Israel is a trusted friend

Dear Editor,

April 21, 2017, viewers of Fox News watched the televised interview of Benjamin Netanyahu, prime minister of Israel, by Sean Hannity.

The prime minister is an amazing individual. Although not treated very well by President Obama when he traveled from Jerusalem and Tel Aviv to see him, he did not criticize the former president.

Sean Hannity flew over Israel to get a “bird’s eye view’ of the star players who threaten the Holy Land. This aggressive group includes Syria, Iran, Iraq and Arab neighbors. Some of them are only eight miles from Israel.

Bahsar Assad, who has been referred to as “the Butcher of Damascus,” ordered poisonous gas to be used on innocent people, including babies, women and children. President Donald Trump took action. U.S. planes bombed the base where the lethal substance was stored. Israel is about the size of the state of New Jersey. It is located on the Sinai Penninsula and shares a border with Syria.

When I visited Israel, our tour bus stopped along the border that Israel shares with Syria. It is a military zone with tanks and barbed wire.

A young soldier from Austria was guarding the strategic location.

He said he was saving as much of his pay as possible to establish a computer business.

The Arabs were late comers to Israel. They arrived there sometime after 621 A.D.

Problems occurred immediately after Israel became a nation in 1948. Arabs resented the return of the Jews after World War II.

Prime Minister Netanyahu pointed out that the Palestinian Arabs really want complete possession of the Mount of Olives and the area of the Wailing Wall (the western wall of King Solomon’s Temple, which was destroyed in 70 A.D. by the Romans.)

Israel is 80 percent Jewish. The tribes of Israel established themselves there in about 1200 B.C. Arabs have made unrealistic claims to parts of Israel.

Jihadist radicals come in many shapes and sizes. They are waging a holy war on America and are plotting the destruction of Israel.

This problem has spilled over into Great Britain, France, Belgium and Italy. Russia has added fuel to the fire.

Israel is a trusted friend in the Middle East.

Helen Ruth Arnold,

Trenton, Neb.