As Egypt tries to make peace between Israel and Hamas, Netanyahu, emboldened by his raising of Gaza and 20,000 collateral casualties, has threatened Beirut with the same devastation. Would it be considered antisemitic for the United States reevaluate their unconditional support of Netanyahu?
If the State of Israel is our closest ally, how should Egypt, Turkey, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon be considered?
Given our 60-year checkered history dating to the 6-day war and sinking of the USS Liberty by Israeli forces, how much will it ultimately cost to arm Netanyahu? Rebuild Gaza? Perhaps Beirut?
In consideration for the cost of our alliance, would it be considered antisemitic to request a redress of grievances by Palestinians being held in Israeli jails without basic human rights?
Tragically, there is a dearth of world leadership compared with recent history. Netanyahu and Putin have captured the world stage, but the void is much broader from an historical perspective. Time has replaced Reagan, Gorbachev, Thatcher, Began, Sadat, Xiaoping with Biden, Putin, Netanyahu and Xi Jinping.
We are left with a renewal of the Cold War, the arms race, and war the scale of which we can only imagine as jingoist rattle sabers on the evening news as the rest of the world cringes in disbelief.
On a scale of historical tyrants, how will Netanyahu and Putin be ranked? How will history judge the United States as an accomplice?
Let history be the judge but send the jingoists to war first and after the jingoists, their children.
Joe Exum Snow Hill, N.C.
