that President Bush put together, so they allowed their civilians to be attacked, so our military and coalition could succeed, what better example of an ally, who will go beyond the call of duty in support of us, then Israel showed us in 1991.”
Interestingly, The Washington Times today reported that Pataki is leaning towards joining the 2016 presidential race. Let us hope that whomever next occupies the White House remembers that Israel and America share common values – something which is lost upon President Obama.