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21.02.04, 05:53
use of Israel is the Cause of America"
By SEN. JOHN KERRY
Editors' Note: We offer this unfettered pledge of fealty to Israel by John
Kerry as yet more evidence that there's scarcely a dime's worth of difference
between the major political candidates of both parties on the life-and-death
issues of our time. AC/JSC
My first trip to Israel made real for me all I'd believed about Israel.
I was allowed to fly an air force jet from the Ovda Airbase. It was then that
Israeli insecurity about narrow borders became very real to me. In a matter of
minutes, I came close to violating the airspace of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria.
From that moment on, I felt as Israelis do: The promise of peace must be
secure before the Promised Land is secure on a thin margin of land.
Back on the ground on that first trip, I toured the country from Kibbutz
Mizgav Am to Masada to the Golan. I stood in the very shelter in a kibbutz in
the north where children were attacked and I looked at launching sites and
impact zones for Katousha rockets. I was enthralled by Tel Aviv, moved by
Jerusalem and inspired by by standing above Capernaum, looking out over the
Sea of Galilee, where I read aloud the Sermon on The Mount. I met people of
stunning commitment, who honestly and vigorously debated the issues as I
watched and listened intently. I went as a friend by conviction; I returned a
friend at the deepest personal level.
As the only true democracy in the Middle East, Israel has both the burden and
the glory of a vigorous public square. We as Americans must be the truest and
best kind of ally--forthright enough to say what we think--and steadfast
enough to stay the course in hard passages as well as easy days.
Herzl's famous words--"If you will it, it is no dream"--signify the promise
and the greatest power of Israel--and the hope that a fair and secure peace
can be achieved. We must be committed to support Israel in the exacting,
essential search for that dream.
I will never forget a moment on top of Masada, when I stood on that great
plateau where the oath of new soldiers used to be sworn against the desert
backdrop and the test of history. I had spent several hours with Yadin Roman
debating whether or not Josephus Flavius was correct in his account of the
siege--whether these really were the last Jews fighting for survival--whether
they had escaped since no remains were ever found. After our journey through
history--which we resolved with a vote in favor of history as recorded--we
stood as a group at the end of the cliff and altogether we shouted across the
chasm--across the desert--Am Yisrael Chai. And across the silence we listened
as voices came back--faintly we heard the echo of the souls of those who
perished--Am Yisrael Chai. The State of Israel lives. The people of Israel live.
In this difficult time we must again reaffirm we are enlisted for the
duration--and reaffirm our belief that the cause of Israel must be the cause
of America--and the cause of people of conscience everywhere.
John Kerry is a Massachusetts Senator and a Democratic Candidate for the
Presidency of the United States. Article is originally appeared in the Brown
Students for Israel publication "Perspectives: An Israel Review"
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