Connie Mack: “we must speak the truth and stand on principle, so that Arafat cannot continue blaming Israel for the completely…”

“we must speak the truth and stand on principle, so that Arafat cannot continue blaming Israel for the completely unjustified attack that he initiated. There is a word for a policy of rewarding violence, and that word is ``appeasement.'' Appeasement is not just wrong; it also does not work. Events of recent days have led many Israelis to conclude that their government's generosity toward the Palestinians has--far from being reciprocated-- been taken as weakness and invited the beating of war drums against Israel throughout the Arab world. As Israel begins to rethink its course, the United States must not push Israel towards appeasement. We must help Israel find the strength to stand up to aggression and continue the principled fight for justice. As citizens of a democracy that desperately wants peace, Israelis are as pained as anyone by the heart-wrenching pictures of Palestinian children caught in the crossfire. Israel can be counted on to search its soul as to whether she could have defended herself and claimed fewer Palestinian casualties. The result of such an inquiry, however, will not shift the overarching burden of responsibility from the party that chose to abandon the negotiating table and open a shooting war-- Palestinian leader Yassir Arafat.”