By Mark David Blum, Esq.

In my opinion, it is OK to be a Jew, support the idea of a Jewish State of Israel and still be appalled and offended at the antics of the government of the State of Israel. Just as one can be an American and oppose American policy. Right now, I am a Jew who does not support the policies of the government of the State of Israel.

Israel gives us a prime example as to why we should NOT be following President Bush in his policies in the Middle East. For 60 years, Israelis have answered their neighbors with bombs, bullets, and civil oppression. Nobody says Israel is totally to blame. They chose the wrong path to resolution. If theirs was the proper path, then Israel would be the safest, most peaceful nation on earth. It is not and the situation has become more grave over the years.

The nature of the conflict and the standard Israeli response has changed that society. They have become a paranoid people who traded away most of their freedoms and civil rights for safety. Yet, despite all their efforts, Israelis are not protected and instead the situation is worse than ever. Being a Jew is synonymous with being an Israeli and anger toward Israel is now directed at Jews. This is an intolerable situation.

We know that Israelis fed the United States false information which helped shape our policy and invasion of Iraq. We also remember the days of Entebbe and at are very tempted at times to see Israel above reproach.

Americans are becoming victims by our government following the misguided policies of the Israeli response to terrorists and Islamic fundamentalists. Daily, the fearful Republicans and Theocons trade away our freedoms and civil rights for what they call “security”. Both the United States and Israel are building walls around their nations to keep others out. Both nations stand isolated in the world.

Israel was founded because it was time to give Jews a safe haven from racists who can no longer bring them harm. The problem is that in the process of isolating themselves and dealing with opposition with violence and anger, the nation has changed. Israel is becoming the very devil from which its founders ran. So too are we.

To see a vision of the United States in 60 yrs if we continue the path we are taking, take a hard look at Israel. We are already getting there with the murders of innocents, Abu Ghraib, torture at Guantanamo, and the near total worldwide isolation.

I am a Jew. I will not support the Israeli government just as I will not support the reactionary right wing in this nation as they take us down the path toward destruction and evil.

Three decades ago, having seen first hand the Israeli model of response to terrorism, I cheered them. Blood for blood, eye for an eye, and overwhelming collective punishment was the typical response. Yet, for 30 years, the situation has worsened. Israelis gave up more freedom and peace of mind for security and defense to the point that though we tout them as a ‘democracy’, theirs is a police state like any other.

Subsequent to the attacks here in the United States in 2001, our initial knee-jerk reaction was to mimic the Israeli model. First, we wrongly assumed “terrorism” was a religious or social theory advancing a political agenda. In reality, “terrorism” is just a military tactic used over the millennia where weaker less supplied forces defend against invaders. Call it guerilla warfare or an insurgency. Ultimately, it is the native population’s response to stronger alien invaders.

In treating terrorism itself as an ideology, our national attitude shifted to one that reacted to ‘terrorism’ with the same zeal as we did to communism, Hitler, and even King George. We did all we could to defend against “terrorism” and set off on a worldwide crusade to eradicate it.

Obviously, that tactic did not work. The Taliban are back in Afghanistan and soldiers are dying again. (Notably too is that they are being financed by opium distribution; once banned under their regime). Iraq is fast turning into a national disaster. Only the Israelis are now fighting the so-called war on terrorism. America is fighting to defend itself from an insurgency in Iraq.

So yes, we have followed the Israeli model. It did not work in Israel and if you have any doubts, look back 60 years in history and see how effective their policies have been at stopping the problem. American soldiers face the same hazards in Iraq; except they are the alien invaders.

No number of homicide bombers or falling airplanes can change us as a people or end our government. Ours is a nation that to the last person, will carry the spirit of the constitution and battles for liberty fought over the centuries. Killing three thousand of us in one day proved that we are just too big in spirit, size, and power to be destroyed militarily. Even Abraham Lincoln early on recognized that no foreign power will ever have boots on the banks of the Ohio River; that which will destroy us will come from within.

But the terrorists use weapons far more effective than any dirty bomb. They use fear. Where they fail through violence, they win through legislation. Freedom has been lost not because the Pentagon was attacked but because freedom was attacked through such entities as the Patriot Act, the Department of Homeland Security, closing the borders, the Gitmo and Abu Ghraib sagas, airport searches, and invasions of privacy at every level of government. This is all done in the name of security. These are the weapons of terrorism; attacking one’s own people.

It is not the terrorists, but we who have changed our society. We are allowing the poison of the extremist ideology to infect our hearts and souls. What we call “terrorists”, are nothing more than extremists of one political ideology or another. Be they Islamic Terrorists, IRA, or Rudolph and McVeigh; it is the extremist who is the enemy of freedom loving people. Extremists in government do not get a free pass. Having learned from the Senator Durbin fiasco; not being as bad as Adolf Hitler or Pol Pot or Josef Stalin has become the new standard for who we are as a People.

What extremists could not with their bombs, we have done to ourselves. We are surrendering our rights. We are starting to factionalize and mistrust our own. Half our nation hates the other half. Few trust the government or the media or academia to tell the truth. We are closing our borders to our oldest friends and building giant fences guarded by the militia. We are isolating ourselves from the world community. What was once the bright shining star of nations is dulling from the tarnish of blood and despair.

Look at the Israeli model to see how this all plays out. Generation after generation of attacks will keep coming. The attacks will be more sophisticated and violent. Our children and theirs will grow up in a world of mistrust, fear and revenge. The natural instinct to punish and retaliate against weaker opponents begins to give the impression of being a bully. Over the years, the nation works harder to make herself safer and the only real result is further isolation and condemnation in the international community.

Second, American society is transitioning to one without privacy. Everything done, every movement made, every thought written, and every word read is being scanned and investigated. Reporters are going to prison. People strip down to their skivvies just to get on an airplane. Privacy and personal liberty is being replaced with security-first policies.

Heavily armed soldiers are now present on our subways and trains and busses. Is this the world you want to live in? Do you really want to stare down the barrel of an M-16 every morning on your way to work? Israelis do. I hate it.

Third, being the nation that gave the world security after the second world war, the Berlin airlift, massive aid and assistance, and the internet … is now a nation that is feeding upon its own. American citizens are being held indefinitely without lawyer, trial, or even charges. We are prosecuting common criminals under terrorism statutes. The Patriot Act, intended for terrorist investigations has been used to for routine criminal matters. Every day, Senators call for more police powers, more restrictions, and more laws … not aimed at getting terrorists, but rather targeting normal everyday American life.

The terrorists have won because we gave them the victory. Instead of punishing ourselves because “they” are wrong; go get “them”. There are so many more of us than there are of them. Punish the attackers, chase them down and slaughter them like dogs. We have to stop killing our own. Too many Americas are dying in Iraq.

I say return America to Her original intentions. One nation of free people unrestricted in thought and action; a nation of human beings with hearts and compassion and a desire to make a better world. We should care about all those who die from brutality; whether they be from Rwanda or Baghdad. Recognizing one and ignoring the other is pure unadulterated racism and exposes the true blackness currently enveloping the American heart.

To hell with the terrorists. They don’t scare me – at least not enough for me to want to give up my freedom. The odds are against them; unless we join their team.

Most importantly, President Bush is not defending Israel because of Jewish influence in Washington. Rather, his is the face of the messianic Christian movement pushing the pro-Israel agenda.

They live for the last of days and in doing so, are taking the rest of this nation down with them.

I will not go silently into that good night. Nor should you.