FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FROM SHALOM TV
August 27, 2008
US SENATOR BIDEN’S “I AM A ZIONIST” INTERVIEW ON SHALOM TV SEEN WORLDWIDE
August 27, 2008 (Fort Lee, NJ) — Following his selection as Barack Obama’s
vice presidential running mate, US Senator Joseph R. Biden’s interview with
Shalom TV on America and Israel has been quoted and played throughout the
world–including new outlets in Iran and Syria, and the Al Jazeera network.
Conducted in Washington DC in March 2007, in the midst of his Democratic
presidential primary bid, Senator Biden told Shalom TV President Mark S.
Golub of his longstanding commitment to Israel, calling the country “the
single greatest strength America has in the Middle East.”
“I am a Zionist,” said Senator Biden. “You don’t have to be a Jew to be a
Zionist.”
Senator Biden went on to point out that without Israel, one could only
imagine how many battleships and troops America would have to station in the
Middle East.
He also decried as “insulting” the notion that any American could suggest
that Israel is somehow the cause of the war in Iraq.
“If, tomorrow, peace broke out between Israelis and Palestinians, does
anybody think there wouldn’t be a full-blown war in Iraq? And, conversely,
if Iraq were transported to Mars, does anyone think there would not be
terrorism visited upon the Israelis every day?
“So let’s get it straight. Israel is not the cause of Iraq. Iraq being
settled or not settled has nothing to do with Israel’s conduct.”
The Senator also expressed a sensitivity and empathy for Israelis who have
had to live with terrorism.
“[From 9/11], Americans can taste what it must feel like for every Israeli
mother and father when they send their kid out to school with their lunch to
put them on a bus, on a bicycle or to walk; and they pray to God that cell
phone doesn’t ring.”
Asked about Jonathan Pollard, sentenced to life-imprisonment for giving
classified information to the State of Israel, Senator Biden opened the door
to leniency, but not a pardon.
“There’s a rationale, in my view, why Pollard should be given leniency. But
there is not a rationale to say, ‘What happened did not happen and should be
pardoned.”
Transcript of Shalom TV’s interview with Senator Biden:
SHALOM TV: Many Americans believe there’s a link between America’s war in
Iraq and the State of Israel and that if America didn’t have such a
commitment to the state of Israel, there wouldn’t be these problems in Iraq.
What would you say to anyone who’s expressed that thought to you?
SENATOR BIDEN: It’s bizarre. When the Baker Commission filed its report saying peace in Israel is related to Iraq, I was the first and only person in Congress to point out [that] if,
tomorrow, peace broke out between Israelis and Palestinians, does anybody
think there wouldn’t be a full-blown war in Iraq?
And, conversely, if Iraq were transported to Mars, does anyone think there
would not be terrorism visited upon the Israelis every day?
The difference between now and before 9/11: many Americans can taste what it
must feel like for every Israeli mother and father when they send their kid
out to school with their lunch to put them on a bus, on a bicycle or to
walk; and they pray to God that cell phone doesn’t ring.
Every day, every day.
So let’s get it straight. Israel is not the cause of Iraq. Iraq being
settled or not settled has nothing to do with Israel’s conduct.
The second part is: people should understand by now that Israel is the
single greatest strength America has in the Middle East.
Imagine our circumstance in the world were there no Israel. How many
battleships would there be? How many troops would be stationed?
So I find it not only incorrect, but mildly insulting.
SHALOM TV: In the American Jewish community, there’s sensitivity to the
plight of Jonathan Pollard.
What should be done now with Jonathan Pollard?
SENATOR BIDEN: If we don’t want to play into the argument that Americans who
support Israel have dual loyalties, then you can’t deal with Pollard. He has
to serve his sentence.
There’s a rationale, in my view, why Pollard should be given leniency. But
there is not a rationale to say, “What happened did not happen and should be
pardoned.”
I was raised by a righteous Christian. My father was a gentle man. He was a
white-collar worker, high-school educated but a student of history and a
devoted supporter of Israel.
My father could not understand how people could [fail to understand] that
without an Israel no Jew in the world was safe. He couldn’t understand how
support [for Israel] could be translated into being un-American.
My worry is that, if I were president, to go and pardon Pollard would make a
lie out of the notion that there are certain rules. Period. You cannot give
classified information. Period. Even to a friend. If this were great
Britain, it would be the same thing.
So the standard has to be maintained, in my view.
SHALOM TV: Have you ever been at a Seder?
SENATOR BIDEN: I have.
SHALOM TV: Give us one Seder memory.
SENATOR BIDEN: My son married a young woman whose mother and whole family is
a very prominent Jewish family in the state of Delaware, the Bergers.
Probably my most poignant Seder memory is not with the Bergers, but what
happened right after I came back from meeting Golda Meir [in 1973].
I had predicted that something was going on in Egypt. And I remember people
talking about what it meant to them if Israel were actually defeated.
And there is this inextricable tie between culture, religion, [and]
ethnicity that most people don’t fully understand–that is unique and so
strong with Jews worldwide.
When I was a young Senator, I used to say, “If I were a Jew I’d be a
Zionist.”
I am a Zionist. You don’t have to be a Jew to be a Zionist.
Chris Webb is an activist and journalist living in Winnipeg. He is currently publishing assistant at Canadian Dimension. Read other posts by Chris Webb.
