KUDOS MR. PRESIDENT

When our government leaders get it wrong with regard to Israel I have no hesitation pointing it out, the same should be true when they get it right. Our president’s record on Israel has been spotty at best, but over the last couple of days he has made a strong effort to reaffirm our position toward Israel, our best ally in the Middle East.

In his arrival speech in Israel on Wednesday of this week he began with the following: “I’m so honored to be here as you prepare to celebrate the 65th anniversary of a free and independent State of Israel. Yet I know that in stepping foot on this land, I walk with you on the historic homeland of the Jewish people.

More than 3,000 years ago, the Jewish people lived here, tended the land here, prayed to God here. And after centuries of exile and persecution, unparalleled in the history of man, the founding of the Jewish State of Israel was a rebirth, a redemption unlike any in history.

Today, the sons of Abraham and the daughters of Sarah are fulfilling the dream of the ages — to be “masters of their own fate” in “their own sovereign state.” And just as we have for these past 65 years, the United States is proud to stand with you as your strongest ally and your greatest friend.

As I begin my second term as President, Israel is the first stop on my first foreign trip. This is no accident. Across this region the winds of change bring both promise and peril. So I see this visit as an opportunity to reaffirm the unbreakable bonds between our nations, to restate America’s unwavering commitment to Israel’s security, and to speak directly to the people of Israel and to your neighbors.”

These words are very different than those he delivered in Cairo, Egypt during his June 2009 visit. Here is an excerpt from that speech: “America's strong bonds with Israel are well known. This bond is unbreakable. It is based upon cultural and historical ties, and the recognition that the aspiration for a Jewish homeland is rooted in a tragic history that cannot be denied. Around the world, the Jewish people were persecuted for centuries, and anti-Semitism in Europe culminated in an unprecedented Holocaust. Tomorrow, I will visit Buchenwald, which was part of a network of camps where Jews were enslaved, tortured, shot and gassed to death by the Third Reich. Six million Jews were killed – more than the entire Jewish population of Israel today. Denying that fact is baseless, ignorant, and hateful. Threatening Israel with destruction – or repeating vile stereotypes about Jews – is deeply wrong, and only serves to evoke in the minds of Israelis this most painful of memories while preventing the peace that the people of this region deserve.”

In his speech in Egypt it sounded like the primary justification for America’s support for Israel is the Holocaust. In other words, the fact that the Holy Land is the birthplace of the Jewish people and their 3,000 year history there is irrelevant to their claim to land in that region as a Jewish State.

Understandably, Mr. Obama targeted his speech to the Muslim audience he was addressing, but it left many of us wondering whether he questioned Israel’s legitimate historical claim to the land they now possess. With this week’s speech he has clarified his position and affirmed the right of the State of Israel to exist based on its long history as opposed to a period preceding World War 2 and the subsequent events of the Holocaust. His specific use of the word “redemption” is stunning...”after centuries of exile and persecution, unparalleled in the history of man, the founding of the Jewish State of Israel was a rebirth, a redemption unlike any in history.”

Thank you Mr. President.

While many critics will claim that this was no more than the latest example of political expediency by the Obama administration, it cannot be denied that he spoke with moral clarity and boldness.

Again, thank you Mr. President, kudos to you from one of the concerned citizens of America who believes that it is in our national interest, but more importantly, the biblically declared WILL OF GOD that we stand with Israel. Please keep it up.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.