Amidst the ?doom and gloom? images from Israel these days, which are seen around the world via television or print media, a gala event took place this week in Tel Aviv. The event undoubtedly afforded both native Israelis, and the world at large, the opportunity to see exactly what are the important priorities for the leaders of the Jewish State.
The occasion was the bestowing of an honorary doctorate by Tel Aviv University on former United States President Bill Clinton. The former president also accepted an invitation to speak at a conference hosed by Ness Information Technologies, for a reputed $l00,000 honorarium. Graciously, however, Clinton did not charge for his address at TAU, where he received the prestigious honor. According to press reports, one million shekels were spent to refurbish the entire David Intercontinental Hotel, where Clinton would stay during his 26 hour visit. The Presidential Suite includes a huge living room with home movie equipment and other luxurious accoutrements. In addition, hotel staff were continuously stationed by the door to instantly carry out the former president?s slightest wish. Such honor was given to former US President Bill Clinton because of his ostensible friendship to the Jewish State while in office; however, that ?friendship? was evidenced mainly by the innumerable times Clinton ordered his then-Secretary of State, Madeline Albright, to pressure Israel for more concessions to Chief PLO terrorist Yasser Arafat.
What of the leaders of Israel? On the very day that the latest victims of the ongoing Arab terrorist war were buried (bringing the number of Israelis murdered since the signing of the Oslo Accords to 774), the Prime Minister, Foreign Minister and sundry Knesset Members joined hundreds of others who paid $l,000 a plate to applaud and fawn over a disgraced U.S. president. As countless handicapped Israelis were sitting outside the Knesset in frigid weather, as part of an ongoing demonstration now entering its second month, to demand that their necessities of life be met, the Prime Minister of Israel somehow found time to address the ceremony honoring Bill Clinton. "Woe to the people who must judge its judges," say our sages.
If, indeed, Israel sought to bestow so great an honor upon a US President as a sign of solidarity, surely a more worthy recipient would have been the present occupant of the White House. By his outstanding leadership in pursuing and meting out justice to the terrorists who perpetrated the horrendous September 11th attacks, as well by the example he sets in his personal life, President George Bush epitomizes one who is deserving of Israeli honors.
As the wise admonition states, "Give honor where honor is due."
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Shifra Hoffman, a noted journalist and activist, is the Founder of Victims of Arab Terror International (VAT). She can be reached at [email protected].
The occasion was the bestowing of an honorary doctorate by Tel Aviv University on former United States President Bill Clinton. The former president also accepted an invitation to speak at a conference hosed by Ness Information Technologies, for a reputed $l00,000 honorarium. Graciously, however, Clinton did not charge for his address at TAU, where he received the prestigious honor. According to press reports, one million shekels were spent to refurbish the entire David Intercontinental Hotel, where Clinton would stay during his 26 hour visit. The Presidential Suite includes a huge living room with home movie equipment and other luxurious accoutrements. In addition, hotel staff were continuously stationed by the door to instantly carry out the former president?s slightest wish. Such honor was given to former US President Bill Clinton because of his ostensible friendship to the Jewish State while in office; however, that ?friendship? was evidenced mainly by the innumerable times Clinton ordered his then-Secretary of State, Madeline Albright, to pressure Israel for more concessions to Chief PLO terrorist Yasser Arafat.
What of the leaders of Israel? On the very day that the latest victims of the ongoing Arab terrorist war were buried (bringing the number of Israelis murdered since the signing of the Oslo Accords to 774), the Prime Minister, Foreign Minister and sundry Knesset Members joined hundreds of others who paid $l,000 a plate to applaud and fawn over a disgraced U.S. president. As countless handicapped Israelis were sitting outside the Knesset in frigid weather, as part of an ongoing demonstration now entering its second month, to demand that their necessities of life be met, the Prime Minister of Israel somehow found time to address the ceremony honoring Bill Clinton. "Woe to the people who must judge its judges," say our sages.
If, indeed, Israel sought to bestow so great an honor upon a US President as a sign of solidarity, surely a more worthy recipient would have been the present occupant of the White House. By his outstanding leadership in pursuing and meting out justice to the terrorists who perpetrated the horrendous September 11th attacks, as well by the example he sets in his personal life, President George Bush epitomizes one who is deserving of Israeli honors.
As the wise admonition states, "Give honor where honor is due."
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Shifra Hoffman, a noted journalist and activist, is the Founder of Victims of Arab Terror International (VAT). She can be reached at [email protected].