Vaclav Havel, Friend of Israel
Crowds commemorate the death of Vaclav Havel
At a time when anti-Israel activists are broadening their assault on Israel to also target not only the country but also its foreign supporters, it’s worth noting the principled pro-Israel stand taken by Vaclav Havel.
Havel, the celebrated Czech intellectual, dissident and politician who died last Sunday, was a founding member of the Friends of Israel Initiative, founded “out of a sense of deep concern about the unprecedented campaign of delegitimization against Israel waged by the enemies of the Jewish State and, perversely, supported by numerous international institutions.”
John Mearsheimer would slur Havel as a “New Afrikaner.” Other haters would opt for calling him an “Israel Firster.” Considering his support for the first clause of the Friends of Israel statement, he’d surely be slurred by some radicals as a sort of “Pinkwasher.”
But to most of the world he was a hero of the Velvet Revolution, “a friend to … all who strive for freedom and dignity” and “an inspiration.” And though it was not his most notable achievement, it is notable nonetheless: He was also a Friend of Israel.
More from SNAPSHOTS
Los Angeles Times Dubs Convicted Terrorists ‘Political Prisoners’
March 21, 2018
Rise above the noise! Go below the surface! Enjoy top-quality reporting, enjoins a recent Los Angeles Times ad campaign. Instead, though, a recent movie review provides readers with noise instead of top-quality reporting, erroneously stating [...]
Newsweek: Fake Traffic, Fake News
February 27, 2018
March 4 Update: CAMERA Prompts Newsweek, AFP Corrections on Shelved Expropriation Bill Earlier this month, Newsweek fired senior editors and reporters after they reported on accusations that Newsweek Media Group had purchased fraudulent web traffic [...]
Where’s the Coverage? Israel Thwarts an ISIS Terror Plot in Australia
February 23, 2018
Unit 8200 soldiers. Image courtesy of Ha'aretz Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that his country’s “intelligence services prevented an Australian plane from being shot down,” by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). [...]
Where’s the Coverage? Hamas-Fatah Reconciliation is Floundering
February 21, 2018
PA President Mahmoud Abbas Recent reconciliation attempts between Hamas, the U.S.-designated terror group that rules the Gaza Strip, and the Fatah movement that dominates the West Bank-ruling Palestinian Authority (PA), are floundering. And major U.S. [...]
Boston Globe Op-Ed by Stephen Kinzer Includes Israel in List of Nations in Denial
February 20, 2018
A Feb. 18, 2018 Boston Globe Op-Ed, “Nations built on lies,” by Stephen Kinzer, senior fellow at Brown University, lists Austria, China, France, Great Britain, India, Indonesia, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Croatia, Ukraine, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, [...]