Give Him a chance

My favorite Martin Luther King Jr. attribution is that anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism.

Two recent anti-Israeli letters have been published in our local daily newspaper (Asheville Citizen-Times). The first was recognition of the anniversary of the tragic USS Liberty attack during the Six-Day War. The letter writer was vehement in saying this was an unprovoked attack on a U.S. Navy vessel by the Israeli Defense Forces. He’s absolutely right, but fails to mention that the IDF contacted U.S. military intelligence before the attack to ask the basic question (my sarcasm): “Uh, we’re at war right now and we have a ship coming close to the border that’s flying a U.S. flag. Is it yours or a fake?”

The answer was no, not ours. The U.S military got the coordinates wrong, and— incorrectly—told the IDF that the USS Liberty was about 150 miles east of where they thought it was. That was why it was attacked: bad information and fear that it was an Egyptian vessel flying our standard in order to sneak in close to the Israeli coast. A horrific mistake, but a mistake both the United States and Israel acknowledge.

The second letter … states, wrongly, that the United States and most of the world can find no wrong with Israel out of misplaced religious allegiance. … Rockets rain daily on Israel, and the world screams when Israel tries to protect its citizens. Those poor terrorists should have the right to kill Jews because the Jews took back their homeland after the nearly 2,000 years of rape, murder and torture committed against them.

Yes, there is a G-d. And He is the G-d of Israel. He is also the G-d of every person and nation. He is the G-d of peace, love, forgiveness and reconciliation—if you give Him a chance. But please, don’t make Him too angry; Israel still has most-favored nation status.

Yes, I am proud to be both a Jew and a veteran.

— Jerry Russom
Asheville