What follows is the last correspondence between Mayor Koch and me before he became sick and died shortly after this on February 1, 2013. One of his best lines was: “If you agree with me on nine out of 12 issues, vote for me. If you agree with me on 12 out of 12 issues, see a psychiatrist.”
December 18, 2012
Dear Mr. Mayor:
I guess the countries which allowed the first holocaust from
1933 to 1945 have forgotten the words, "Never Forget". It is ironic
how moralistic they all are pertaining to the Palestinians, though. Why is that?
Is it for cheap oil? Is it for other reasons? Probably true
for both. And is it possible that Hitler's depraved beliefs still permeate
through the former Nazi-held countries? I think so.
After all, Nazis and Communists were not all that different
on a political bell curve. And both groups still exist under the radar. Only we
are too naive to see it or believe it is possible.
Israel needs to remain strong and resilient as we move
through this century. The US and Canada need to be steady and true partners to
ensure Israel's survival. If we fail in our responsibility, she will be doomed
to a second and final holocaust.
Sincerely
FRANK MCHALE
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Ed Koch Commentary
December 17, 2012
Frank, here is my latest. Your comments are welcomed.
Ed
Collaborators Then, Collaborators Now
The war against the Jews - and against the State of Israel -
continues unabated. For the past year, Israel has been subjected to rocket
bombardments directed at its cities including Jerusalem and Tel-Aviv. A
million Israeli civilians in Southern Israel had their lives disrupted as
8,000 rockets rained down on them since 2005.
The Israeli government decided to respond militarily against
Hamas which governs Gaza and has its own prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh.
The Israeli army, the Israeli Defense Force (IDF), is made up
of reserves that can be called up within 48 hours. Approximately 75,000 Israeli
soldiers were sent to the Israeli frontier with Gaza. They didn't cross the border,
relying instead on the Israeli Air Force to wreak havoc. The IDF was successful
in killing a significant number of Hamas terrorists including its major battle
commander, Ahmed Jabari, responsible for the rocketing barrages, as well
as numerous other acts of terrorism. Terrorists in Gaza often
surrounded themselves with civilians in an attempt to prevent Israel from responding militarily. Injuries and deaths of
Palestinian civilians - children, women and men - are inevitable based on the terrorist actions
of using civilians as shields - a war crime. The Israeli Air Force also
eliminated a huge armory of rockets that Hamas had received over the years from Iran and
Sudan.
The leaders of the western world - France, England, Germany
and others - sought to deter the IDF from entering Gaza with troops. The New York
Times of November 19 reported an interesting statement from the British Foreign
Minister, William Hague. The Times stated:
"William Hague, the British foreign minister, said in a
television appearance on Sunday that he and Prime Minister David Cameron 'stressed to
our Israeli counterparts that a ground invasion of Gaza would lose Israel a lot of the
international support and sympathy that they have in this situation.'"
The Israeli government has few friends at the United Nations,
primarily the U.S. and Canada. Instead of entering Gaza with its soldiers so as
to more effectively destroy the Hamas army and kill more of its leaders it
decided, I believe erroneously, not to enter Gaza. What was the result? When the armistice
was achieved through the efforts of President Mohamed Morsi of Egypt, himself an
Islamist and supporter of Hamas, and those of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton,
Hamas declared a victory.
What was their stated victory? Keeping the IDF out of Gaza
and having the elected leaders of Egypt, Turkey, Quatar and others tour Gaza,
praising Hamas and its unwillingness to recognize the State of Israel.
What did the Israelis gain by satisfying Hague and Cameron? An enemy strengthened by the Israeli effort to
keep casualties down.
After the armistice was achieved, the citizens of Gaza were
visited by Khaled Meshal, their leader who normally resides in Syria or Lebanon. As
reported in The New York Times of December 8:
"The long-exiled leader of the militant group Hamas,
Khaled Meshal, entered Gaza for the first time on Friday, a symbolically powerful visit
that sought to reinforce Hamas's contention that it was victorious in its eight-day
clash with Israel.
