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If People in the Middle East Are Not Sure What Democracy Means, Let Them Look to Israel

(Federal News Service) Sen. Hillary Clinton - Sen. Hillary Clinton told the AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington on Tuesday: Israel is not only a friend and ally for us, it is a beacon of what democracy can and should mean. It is, after all, a pluralistic democracy. It is, as many of us know from personal experiences, a very dynamic democracy with many points of view, and those are expressed with great frequency and vigor. So if people in the Middle East are not sure what democracy means, let them look to Israel, which has been and remains a true, faithful democracy. In a democracy, even a fledgling democracy, leaders must be held accountable. And President Abbas must be held accountable for the actions taking place under his leadership. We must also demand that President Abbas dismantle the structures of terror that the Palestinian leadership has employed for so long. Making progress toward peace and security also requires the end of the barrage of hate and incitement that is still officially sanctioned by the Palestinian Authority. So we must continue to shine a bright spotlight on these messages of hatred and these enticements for martyrdom in these textbooks and on the media that take young minds and twist and pervert them and create a new generation of terrorists and insurgents. When it comes to children, whoever those children are, shielding them from hate and violence should be the number one priority of their families and their governments and the entire global community to prevent this hatred from festering. Using children as pawns in a political process is tantamount to child abuse, and we must say it has to end now.
2005-05-27 00:00:00
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