The Two Fronts Part II

2001-10-10 04:29:00

(3) Give our enemies no justifiable grievances.

Even if the United States, Britain, France or any other nation is as clean as the driven snow in the eyes of God there will still be many criticisms laid at them.

On an individual level most accept Jesus as a pretty decent guy, yet he was accused of many evils and even seen as the "great Satan" that must be crucified.

The mass judgment of a nation is merely an extension of the principles by which we judge individuals, so it is only logical that the nations who best represent expressions of love and helpfulness will also be subject to intense criticism whether they do wrong or not.

It is also interesting to note that if a nation or an individual does a good deed and then a bad one that he will be more criticized for the good than for the bad. Illusion is so powerful in the world that many see the picture of truth reversed from the true reality.

The United States has been very vocally criticized by friends and enemies for numerous accused evils which have enflamed enemies to attack or at least hate us.

Here are some of the strongest criticisms:

The United States supports Israel which has committed all kinds of horrendous acts including expelling Palestinians from their land.

Here are the facts.

It is true that the United States did support the creation of a Jewish state, but so did the majority of the United Nations.

United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181 called for the partition of the British-ruled Palestine Mandate into a Jewish state and an Arab state. It was approved on November 29, 1947 with 33 votes in favor, 13 against (mostly Arabic nations), 10 abstentions and one absent.

The resolution was accepted by the Jews in Palestine, yet rejected by the Arabs in Palestine and the Arab states.

Shortly thereafter Israel declared itself to be an independent state. This so angered the surrounding Arabic nations that they invaded Israel with the stated objective to annihilate it from the face of the earth.

In fighting for its survival, Israel pushed back the invaders and wound up occupying additional land.

Because of the war, Israel acquired some previously Arabic land and some Palestinians were displaced from their homes.

Even though the Arabs started the war with the intention of wiping Israel off the face of the earth, Israel wound up getting the brunt of the criticism. Many observers say you can't blame Israel for occupying the conquered land because they were faced with a continued threat of Arab invasion (which did come later) and the land was needed as a buffer to insure their very existence.

Was it evil or wrong for the United States to vote with the majority of nations in favor of a Jewish state and was it wrong for it to support Israel's right to survive, especially when it has not been the initiator of the wars it has passed through and prevailed?

The Arabic nations think it is wrong largely because they have lost every conflict they have initiated with Israel.

The UN itself seems to have an unreasonable grudge against Israel. It has not only denied it any position of authority with its councils as it has generously offered many Arabian nations, but during a 43 year period has voted on her behalf 7,938 times, but against her often with condemning votes 55,642 times. This bias has not been shown to any other nation.

Should we withdraw friendship from a faithful ally because those who initiated conflict are angry at their loss?

This is a situation where there is no easy answer, but it is obvious here that much of the criticism toward the United States in this area is not justified.

Even so this hatred for Israel has to be dealt with and we must proceed with caution and wisdom in our Middle East relationships in relation to the Jewish state.

Next: Additional criticisms discussed.