Daily Alert Archives

Book Review: Should Israel Exist?

(Gatestone Institute) Amir Taheri - Imagine if someone suggested you should read a book that discusses whether or not Norway, or the U.S., should exist. In the case of Israel, however, posing that question does not seem to be out-of-bounds. Michael Curtis, a distinguished scholar and professor emeritus at Rutgers University, has devoted a whole book to examining the subject and refuting the claims of those who question Israel's right to exist. The result is a masterly essay in the service of a moral case in support of Israel. Politically, Israel is the fruit of a liberation struggle against an imperial power in the wake of World War II - in this case, Great Britain. Legally, it is a creature of the UN, which, as successor to the British Mandate on Palestine, endorsed the creation of the Jewish state. But Israel is different. To start with, it is Jewish. That makes it the target of anti-Semitic sentiments and resentments that have deep roots in many Western and some Islamic societies. Then there is the fact that Israel has been a democratic island in a neighborhood of authoritarian and totalitarian regimes.
2012-06-29 00:00:00
Full Article