Thrilled about Daniel Pipes on the Giuliani Team!
Reader comment on item: Newsweek's Jaw-Dropping Erratum

Submitted by Joel Kirstein (United States), Oct 10, 2007 at 23:31

Dear Mr. Pipes,

As an admirer of your political principals and hitting back at the anti-semites everywhere, i was thrilled to read that you've joined the Giuliani team in late summer. Press like Time, Newsweek and the NY Times, all of whom i have no use for as the biggest culprits of giving israel's enemies a moral equivalency and bend over backwards to champion what i call the "new anti-semitism" at israel's expense, are bankrupt of credibility in all senses.

As a jew i'm thrilled that the past 2 administrations have been a friend to the state of israel and deepened the u.s. commitment to and relationship with israel. after the first bush presidency, i was extremely leery of the current president's view of israel given his father's relationships in the arab world. the president's support of the state of israel as a partner in the war on terrorism and as a strategic partner in the middle east enters it's 60th year in 2008 on an unprecedented level of optimism and cooperation.

Mayor Giuliani has always been a staunch friend of israel and the jewish people, and your presence on the team of the next president of the u.s. is exactly why i see drivel like newsweek is proof positive of how anyone who stands up for israel is painted out to be a right-wing hawk.

for the past 35 years it has sickened me to the core seeing and reading the world's media vilify israel as the impediment to peace in the arab world. this is what i call the "new anti-semitism" - were it not for israel, the west would have harmony with the arab world is the most laughable thing i ever read coming out of the france's press. a country so marginalized and irrelevant, it only manages to stay on the radar through a pathetic policy of antagonism.

it is almost poetic justice that the most racist and anti-semitic country in europe is being overrun by the type of people the french disdain the most! the fact that they elected a jewish leader nicholas sarkozy makes him my choice as the next leader to sadly meet an early demise by an assassin's bullet. given the fanatical islamic tenor in france, i can only see a jewish leader being an intolerable abberation, that the french will only hasten their own demise by aiding and abetting a climate that feeds into rampant islamic fascism.

i am thrilled to see your influence in the cadre of expertise advising the next president, rudy giuliani who will do the most important thing this country needs to do: serve a warning to those who seek to harm us and our friends and allies like - the status quo will not be tolerated! eradicate those who hide behind the facade of spiritual self-righteousness who are murdering criminals, nothing more and nothing less. i applaud your presence on team rudy as shot fired across the bow of those who will try to throw israel under the bus at each and every turn. a very loud message to those who seek to compromise israel to death and still subscribe to the antiquated delusion of only seeing jews in the context of being the perpetual, historical victim who's place in under the boot of oppression.

as the third consecutive u.s. presidential administration that will raise the bar in supporting israel, it sends an important message that america's commitment to israel will not be undermined, compromised, and or used as a bargaining chip. what the world fails to see is that israel is being rewarded for six decades of unflinching support of the u.s. and being the only democratic, trusted ally in a region rife with the most corrupt and benign dictatorships in the world, with no democratic precedent.

the message that i hope that will be sent is that there will be no more "reasonable" intentions afforded to the "unreasonable" and those who perpetrate and foment destabilizing vulnerable nations, will be stopped and punished. israel has proved that the only thing the arab/islamic world responds to is a beating and the lesson learned here that i see rudy giuliani having his head wrapped around, is that you avoid a fight by showing your enemies your able to back it with the will to deliver on that threat. president reagan also like israel, showed this works. so when the u.s. sends troops into the mideast, don't blame the president, blame iraq, iran, saudi arabia, syria, al qaeda, hezbollah, islamic jihad and the rest.

i find it funny when the "new anti-semitism" calls israel a right-wing militarist state when if they bothered to check history books they would choke on their own forked tongues to know/remember that israel ws born on many socialist-leaning premises and in spite of that has always found a huge common ground with the u.s. because both country's democracies were built on a never ending commitment to equality and justice, born out of repression and subjugation - the industrial-strength glues that trap billions in the arab/islamic world.

despite the meglo-maniacal arrogance of the arab/islamic world since 9/11, a giuliani presidency will further serve notice that the culture of indecision, weakness, and hypocrisy when it comes to supporting israel, is no longer on the menu. a giuliani presidency consisting of will, determination, and honoring commitments is something that arab/islamic governments never "get it" and is the glue that binds israel and the u.s.

not that you should even blink over being slagged by newsweek, take solace in the fact they never would have run a story like that had a presidential candidate of the ilk like john kerry, howard dean, or hillary clinton had a team of weak-kneed advisors at-the-ready, up for any opportunity to throw israel under the bus in the guise of being fair and even to both sides in the mid east. when the arab/islamic world shows any signs of being fair and even to israel after 60+ years of being hellbent on their destruction, then we can talk about a moral equivalency.

my zionist sensibilities were formed by my dad's legacy as a veteran of the 1948 war of independence. he was raised by his zaidye who was terrorized out of eastern europe and became an ardent supporter and fund raiser for eretz yisrael, despite the scorn and riddicule from within his own jewish community in the early 20th century, that only the messiah will create a jeiwsh homeland.

after serving in world war 2, my dad, always involved in zionist organizations, joined the pre-48 independence efforts to help young jewish men of the diaspora train and prepare to fight in palestine. my dad went, fought, survived and he too is a part of the greatest generation. the pride and respect that i have for my dad and others like him that changed the history of the jewish people forever, can't be done justice here in mere words. in 1998, when israel formally awarded military recognition for the men of the diaspora who served in the 1948 war of independence was bittersweet for me when i accepted on my dad's behalf, a year after he passed away.

my dad would be very emboldened, invigorated, and revitalized by a strong jewish presence and voice like yours as an advocate for israel and judaism. your tirelessness in being israel's best friend and supporter is another reason that adds to the many of why i'm proud to be a jew and proud of jewish accomplishments like yours from which there is no turning back. Only moving forward in a positive way! Thank You. Sincerely,

Joel Kirstein.

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