It’s Not Just the Usual Suspects Taking Potshots at Israel

That’s no way to be treated by a Gray Lady.


Clifford D. May
National Review Online
22 April '10

It really is open season on Israel, isn’t it? While Iran’s jihadi rulers continue their drive for nuclear weapons, while Syria transfers thousands of missiles to Hezbollah, while leaders of the Palestinian Authority glorify Islamist terrorists, the New York Times finds President Obama’s “willingness to challenge Israel . . . refreshing.”

“The question,” Times editorial writers add, is whether Israel prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu “is able or willing to lead his country to a peace deal.” That’s the question?

Meanwhile, the Simon Wiesenthal Center is building a “Museum of Tolerance” in Jerusalem. Who could criticize such a project — except perhaps on the grounds that most of those living in or passing through Jerusalem already value tolerance? By contrast, a Museum of Tolerance in, say, Riyadh (where churches and synagogues are outlawed), or Cairo (from which Egyptian Jews have fled and where the ancient Christian community is increasingly oppressed), or Tehran (where the Baha’i are among the religious minorities most brutally persecuted) might push the envelope.

Nonetheless, the fraudulently named U.N. Human Rights Council claims that the museum is being constructed on sacred Muslim soil. Never mind that the building site — in West Jerusalem, not “Arab” East Jerusalem — has been used for decades as a municipal parking lot by Jewish, Muslim, and Christian motorists alike, with Muslim religious authorities voicing no objections.

But the cruelest cut in recent days was made by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who called on Israel to “continue building momentum toward a comprehensive peace by demonstrating respect for the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinians, stopping settlement activity, and addressing the humanitarian needs in Gaza.” She implored Israeli leaders “to refrain from unilateral statements and actions that could undermine trust or risk prejudicing the outcome of talks.”

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