The Reality of Israel: In response to Mr. Scott Wolfe's July 6, 2009 Providence Journal letter to the editor "Time to break ties with Israeli oppressors," as a rather liberal Jew, I am continually staggered by the left's undying love for the Palestinian cause and its near universal crushing criticism of the State of Israel. Mr. Wolfe waxed effusive about our July 4th freedom from tyranny ridiculously comparing the Palestinian issue to that. Does Mr. Wolfe REALLY think that the Palestinian state would be free from its own tyranny? Does Mr. Wolfe really think that IF a Palestinian state becomes reality one will live in a blissful civil libertarian Eden? I think not. Presently, Mr. Wolfe should try protesting Hamas in Gaza. Israel is the only remotely democratic state in the Middle East. It is equipped with civil liberties, balances of power, an active protest movement, a large homosexual contingent and a medical system that is one of the most advanced and inclusive on planet earth. It medically treats all people equally including those who would seek to destroy the tiny Jewish state. Moreover, even though Israel is a Jewish state it is secular in nature. Any group in the US has the right to lobby. That Jews do so with groups like AIPAC and others is treated by some as unduly influential. It's not. It's normal. In my opinion, often, those accusations smack of anti-Semitism.

Israel every single day, against great odds, fights for its life. How perfect would this country be under those circumstances? Is Israel perfect? Of course not. I would like Mr. Wolfe to describe a Middle East country, or any country for that matter, which is.