The following letter is in response to an Op-Ed by Thomas Friedman of the New York Time. His Op-Ed follows after this reply by a friend of mine. Jacob October 23, 2001 Dear Thomas L. Friedman, Thank you for your letter. I am urgently responding to what you wrote. There’s a war going on in America? There’s terrorism? I wasn’t aware that your blood is redder than mine. Arab terrorists personally shot at me three weeks ago. I’ve seen three suicide bombers blow themselves up right outside my former office in Jerusalem, killing and wounding dozens. I’ve lost friends to Arab terrorism. Kidnapped. Murdered. Mutilated. We Israeli’s have extended out hands in peace to Arafat. He’s chops it off as regularly as he lies to us, to you, and to the world. We Israeli’s are finally defending ourselves, as you yourselves are clumsily attempting to do, and you complain that we are messing up your flimsy coalition? Why does America need to align itself and rely on the countries directly linked with the terrorists? Bin Laden’s bombers didn’t come from Israel. They came from Egypt, Saudi Arabia and your other wishy-washy coalition partners. You are undermining yourselves by ignoring these basic facts. The Hizbollah terrorists that shot missiles into Israel yesterday are directed by Syria who sits on the UN Security Council, and are funded by Iran who told you to piss off when asked to join your coalition. Your concerns should be directed at these terrorist sponsoring and harboring nations. Your radar screen should examine how many dozens of US citizens Arafat has had killed, such as Alisa Flatow, US Ambassador Cleo Noel, Leon Klinghoffer, and many others. The same Arafat who may even have links to the first WTC bombing years ago. Apparently it is you who doesn’t know who Arafat is. And his list is open; it’s long, and it’s still growing. I am not sure that it is you that understands that Israel is under attack and is fighting for her survival. The way we Israeli’s can help you is to get you to realize that blowing up caves in Afghanistan is not the answer. Having states, that are intertwined by family and finances to the terrorists, join your coalition is not the answer. And certainly having those same states dictate your policies to you is not the answer. We Israel’s can help you realize that you have invited the enemy into your front door, preventing you from acting against them, and they are laughing at you just as Arafat laughs at us (and you). We Israeli’s are not against you. We want you to wake up and realize who your true enemy is and take the appropriate action, not to chastise the only democracy in the Middle East that is also fighting for its survival against the same Arab terrorism that now wishes to destroy you too. We wish you victory for all of us, but we are afraid that you will fail, because your policies have hamstrung yourselves from the start. What’s going on is not about just you. It is about all of us democracies together. Stephen Leavitt Jerusalem, Israel ---------- The following is the op-ed that appeared in the New York Time: http://nytimes.com/2001/10/23/opinion/23FRIE.html October 23, 2001 Dear Ariel and Yasir By Thomas L. Friedman New York Times From: George W. Bush To: Ariel Sharon and Yasir Arafat I'm writing you both urgently because I fear your conflict is deteriorating so far and fast that it's going to undermine my ability to sustain the war against Osama bin Laden. Ariel, let me start with you. I'm still not sure you understand that America is now under attack. We're fighting for our self-defense. We are fighting to maintain the free and open society that is the basis of all that is good in America and Israel. And when your friend America is at war for its survival, there is only one question Israel should ask: How can we help? We're not interested in debating with you whether or not Arafat is your Osama bin Laden, as you've been saying. Clearly, you can't make up your own mind. After all, you've been secretly negotiating with Arafat, and have sent your own son, Omri, to meet him several times. I've never sent my daughters to meet bin Laden. I know exactly who Arafat is. He's like many of the Arab leaders in my coalition. He's a corrupt, authoritarian, impossible figure, easily influenced by his "street," who is awful to deal with — but whose domestic opponents are even worse. He's part of the problem and part of the solution. What worries me is, who is Israel? I have no problem with Israel retaliating against Palestinians who murder Israeli civilians. No one can object to that. When your snipers assassinated the Palestinian terrorist who organized the suicide bombing of the Tel Aviv disco, my spokesmen made clear we had no problem with that. But there's a red line for us. And the red line is if you try to use this situation, as some in your cabinet are urging, to destroy the Palestinian Authority and end Arafat's control in the West Bank and Gaza. If you do that now, and if total chaos erupts in the territories or, worse, Islamic radicals take over, which then forces you to reoccupy these areas, and that inflames the Arab- Muslim world, you will be seriously undermining our coalition against bin Laden. And whoever undermines that coalition undermines us. I fear, Ariel, that your American friends and your ambassador — do you even have an ambassador here? — have not conveyed to you how serious this war is for America. I know the Palestinian radicals are trying to goad you. I know you were working for a cease-fire before they killed your minister. I truly appreciate that. But don't let the assassination of your minister goad Israel into doing crazy things. That is exactly what the terrorists want. Ariel, don't you get it? We know bin Laden didn't attack us to liberate Palestine. We know the roots of this story are in the anger of Arab citizens at their own bad regimes. We know the roots are with the fanatics who want to twist Islam into a religion of anger and martyrdom. These truths are too big to hide — unless you get in the way and make Israel the story. Get off the radar screen! Our resolve is now being tested by our enemies — we don't need it tested by our friends. If you do — especially after Americans start dying in Afghanistan — it will seriously damage the special U.S.-Israeli relationship. As for you, Yasir, you say you want to join the world's non-smoking section — those who oppose terrorism. Well, then don't come near me smoking cigars. I made clear that I'm ready to support a Palestinian state, but if you're not supportive of us in this war, you can forget about that. If your people want to throw stones at Israeli soldiers, that's your business. But if you won't crack down on Palestinians who blow up Israeli discos or assassinate Israeli ministers and take some of the pressure off Sharon, as I have asked him to take it off you, then I'll assume you're on the side of bin Laden and the Taliban — just another thug who harbors terrorists. And please don't tell me you can't control your own people. You've sold us that carpet one too many times. If you won't, Congress eventually will force me to cut off all aid to you, put you on the terrorism list and use all our means to delegitimize you. And why not? The cult of martyrdom and suicide that you have recklessly allowed to grow among Islamist Palestinians is not just a threat to Israel and to you. It's now a threat to us. For so many years, boys, it's always been about you. Well, now it's about us. I need you both to postpone your war now. If you won't do that for us, we'll assume you're against us.