Time For A New Map

Gary Cooperberg
July 6, 2005

Dear President Bush,

As a dual citizen of both Israel and the USA who voted for both you and for Sharon, I must tell you that I am terribly disappointed in both of you. I know that it is good protocol to have a friendly attitude toward the leader of the Jewish State. I know that it certainly seems proper to stand behind your friend and praise him for the courageous stand he is taking in his unilateral surrender of the Gaza Strip to the PLO. And I know that you like to refer to this stand as a democratic one. Yet we both know, honestly, that this is simply not true.

Mr. President, were you to announce to the American People tomorrow morning that all Americans living in Southern California and South Texas have one year to pack up and move out of their homes owing to your decision to give these parcels of American land to Mexico, for peace, how far do you think you would get with such a proposal? And supposing your own cabinet defied your decision and told you it was wrong. In reaction you simply fired all of them and brought in new people who agreed with you. Do you think Congress and the American people would stand for such an outrage, even if you offered the deportees compensation and new homes elsewhere?

The people of Israel have been led around by the nose by every government in its history. They have learned to roll with the punches and accept abuse by their own government under the mistaken assumption that they really have no choice. Yet, as each successive government abuses its authority just a little more than the previous one, the people are beginning to realize that, for their own survival, there must be a limit. There must be a breaking point where the people stand up and say, “No more!” I believe that we have reached that breaking point. Ariel Sharon thinks that the State of Israel is his personal plaything and that he can destroy Jewish communities and Jewish lives at his whim. He is about to discover that he is wrong. He is about to discover that even a prime minister has limits which cannot be passed.

Mr. President, Ariel Sharon was elected democratically. He ran on a platform which clearly stated that he would not dismantle a single settlement. Had the electorate wanted to move out of Gaza they would have voted for Sharon’s opponent, Amram Mitzna, who wanted to do this. Clearly the overwhelming support that elected Sharon indicated that Israeli’s are opposed to this madness. Yet Sharon continues to declare that he will go against the majority anyway. When his own party voted against his plan he agreed to abide by their decision. Then he just ignored his own promise and continued. When members of his inner cabinet disagreed with him he simply fired them and brought in members of the opposition party which lost the election!

How dare you suggest that this is a democratic process! You are spitting in the face of democracy by praising Sharon, even if you agree with his position, because it was not arrived at via democratic choice, rather by personal dictate. How can you claim to promote democracy and still support a self made dictator who totally ignores the electorate?

Peace between Israel and her Arab neighbors is achievable. But you should know better than most people, that peace can never be reached by surrendering to terror. Aside from the horror of arbitrarily evicting innocent civilians from their homes where they have been living for three generations, Sharon is handing Jewish land to our enemies which he knows will be used to continue acts of terror against Israel! He is so certain of this hatred that he knows that if Jews leave this area they will have to dig up the remains of their loved ones who are buried here because he knows that the graves will be desecrated!

I know that politics is a strange animal and that we must try to say and do things which please everyone. But are there no limits to how far one can go for the need to curry favor with leaders of oil rich Islamic nations? Mr. President this road map of yours will lead nowhere but to disaster. You want to fight the war against terror? We know better than you about terror. You cannot win unless you really want to win. And if you really want to win then you must destroy the PLO, not build them a homeland on Jewish soil. Your vision of two states is a nightmare. We already have two states on Jewish soil. Jordan is an illegitimate entity sitting on 80% of what was originally meant to be the Jewish State. How dare you suggest that we take the remaining twenty percent and share it with yet another illegitimate Arab enemy, especially one which is dedicated to our destruction?

Mr. President, the G-d of Israel brought us back to our homeland as a prelude to the coming redemption of Mankind. He brought us here to build a truly Jewish State where we will serve Him according to His Law and become a living example to all the nations of the world. In spite of the fact that our own leaders fail to understand this, Jewish destiny is beginning to unfold. Nations are being judged by how they relate to this tiny nation, not as a political entity, rather as a Biblical one. G-d watches over us here day and night. If He didn’t we could not survive for a day. He protects us from our enemies and from our own foolish leaders. If you truly believe in G-d, you should know that the way you relate to Israel will determine the future of your country. You owe it to yourself, your family, and all of the American People, to find a new map that leads to heaven. For the one you are presently working with is headed in the opposite direction.

With Blessings from Hebron,

Gary M. Cooperberg