Posted on 05/08/2005 6:19:14 AM PDT by SJackson
Two years ago on a cloudless, sunny day I was driving along highway 166 through southeastern Kansas. I pulled the car along the shoulder, put on my flashers and checked my map to make sure I was on the right road to the small town of Coffeyville, my destination.
I don’t think I was stopped for even a minute when a car pulled up behind me. As I looked in my rearview mirror, I saw a middle-aged gentleman get out of his car and approach mine. He asked if everything was okay, or if I needed help. “Nope,” I said. “Everything was fine. No help necessary.”
A couple weeks ago, another son of Kansas reached out to lend a hand, and the matter was much bigger than directions or car trouble. And it’s not just me whom he wants to help.
No, Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas wants to help the people of Israel and the international Jewish community, and indirectly, all Americans.
Brownback, who is not Jewish, is the author of Senate Joint Resolution 14, a remarkable piece of legislation known as the “Jerusalem Resolution.”
The bill’s beauty is in its simplicity and common sense. It calls for “the recognition of Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel before the United States recognizes a Palestinian state.”
After all, the resolution notes: “Jerusalem has never been the capital for any other state other than for the Jewish people; Jerusalem is central to Judaism and is cited in the Tanach, the Hebrew Bible, 766 times; Jerusalem is not mentioned by name in the Koran; every sovereign nation has the right to designate its own capital; [and] Jerusalem is the seat of the Government of Israel, including the President, the parliament, and the Supreme Court.”
It points out that “Israel is the only country in which the United States neither maintains an embassy in the city designated as the capital by the host country nor recognizes such city as the capital,” despite the fact that “United States law states as a matter of United States policy that Jerusalem should be the undivided capital of Israel.”
President Bush -- and President Clinton before him – refused to move the embassy, using the waiver in the law that gives the president an “out” if he decides such a move is contrary to America’s “national security.”
But those who might threaten the U.S.’s “national security”, should the embassy be moved, already want to destroy America -- for reasons that have nothing to do with Israel. They hate America because of our openness and freedoms.
In his bill, Brownback notes that “Relocating the United States Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem would express the continued support of the United States for Israel and for an undivided Jerusalem.”
The Bush administration claims that it supports Israel, values Israel’s friendship and its role as a bulwark against terrorism in the region where most terrorist groups are based.
Israel can use a concrete example of such support, especially when the president and his appointees lean on Israel to give up territory for the creation of what will no doubt be another terrorist state.
If Brownback and his two colleagues who are co-sponsors (Sens. Mike Crapo of Idaho and Gordon Smith of Oregon) are successful in getting the bill passed and then signed into law, the U.S. would have to move its embassy to Jerusalem “not later than 180 days before recognizing a Palestinian state.”
It is only fitting that before the Arab-Palestinians get a state, Israel gets a capital in the eyes of America. It would also demonstrate to the terrorists that America is not afraid of them.
This is not the first time the Senator from Kansas has reached out to help Israel, as he has been a key supporter of the Jewish state in Washington.
Let’s take Sen. Brownback’s help this time and urge the other 97 senators to support this measure, and for their counterparts in the House to take up the battle as well.
If we reject the help of friends like Brownback, they might stop offering it, and that is something we cannot afford.
Another of the multiple pieces of legislation on the topic, which the State Dept will continue to ignore.
No doubt about it, President Bush has nothing else on his mind right now but to deal with this issue!
So there. Oh yeah, and good morning.
If we don't have our embassy in Jerusalem, then why shouldn't Israel keep their embassy in Philadelphia, and refuse to recognize the fact that we moved our capital to Washington?
Understood. My reasoning is purely self-serving. I believe the future security of Israel depends on her being able to defend herself, and that Palestinians have failed to develop or maintain anything resembling a country. Gaza is totally dependent on the UN for support as it is, and it seems reasonable to leave the Palestinians there and let Jordan deal with them. The West bank, however, is too scattered throughout Israel and Israel needs a country border that makes sense without having the PA within her borders. (Similar to current problems with American Indians, but with more violence. Borders within borders creates its own set of problems and situations that are better avoiding if possible.)
Good afternoon to you!
Well taken point on our embassy in Jerusalem.
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