Arthur Christopher Schaper Despite his immodest Democratic leanings, Congressman David Cicilline has been a vocal supporter of Israel. On Truth Revolt, the Providence based Congressman defended the Jewish against attacks of racial bias from left-wing MSNBC journalist Joy Reid: I think there's a recognition that our two countries share values and that we respect the right and the responsibility of the Israeli government to protect their people federal an ongoing terrorist act. This is not a conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. This is a conflict between Israel and Hamas, a terrorist organization that we've identified as a terrorist organization. So I don't think it's a question of Israel can do anything it wants. But it's a recognition that Israel has a right to defend herself against an oncoming terrorist attack, thousands of rockets. But obviously to do so in a way which reduces the likelihood of civilian casualties but also honors its responsibility to protect its citizens. Moral clarity is a stunning rarity among Democratic politicians, and Cicilline offered some context for Israel's military actions. Cicilline also invited Rhode Islanders to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's third speech to a joint session of Congress, which occurred a few weeks before Israel's parliamentary elections
Despite his party affiliation, the Rhode Island representative should be commended for supporting the Jewish State. In disgraceful contrast, US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse declined to attend. The junior Senator cited Speaker John Boehner's lack of protocol. In reality, Congress did nothing untoward or unseemly by inviting the Prime Minister to speak. Lest anyone forget, the Constitution establishes Congress with the power to sign treaties, make lies, and join in alliances. Senator Whitehouse may not understand the full dynamics of Congress, but the Republican majorities certainly do. And so does Cicilline. Another question emerges: Why did the Congressman say nothing about the US Senator's decision not to attend Netanyahu's speech? Furthermore, despite his ethnic background, Jewish as well as Italian, the Providence Congressman has done surprisingly little to inform voters about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his speech, and his recent victory in the March 17, 2015 elections. Cicilline has not even published a press release on Bibi's electoral upset. Reports surrounding the final weeks of the Israeli elections attest to state department officials attempting to influence the election for Netanyahu's center-left opponent. The evident rancor between the current Prime Minister and President Obama is unavoidable. Bibi's victory further humiliates Obama's vision of a complain, left-leaning Israeli government, and also sets back his declining political influence at home and abroad. The American President's open hostility to Israel knows no parallel. The United States and Israel do share values, as Cicilline instructed the MSNBC host, like Western Democracy, the rule of law, the inviolability of human life, the respect for individual freedoms against the state, freedom of speech, religion, etc. Why does the former Providence mayor say nothing to promote Israel's reassertion of a center-right government? Just because of Netanyahu and his Likud Party's domestic ideological views? More likely, Cicilline has remained silent because of the President and His party, and their domestic as well as foreign policy views. A product of progressive academic rearing, which neglects good and evil, and promotes equality as the one and final virtue, President Obama embraces a left-leaning worldview, one in which evil belongs only to those who hold power. Any notion of final authority, removed from man, is a wretched fraud to be resisted. Nevertheless, might ultimate rests on right, and power has none of itself without a recognition of the truth, of certain consequences which either promote life and liberty or bondage and death. There is no liberty without life. No one lives free without the healthy, wholesome recognition of a benevolent Creator who grants rights and opportunities to all. For the Left, the state and power rest in the arbitrary will of the few, the well-connected, those who are more equal than others. Obama's worldview of global equality and even results stumbles at the footsteps of the Jewish State, a nation which testifies of a Final Authority, plus the domains of good and evil beyond the limited senses of mankind, the certainty that power and truth come together for good. While liberals demand that the world should work a certain way, the survival and thriving of the Jewish State put to shame the core tenets of progressive principles. Cicilline deserves recognition for honoring Prime Minister Netanyahu at the joint session of Congress His silence on Whitehouse's absence, and Netanyahu's recent victory, deserves rebuke. Arthur Christopher Schaper is a writer, blogger, and political commentator on topics both timeless and timely; political, cultural, and eternal. A life-long Southern California resident, Arthur currently lives in Torrance. |
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