"His visit resonated on multiple levels, reflecting the
many changes that have swept the region since the Tunisian revolution, which began
in December 2010 and ignited the Arab Spring uprisings. Mr. Meshal was permitted
to cross the Egyptian border now that allies of the Muslim Brotherhood - a cousin
of Hamas - have come
to power in Egypt. At the same time, Hamas tried to use his
visit to reinforce the impression that it is ascendant and no longer a pariah."
On December 9 the Times reported:
"Speaking before tens of thousands of supporters to
celebrate the 25th anniversary of the founding of Hamas, Mr. Meshal said the Jewish state
would be wiped away through 'resistance,' or military action. 'The state will come from
resistance, not negotiation,' he said. 'Liberation first, then statehood.'
"His voice rising to a shout, Mr. Meshal said:
'Palestine is ours from the river to the sea and from the south to the north. There will be no
concession on any inch of the land.' He vowed that all Palestinian refugees and
their descendants would one day return to their original homes in what is now
Israel.
" 'We will never recognize the legitimacy of the Israeli
occupation, and therefore
there is no legitimacy for Israel, no matter how long it will
take,' he said. 'We will free Jerusalem inch by inch, stone by stone. Israel has
no right to be in Jerusalem.'
He also promised Palestinian prisoners held in Israel that
they would be freed using the same methods that had worked in the past - the kidnapping
of Israelis and Israeli soldiers, like Gilad Shalit, who was released last year in a
prisoner exchange after
five years as a hostage."
Where were the condemnations of Francois Hollande, the
President of France, David Cameron, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, and Angela
Merkel the Chancellor of Germany? They didn't think it necessary and their silence was
deafening. Yet at the UN Assembly, reported in the Times on December 12:
"Israel's blunt-talking foreign minister, Avigdor
Lieberman, gave vent on Wednesday to the government's anger over recent diplomatic gains by the Palestinians paired with international rebukes for Israel, comparing Israel's
situation to that of Czechoslovakia in 1938 before the Nazi invasion.
"Israel was dismayed last month when all the countries
of Europe, other than the Czech Republic, supported the Palestinians or abstained when
the General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to upgrade the status of the
Palestinians at the United Nations.
"Speaking in English at a conference for foreign
diplomats in Israel sponsored by the newspaper The Jerusalem Post, Mr. Lieberman said, 'When
push comes to shove, many key eaders would be willing to sacrifice Israel without
batting an eyelid in order to appease Islamic radicals and ensure quiet for
themselves.' He added, 'We are not willing to become a second Czechoslovakia and
sacrifice vital security interests.'"
What occurred at the UN was another intended Munich and this
time the intended victim was Israel. Make no mistake about it. The goal is the
ultimate destruction of the Jewish state. The Czech Republic understood this, and it was
the only European country not to vote to create a state of Palestine. The state voted
on by the UN is without agreed-upon borders and also has two prime ministers - one in
Gaza and one on the West Bank. It is an entity where the terrorists of Hamas in
Gaza have greater prestige and support of the Palestinians than the President of the
Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas.
Is it any wonder that the Foreign Minister of Israel, Avigdor
Lieberman, denounced the European nations? An Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported
that Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman "compared the EU's policy toward
Israel to the behavior of Europe toward the Jews during the period of the Holocaust."
Remember, it was not just Hitler and the Nazis who ordered
the Jews rounded up and taken to concentration camps. Many of the countries on the
European mainland and their people assisted the Nazis in sending the Jews to the
death camps. They collaboratedthen and they are collaborating now.
The settlements of Jews on the West Bank that the European
countries and the U.S. denounce are there to protect Jerusalem and the State of
Israel when the Palestinians and their allies attack Israel. Israel does not expect the
troops of any other country to come to its defense when the Arab armies attack as they
have on prior occasions.
It will depend for its security and survival on the Jewish citizens and soldiers in those settlements to give it time to marshal its reserves. They also believe in God.
The Palestinian Authority led by Mahmoud Abbas has refused to sit at a peace conference without preconditions for the last two years. President Abbas may desire peace, but he knows that if he were to negotiate a peace treaty with Israel, the Muslim Jihadists worldwide as well as his neighbors on the West Bank and Gaza, supporters of Hamas, would kill him. The European leaders know that but continue to blame Israel for a lack of peace when they know better.
Shame on them.
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