CENTER’S KYL WELCOMES AN ISRAELI REAGAN

(Washington, D.C.): When Benjamin Netanyahu surprised much of
the world by defeating Shimon Peres to become Prime Minister of
Israel last month, his triumph was all too often received with
chagrin, if not horror, by world leaders and the international
press. The common refrain was that, in electing Mr. Netanyahu,
Israel had chosen fear and war over hope and peace.

A welcome antidote to this dire appraisal was offered this
evening by a distinguished member of the Center for Security
Policy’s Board of Advisors, United States Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ).
In a speech before the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of
America (three pages of excerpts of
which are attached), Sen. Kyl argued that “Bibi”
Netanyahu’s election will actually serve to enhance the
security of the State of Israel, rather than weaken it. The
Senator — who is rapidly emerging as one of the Senate’s most
authoritative voices on issues critical to American foreign
policy and national security — also provided a principled and
realistic assessment of the steps that must be taken in the
Middle East in order to achieve real peace in the
region.

Among the most important points made by Sen. Kyl were the
following:

“The United States should shore up Israel’s
image as a powerful and permanent party in the region.
An element of Israel’s strength is the unwavering nature of
U.S. support for Israeli security and for basic Israeli
national interests. That…is why it’s crucial for
the United States to stand with Israel on Jerusalem.
Jerusalem is the heart of the legitimacy issue — the issue
of the Jewish people’s right to a state in their ancient
homeland.

“….The fight over the Jerusalem embassy law
reflected a fundamental difference in views over how in
general the United States and Israel can best promote
Arab-Israeli peace. The difference, one might say,
pits the Ronald Reagan approach to peace and security against
that of Jimmy Carter or Bill Clinton.

“[Netanyahu] is decidedly in the Reagan
school. This, of course, doesn’t guarantee him
sympathy and support from certain State Department offices or
from our leading news organs. On the contrary, it practically
guarantees the opposite. President Reagan, after all, got
little sympathy or support from those quarters in his time.
The point is that Netanyahu’s principles are neither radical
nor unfamiliar, especially…to those of us who are
conservatives.”

The Center for Security Policy takes particular pride in this
salutary contribution to the public policy debate by one of the
recipients of its “Keeper of the Flame” award.