“Triple Standard” for Israel

By Earl Cox
Created Jun 8 2012 – 10:41am

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it accurately recently in an American TV interview. He said that the world holds Israel to a “triple standard.” Not a double standard, but a triple standard. He explained that there is one standard for the world’s dictatorships, a second standard for the world’s democracies, and a third standard for Israel.

Prime Minister Netanyahu added that the “triple standard” for Israel has meant that Israel does not have the right to defend itself from all the terrorists and rocket attacks hurled against them over the years by their Arab Muslim neighbors.  Netanyahu went on to say that the world would never expect any dictatorship or democracy to “show restraint” had they been the victims of more than 12,000 explosive rockets and missile attacks having been continually hurled across their borders by terrorists killing and maiming thousands of innocent civilians.

“What would the democracies do if 12,000 rockets were fired into their land?” he asked. “They would undoubtedly defend themselves and retaliate if more than one rocket hit them. But when Israel wants to defend itself, we are accused of being the villains, rather then the victims.” He added, “No other nation would tolerate that.”

The interviewer Mike Huckabee reminded Netanyahu of the great reception the Prime Minister received  during his recent speech to the United States Congress where he received 29 standing ovations and 50 applause interruptions. “It was because our country has a great friendship with the United States and an important bond with its people,” he said. “The Congressmen simply expressed the support of the people.”

“Israel is wall-to-wall pro-American, the Prime Minister stated.”Israel has no better friend than America, and America has no better friend than Israel.  We believe that we are there for you, and that you are there for us, also.” He added, “Our two countries are both ‘cities on a hill’ for the whole world to look to.”

Netanyahu further stated that he thinks most Americans see Israel as a parable. The Jewish people and the nation of Israel were left for dead 2,000 years ago, he explained. “But our people and our nation have now come back from the dead, and we are now a free and thriving people and nation. We are a story of hope fulfilled and the American people identify with that.”

Concerning Iran, Prime Minister Netanyahu declared that this rogue nation is definitely the greatest threat to all humanity today, not only to Israel but to the entire Middle East and to the whole world.  He added, “Iran has proven itself to be a terrorist regime, and their threats are very real. We must be prepared and ready, if necessary, to take military action.”

Concerning the upheavals in numerous Arab countries including Syria, the Prime Minister stated, “We’ll certainly have a safer world if we can move more toward democracy. The uprisings have shown that many Arabs truly want more democratic freedoms. If democracy triumphs, we could have genuine peace. But right now, the jury is still out.”

Full article:
http://cc.org/commentary/quottriple_standardquot_israel