IF ISRAEL WOULD ONLY ..........

In my last blog, I reproduced part of a speech by Geert Wilders on the Islamization of Europe. Most Europeans and quite a few Americans believe that Israel is at the root of the conflict between Islam and the West. They believe that if Israel would only give up all of the West Bank, its settlements and East Jerusalem, all would be hunky-dory - peace would ensue and the whole Middle East would be stabilized. Some even believe that if Israel were to disappear, Islam would embrace the West.

Wilders' speech in New York contradicts all these thoughts of a peaceful Muslim World as pipe dreams. Wilders maintains that if there were no Israel, Islam would simply find another venue to focus on in its quest to conquer the world. President Obama, who wants America to reach out to Muslims, should heed what Wilders has to say. The all knowing, all seeing Thomas Friedman (see my blog, "Friedman Ought To Know Better"/1-30-09) should take note of Wilders' words. And so should all those who keep blaming our support of Israel (Pat Buchanan, for one) for the turmoil between America and the Muslim world.

Here is that part of Geert Wilders' speech which deals with the Israeli-Islamic conflict:

The (European) public has wholeheartedly accepted the Palestinian narrative, and sees Israel as the aggressor. I have lived in this country (Israel) and visited it dozens of times. I support Israel. First, because it is the Jewish homeland after two thousand years of exile up to and including Auschwitz, second because it is a democracy, and third because Israel is our first line of defense.

This tiny country is situated on the fault line of jihad, frustrating Islam's territorial advance. Israel is facing the front lines of jihad, like Kashmir, Kosovo, the Philippines, Southern Thailand, Darfur in Sudan, Lebanon, and Aceh in Indonesia. Israel is simply in the way. The same way West-Berlin was during the Cold War.

The war against Israel is not a war against Israel. It is a war against the West. It is jihad. Israel is simply receiving the blows that are meant for all of us. If there would have been no Israel, Islamic imperialism would have found other venues to release its energy and its desire for conquest. Thanks to Israeli parents who send their children to the army and lay awake at night, parents in Europe and America can sleep well and dream, unaware of the dangers looming.

Many in Europe argue in favor of abandoning Israel in order to address the grievances of our Muslim minorities. But if Israel were, God forbid, to go down, it would not bring any solace to the West. It would not mean our Muslim minorities would all of a sudden change their behavior, and accept our values. On the contrary, the end of Israel would give enormous encouragement to the forces of Islam. They would, and rightly so, see the demise of Israel as proof that the West is weak, and doomed.

The end of Israel would not mean the end of our problems with Islam, but only the beginning. It would mean the start of the final battle for world domination. If they can get Israel, they can get everything