Holt: A true friend
Rep. Rush Holt is a true friend of Israel and an ardent advocate of peace in the Middle East.
I met Rep. Holt several times over the years during my 29-year career in the U.S. Foreign Service, including during my tenure as the U.S. Ambassador to Israel. Rep. Holt knows the issues, understands and has internalized throughout his life the importance of American-Israeli relations, and is an informed, thoughtful, and dedicated supporter of Israel and its security and prosperity.
Against this reality, it is unfathomable how an uninformed, radically partisan, and malicious group of self-defined “Israel supporters” could malign him (“Conservative pro-Israel group targets Rep. Holt,” Sept. 2).
First, their accusations and analysis of his views and record are simply wrong. They have spread lies and misleading innuendo passed along as so-called facts. Second, why they have chosen to attack a dedicated supporter of Israel who has an impeccable public record of support for Israel defies any logic. U.S.-Israel ties have always benefitted from bipartisanship, and it makes no sense to turn the issue of Israel into a political fight where no basis for fighting exists. Third, it is particularly galling that these lies and fabrications are being spread by groups outside of New Jersey and funded by wealthy individuals without any ties to New Jersey but who pursue a narrow, radical agenda in Israeli politics.
Having dedicated a lifetime in the pursuit of a strong and vibrant Israel and an Israel at peace with its neighbors, I have been comforted since coming to New Jersey to know that Rush Holt represents me in Congress. He is a fine man of integrity, a model public servant, an honest and fair person, and a friend of Israel. There is no more that we can ask of our representatives.
Daniel Kurtzer
Princeton
The writer is the S. Daniel Abraham Chair in Middle East Policy Studies at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.
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