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
Professor John Quigley Falsely Condemns Israel and U.S. Support in His Syndicated Column
April 30, 2019
John B. Quigley In his widely distributed April syndicated opinion piece mainly about ISIS, the Islamist terrorist entity, John B. Quigley, an Ohio State University law professor, argues that claims of an imminent ISIS resurgence [...]
The New York Times’ Slow Reaction to Hamas Crackdown on Palestinian Protesters
April 4, 2019
The New York Times took a slight jab at Hamas, the terrorist organization that rules the Gaza Strip, in a recent story about Hamas's crackdown on Palestinian protesters who spoke out against its policies in [...]
CNN’s Zakaria Deals With U.S. Proclamation Recognizing Golan As Part Of Israel
April 3, 2019
Fareed Zakaria hosted an eight-minute discussion of the Golan matter at the end of his weekly (weekend) program, “Global Public Square “ (GPS) hour-long Cable News Network (CNN) broadcast. The broadcast, on both CNN and [...]
NY Times Reporter David Halbfinger Editorializes Israel as “Brutal”
March 6, 2019
New York Times Jerusalem bureau chief David Halbfinger Israel, according to the New York Times, is a brute. A March 3 news analysis piece—not an opinion piece—by the newspaper's Jerusalem bureau chief David Halbfinger uses [...]
Palestinian Malevolent Indoctrination Exposed; Mainstream Media Are Indifferent
February 26, 2019
Palestinian Media Watch (PMW), an Israel-based non-governmental organization, analyzes and presents in English to the world the ongoing inflammatory indoctrination of Palestinians in Arabic particularly via Palestinian Authority (PA) television (West Bank). PMW is a [...]
Did WCC Activists Attend A Birthday Party Promoted by Palestinian Extremist Organization?
February 4, 2019
The video is a bit fuzzy and grainy. But the footage of birthday party for Shadi Farar, a 12-year-old Palestinian boy who spent three years in an Israeli jail on charges of intent to murder, [...]
Reuters Falsely Links Jerusalem Embassy, Two-State Solution
January 9, 2019
The Jerusalem office park which houses Guatemala's embassy Multiple recent Reuters articles incorrectly report that moving the Brazilian embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is a dramatic move away from the two-state solution. For instance, [...]