Remembering New York Mayor Ed Koch: A liberal who stood up for Israel

You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time. A. Lincoln

It is like equating "Anti Defamation" with DEFAMATION.

The first thing which is being mentionned about any non Israeli citizen is always if he or she is 'a friend of Israel' or 'a person who stands up for Israel'. Isn't it a bit egocentrical and offensive to define a persom in these terms? Perhaps someone who is not 'your best friend', but not an enemy might come up with some arguments which might be intersting to discuss, or are only 'yes -persons' welcome?

I think it is largely a matter of age and experience. I am 57 years old, was 12 during the Six Day War and still invested with the dream of Israel. Younger liberals who came later increasingly saw a country beset by occupation and the problems of a powerful nation. It is tough to find a middle ground now and tougher yet to help others see and seek a path toward peace. G-d bless Ed Koch.

you save much money for the Jewish business.

paper wants to leave the impression that a liberal supporting Israel is somehow unusual. The best thing for Israels security is to stop being an occupying force for 4 million Palestinians and to return to their historic commitment to human rights and justice. The Greek root for liberal is the same as for liberty and I'm proud to be a liberal who has supported Israel since high school. That doesn't mean there are not Israeli policies that I deplore and think, in the end, are not in the best interests of Jews or or the State of Israel.. Abe insinuation that liberals don't stand up for Israel is wholly off base and does Israel no favors to imply such.

The Mayor was fond of telling a story about a NYC politician speaking before an audience who had been mugged but "was still a liberal." From the back came a reply: "Mug him again and maybe he will learn." ,

in this issue another staff writer reported that he was a "proud Jew and a Zionist", how is it possible to be a Zionist and a liberal?

Some liberal.

Try to be concise. The word for 'a liberal who stood up for Israel' is 'hypocrite.' 'Ed Koch: hypocrite.' There -- see how much shorter that is?