“For Israel was not created in order to disappear—Israel will endure and flourish. It is the child of hope and the home of the brave. It can neither be broken by adversity nor demoralized by success. It carries the shield of democracy, and it honors the sword of freedom; and no area of the world has ever had an overabundance of democracy and freedom.”
The senator then went on to add: “Even while fighting for its own survival, Israel has given hope to the persecuted all over the world and it has given a new dignity to those who believe in religious freedom in every part of this globe. ... Friendship of Israel is not a partisan matter. It is a national commitment.”
Mr. Kennedy then addressed the commitment of his own party, saying, “Yet within this tradition of friendship, there is a special obligation on the Democratic Party.”
He went on to list the previous commitments of previous Democratic presidents such as Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt, and Harry S. Truman to the Jewish people and the existence of a Jewish state.
It was these commitments that paved the way for the establishment of Israel in 1947 and the defense of its existence ever since.
Mr. Kennedy warned about this in his speech, when he quoted an attack on him in the Arabic newspaper, Al-Gomhouria, over his support for Israel. The paper said: “As far as the existence and nonexistence of Israel, Mr. Kennedy says Israel has been created in order to exist. And we say that Israel will not continue to exist. Time will judge between us, Mr. Kennedy.”
The senator responded: “I agree. Time will judge whether Israel will continue to exist.” I agree as well. We are now at that critical time in history when time will judge our actions or inaction on Israel’s behalf.
As the only existing democracy in the Middle East, it is vital for Israel to exist so freedom can flourish and all citizens—regardless of belief—can thrive. It is not a mere coincidence that those engaging in the current anti-Semitic protests are often at the forefront of other protests attacking core freedoms such as religious freedom and freedom of speech.
Thus, for the world to thrive, Israel must flourish, as Mr. Kennedy so eloquently stated. This is what he, as well as his Democratic predecessors Presidents Wilson, Roosevelt, and Truman, clearly understood. It is also what his Republican predecessor Dwight D. Eisenhower understood when, as Gen. Eisenhower, he led the liberation and destruction of the Nazi concentration camps, demanding that photos be taken of the horrors that had occurred so the world would have a historical record of those atrocities so they would never happen again.
But because of our current national amnesia about the past, fueled by the shameful neglect of teaching the lessons of history in our educational system, or the twisting of history to fit personal agendas if it is taught, we find ourselves on the cusp of repeating those atrocities once again.
We cannot stand idly by and let that happen. It is critical that Israel, in the words of then-Sen. Kennedy, endure and flourish. Like America, it is the child of hope and the home of the brave. Israel’s loss would be a tragedy not only for the Middle East but also for the world as a whole. Israel’s right to exist in freedom is our right to exist in freedom as well.
