“We cannot erase the moral distinctions between tyranny and freedom and we must not edit history,” said Sen. Robert Menendez, in a Senate speech about Israel.
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June 18, 2009
In a speech perceived by some as a subtle rebuke to President Barack Obama’s May 31 address to the Muslim world, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) defended Israel as “a stalwart democratic ally in such a critical part of the world.”
Menendez delivered his remarks to the Senate on June 16, discussing at length Israel’s claims to legitimacy and scoring its enemies.
“Especially in light of the threat of Iran, and in light of the threats extremists pose to so many innocent civilians around the globe, the importance of Israel as a strategic ally and friend to the United States could not be clearer,” said Menendez. “It is hard to overstate the value of having such a stalwart democratic ally in such a critical part of the world, an ally in terms of intelligence gathering, economics, politics, and culture.”
Many Jewish leaders reacted warmly to Menendez’ remarks.
“The senator’s speech was not only moving and inspirational, it was timely,” said Max Kleinman, executive vice president of United Jewish Communities of MetroWest NJ. “It set the record straight historically, as the media bombards us with distortions put out by demagogues and their naive supporters. In the turbulent days ahead, only the truth will guide us, as Sen. Menendez reminded us.”
Reached on his cell phone prior to a meeting with Menendez, Lionel Kaplan, a Princeton attorney and former president of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, called the speech “phenomenal.
“It gave an explanation of why there is an Israel,” he said. “Some people think it is because of the Holocaust, but he described why that simply isn’t true.”
Some heard in Menendez’ lengthy recitation of Jewish history and historical claims to a Jewish state a response to Obama’s Cairo speech, which was criticized by some Jewish groups for focusing on the Holocaust at the expense of other justifications for Israel’s legitimacy.
“Let’s be very clear,” said Menendez. “While the Shoa has a central role in Israel’s identity, it is not the reason behind its founding, and it is not the main justification for its existence.”
He later added: “We can and must move forward in the peace process and look for ways to reach agreement between all sides. But we cannot erase the moral distinctions between tyranny and freedom, and we must not edit history.”
Doni Remba of the Jewish Alliance for Change called the Menendez speech “monochromatic.”
Photo by Robert Wiener
Lionel Kaplan, former president of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, called the Menendez speech “phenomenal.”
Similarly, Menendez acknowledged that while the United States might have “disagreements with our allies, in this case especially, it is critical to have those disagreements in private.”
Obama faced criticism after the Cairo speech for airing his administration’s disagreements with the Israeli government over settlement expansion. In May, Menendez signed a Senate letter, supported by AIPAC, urging the United States and Israel to work “privately” together on areas of disagreement.
“I believe that,” said Kaplan. “When you have friends and you have disagreements, disagreements should be done in private. Having a public disagreement with Israel makes it harder to make peace, not easier.”
Even as he called Menendez’ speech “a wonderful talk I would not disagree with,” Warren attorney Larry Lerner did take issue with the senator’s mention of the Shoa.
“What I think he is doing is agreeing with those people who said Obama’s statement about the Holocaust, followed by [statements on] the Palestinian people’s suffering, was a bad juxtaposition,” said Lerner, president of the American Friends of the left-leaning Meretz-Yachad Party in Israel. “I never saw it as moral equivalency,” he said, referring to the president’s statements.
While Kaplan praised the senator’s description of Hamas and Hizbullah as “the head of the snake when it comes to terrorism” and Iran as its “tail,” Doni Remba disagreed.
Remba, a West Orange resident and executive director of the Jewish Alliance for Change — a group formed in support of Obama’s candidacy — called the Menendez speech “monochromatic” and “a typical cartoon picture of the enemies of Israel and Israel as the righteous victim.”
He said Menendez was “pandering to American-Jewish voters and telling them we Jews are victims and Israel is surrounded by enemies.”
But, Remba said, “there are times when it is necessary for the president to exercise public political pressure so that the Israeli public sees that [Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] is not taking advantage of a breakthrough that could advance the prospects for peace.”
Menendez ended his speech with a reference to the late Rev. Martin Luther King’s statement that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
“We know that in Israel’s quest for security there will be trials along the way, there will be setbacks, and there will be dangers too tremendous for words.
“But if we continue the work that we do and continue to stay true to the values that drive our journey, then that long arc will eventually reach its resting place in the land of Israel, and a just and lasting peace will be at hand,” the senator said.
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