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I
wrote this article in January 1998. Nothing has changed.
When I was a kid, I used to wonder why the club that my family belonged
to in Atlanta, Georgia was only for Jewish people. Later, I found
out it was because the gentile country clubs didn’t allow Jewish
members, and we had to build our own.
Later, I questioned the “Quota System” at universities
such as Georgia’s prestigious medical and dental school, Emory
University. I remember when a Jewish student who was at the top
of his or her class with “A” marks wouldn’t be accepted.
Their reasoning was that Jews were only three percent of the population,
and if the school had already met their “quota,” then
they could, and would, accept a mediocre student who was Anglo/Saxon.
It always made me curious why we always had to sing the “Christian
songs” during Christmas but never with any recognition of the
Jewish holidays. In fact, it seemed the only time the schools and
universities in the South, in those days, scheduled the final exams
or home team football game was during Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur.
I was a kid, but it didn’t seem right. Even to the point of
every official dinner or banquet that I attended being officiated
by a minister giving a benediction and ending it in “the name
of Jesus Christ.”
Now that I’m a grown-up (sort of), I wonder about global things
concerning the rest of the world and the Jewish people, and Israel.
For instance, years ago I wrote a column questioning the Red Cross
and their intentions when it came to the Jews.
Israel has a Magen David Adom, which is their version of the American
Red Cross. But, why can’t Israel be admitted to this international
organization? True, Israel can’t use as their symbol the cross,
but how does this organization welcome the Arabs with the Lion and
Crescent and omit Israel with their Jewish Star? Ever wonder?
Wait! There’s more. Every other country in the world is allowed
to have their own capital of choice, and the nations around the
world accept them into the fold of the international community.
Not Israel. Their capital is in Jerusalem, yet all of the embassies
are in Tel Aviv. For the most part, they are in Hertzelah, Petuah.
Which is a very nice neighborhood but, folks, it’s not Jerusalem.
Why can’t the rest of the world recognize that the country
of Israel is a Jewish State with it’s capital in Jerusalem.
Is it because they are waiting for when a Yasser Arafat makes it
the home of the Palestinians, and then they can move their embassies
from Tel Aviv? I don’t know, but I wonder.
Lately I’ve taken to questioning why, out of the 185 member
countries that serve on the United States Security Council, is the
only country NOT eligible to sit on this impressive body Israel.
Why must this tiny country not be included in this world body when
even outlaw states such as Iraq, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Sudan,
Syria, you guessed it. All the bad guys are part of this collective
fraternity, but Israel isn’t. The United Nations Charter even
states, right there for everyone to see, that its basis is “the
equal rights of nations large and small.”
So why is it only Israel who, among all the members of the United
Nations, is denied the right to belong to any regional group in
this body of countries? Without the membership in any regional group,
Israel can never, nor will never, serve on the Security Council.
None of the other ones, such as the Economic and Social Councils,
the World Court, UNICEF, or the Commission on Human Rights will
let Israel into the fold; they have continued to make Israel the
one outsider. Imagine, all the terror nations are accepted, and
yet Israel stands alone out of 185 who belong.
Amazing how our country is the most powerful on earth and can accomplish
anything it wants to. Yet, despite all of that and the fact that
Israel is one of the few countries in the world who has never failed
in the repayment of a loan from the United States or voted in opposition,
the Jewish State still stands alone.
By its geography, Israel is supposed to be part of the Asian bloc.
Yet, for decades, outlaw countries such as Iraq, Iran, and even
the so-called moderate nations, like Saudi Arabia, have prevented
its entry. I wonder why none of the other countries make any complaints
or see anything wrong in such a situation.
Maybe it’s the same way the Red Cross didn’t see any harsh
treatment of the Jews during their inspections of the concentration
camps during the Second World War. Or how the “neutral”
countries and most of the continent of Europe profited on Jewish
blood during that war and never saw any improprieties.
Like I said, I wonder why. Of course, after all these years, I’m
still wondering why our government is letting Jonathan Pollard languish
in prison.
Updated 3/19/03
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