Hesperidae

A través de Desde Sefarad llego a una pequeña pero interesante entrevista a Víctor Davis Hanson:

Considering ancient Israel’s role in the development of Western civilization, does being a classical historian influence your current views on Israel?

Yes,  especially the pseudo-claims by Israel’s enemies of an eternal Islamic or Arab homeland, as if Jews, Persians, Greeks, Macedonians, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Ottomans, and Europeans have not all staked their claims on the Middle East. History is unkind, and does not magically settle mythic claims like Zeus on Olympus. In the case of present-day Israel, it is unique in that the Jews were the first settlers of Israel, and presently they have the legal right, the military strength, and the cultural dynamism to enhance and protect their homeland.

When are you planning on coming again to Israel? We would love to host you here at the Jerusalem Post.

I was last there during December 2004. I would love to come back and will soon. Israel serves today as the ethical barometer in the western collective mind. Support for it brings no oil, no ingratiation with terrorists, no psychological lift of the usual easy bullying of a small democracy, but it does reveal respect for democracy, confidence in the history of the West, and respect for a humane culture and an accomplished people under terrible assault. So, I confess, as I age I sort of judge Westerners I meet now by their degree of fairness toward Israel. I’ve gotten to the point when I hear a rabid Leftist or a creepy Right-wing nut rant on Israel, I just pack it up and walk away. Life is too short for such nonsense.

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