This week, the Democratic Frontrunner for the Presidential nominee, Senator Bernie Sanders announced he would not attend the annual AIPAC – American Israel Public Affairs Committee – conference. He tweeted the lobbying group provided a platform “for leaders who express bigotry and oppose basic Palestinian rights.”
He continued,“As President, I will support the rights of both Israelis and Palestinians and do everything possible to bring peace and security to the region,” he added.
AIPAC – rightfully – responded harshly, noting, “Senator Sanders has never attended our conference and that is evident from his outrageous comment. In fact, many of his own Senate and House Democratic colleagues and leaders speak from our platform to the over 18,000 Americans from widely diverse backgrounds … who participate in the conference to proclaim their support for the US-Israel relationship.
“By engaging in such an odious attack on this mainstream, bipartisan American political event, Senator Sanders is insulting his very own colleagues and the millions of Americans who stand with Israel. Truly shameful.”
And indeed its shameful – but words best describing this situation come from Zionist leader Ze’ev Jabotinsky who wrote in 1911 a piece called “Go To Hell.”
As Jabotinsky noted in 1911, “Instead of excessive apology and instead of turning our backs to the accusers – as there is nothing to apologize for, and nobody to apologize to – it is long overdue to respond to all current and future accusations, reproaches, suspicions, slanders and denunciations by simply folding our arms and loudly, clearly, coldly and calmly answering ,’Go to Hell!’
“Who are we, to make excuses to them; who are they to interrogate us? What is the purpose of this mock trial over the entire people where the sentence is known in advance? Our habit of constantly and zealously answering to any rabble has already done us a lot of harm and will do much more. The situation that has been created as a result, tragically confirms a well-known saying: ‘Qui s’excuse s’accuse’ (He who apologizes condemns himself).
“We think that our constant readiness to undergo a search without hesitation and to turn out our pockets will eventually convince mankind of our nobility; look what gentlemen we are–we do not have anything to hide! This is a terrible mistake. The real gentlemen are the people that will not allow anyone for any reason to search their apartments, their pockets or their souls. Only a person under surveillance is ready for a search at every moment. This is the only inevitable conclusion from our maniacal reaction to every reproach, to accept responsibility as a people for every action of a Jew, and to make excuses in front of everybody.
“I consider this system to be false at its very root. We are hated not because we are blamed for everything, but we are blamed for everything because we are not loved. We do not have to apologize for anything. We are a people as all other peoples; we do not have any intentions to be better than the rest. We do not have to account to anybody; we are not to sit for anybody’s examination and nobody is old enough to call on us to answer. We came before them. We are what we are, we are good for ourselves, we will not change and we do not want to.”
Israel as a nation is a modern miracle. After six million Jews were murdered while the world stood by and watched, a nation was created, but has been surrounded by enemies who have tried to destroy it from the very beginning of its existence.
The Democrats should be ashamed of Sanders.
Ronn Torossian is a public relations executive.