Letter | Israel acts in its own self interest; so should America

With Muslims outnumbering Jews by 1.5 billion to 14 million, it is hard to understand how Israel will prevail so long as the dispute with its neighbors is grounded in religious terms. If oil continues to diminish as an economic concern for Western nations, they will eventually turn their backs on that area of the world and leave the locals to sort out their age-old differences.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netahyahu’s snub of our president has turned a once united pro-Israel Congress into a divided body now willing to look more closely at right-wing Israeli rhetoric. Remember, Netanyahu “guaranteed” us in his 2002 speech to Congress that toppling Saddam Hussein would bring peace and stability to the Middle East.

I support Israel’s right to exist. I also understand that Israel acts in its own self-interest, as every nation should. When they attacked the USS Liberty during the 6 Day War killing 34 American sailors and injuring nearly 200, they did it to keep the United States from learning Israel’s military plans. As an American (and a Navy veteran) I abhor that act — but I understand that Israel knowingly acted in their own self-interest.

Jonathon Pollard was a freelance mercenary spy who sold United States secrets to China and South Africa. When he approached Israel with top secret information, Israel didn’t report him to the United States. They purchased top secret information from him. I understand why Israel would want to know secret military information about the most powerful nation on earth, but it offends me that they never reported to us that Pollard was shopping our secrets to the highest bidder.

What bothers me more is that Israel continues diplomatic efforts to have Pollard released. The signal Israel gives is that if you are a United States citizen who spies on the United States, Israel has your back. It is in Israel’s national interest to encourage Americans to spy for them.

Israel did not contribute one soldier to our conflicts in Korea or Vietnam. Why should they? Those wars had no impact on Israel’s vital national interests. Shouldn’t we have the same dialogue before rushing blindly into a 5,000-year-old tribal dispute?

This story was originally published April 19, 2015 at 8:00 AM with the headline "Letter | Israel acts in its own self interest; so should America."