Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

COLUMN: Israel, U.S. celebrate together
By Leeron Morad
Daily Bruin (UCLA)
05/03/2006

(U-WIRE) LOS ANGELES — As Israel reaches its 58th anniversary of statehood, Americans have come to enjoy many things Israeli. The software for the instant messaging program ICQ and cell phones, as well as the firewall and anti-virus programs that keep our computers safe, are all originally from Israel.

Farmers use Israeli technology to save water while growing our crops. The largest generic-drug company worldwide is Israeli. From medicinal therapies for cancer to Intel computer chips, we use Israeli inventions every day.

Israel was founded on the same values as our own great nation ? Israel is one of the few Middle Eastern countries in which women and men can vote for any party they want without fear. Nowhere else in the Middle East do politicians, journalists, academics and artists have such freedom of speech.

In Israel members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community can feel safe and proud to be themselves. In fact, as a testament to this, Jerusalem will be hosting World Pride Day this summer.

Israeli women are some of the most literate in the region. They serve in the legislature and hold key cabinet-level positions. Israel even had a female prime minister, Golda Meir, from 1969 to 1974.

Israel also guarantees religious freedom. Israelis can practice Judaism, Islam, Christianity or other religions, or no religion at all. Regardless, they all enjoy the same protection under the law.

Given all these freedoms and rights, Israel should truly be an American value. That's why President Kennedy once said Israel "carries the shield of democracy."

Today the U.S. and Israel face the same threats to their security. From al-Qaida to Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who is believed by the U.S. and other Western countries to be trying to build nuclear weapons the U.S. is in the same boat as Israel precisely because it upholds the same values.

Israel helps us counter these and other threats by providing us with valuable intelligence information and training our law enforcement personnel, including William Bratton, the L.A. police chief, in anti-terrorism work.

As the U.S. and Israel are such close allies, we are celebrating our friend's anniversary today. Bruins for Israel is inviting all members of the campus community to join us for the party today at noon in Bruin Plaza to show support for the country that upholds the values of freedom and democracy that we hold so dear.

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