CANADA FREE PRESS
- Roger Gitlin Friday, January 13, 2012 President Barack H. Obama The White House Washington, DC re: come to Israel with us Dear President Obama: I invite you, Michelle, and the children to join my wife and I as we travel to Israel in February. I know this is short notice but I am hopeful you can adjust your very busy schedule and make your first trip to the Jewish state as president of the United States. President Obama, we can experience together the cradle of civilization where the cultures of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam emerged. I realize I may not have been very kind to you in past commentaries I have written on your presidency, but I hope you will find forgiveness in your heart, and you and I can “bury the hatchet.” After all, we do share one very important item in common: we both love our country. I understand the last time you paid a visit to the Holy Land, it was as candidate Obama in July 2008, and some folks made some less-than-nice remarks directed toward you at the Western Wailing Wall. I must admit a cousin of mine; Élan Gitlin barked at you, “Israel is not for sale.” I have spoken to my cousin and he promises me there will no repeat of such coarse rhetoric. Here’s our itinerary: Day 1: Arrive Tel Aviv; get a good night’s sleep. The next day we are off to Caesarea, site of the Roman Empire headquarters, built by King Herod the Great. We should be able to reach Atlit Detention Center museum that afternoon to personally observe the British illegal immigrant detention center, where thousands of Holocaust survivors made exodus to then-Palestine in 1945, prior to Israeli statehood. Day 2: We will head off to Zichron, Israel’s first Zionist center. We will stay at Kibbutz Yad Mordechai, named in honor of Jewish war hero Mordechai Anielewicz, who was credited with savings thousands of Jewish lives when he escaped the Warsaw Ghetto in 1943 and with his Jewish combat organization ZOB was the spark for the Warsaw Ghetto uprising that lasted several months. ZOB was responsible for retarding the efforts to deport the remaining 50,000 Jews to the Treblinka Death Camp. Anielewicz fought to his death against the hideous Nazi scourge in Poland. He died in battle at age 24 but remains my hero forever. Day 3: We move on to the Golan Heights where we can view from below the indefensible Syrian border and perhaps we can agree the pre-1967 border which you have demanded Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu retreat to is totally unrealistic to ensure the peace we all strive to achieve. Day 4: On we go to the Sea of Galilee and Tiberius and the city of Beit Shean, where the bodies of King Saul and his son lie after defeating the Philistines. Day 5: Back to familiar territory: Jerusalem and the Wailing Wall. I promise no one will blurt out any inappropriate comments. If anyone says anything, I will personally go over to the offender and give him a zetz in the keppie (hit in the head). On to the Dead Sea and the last Jewish stronghold against the Romans 66-73 AD. From there we can view the Dead Sea Scrolls and Ammunition Hill, site of the victory of Six Day War in 1967. Day 6: I want to spend the better part of the day at Yad Vashem and the Holocaust Remembrance. This sobering experience may help you convince Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan, and your former pastor Rev Jeremiah Wright, as well as some of your Muslim brethren, that there was indeed a Holocaust. If you wish, I will contact Bibi, and I am sure he can clear his busy schedule and join us for some of our tour of the Jewish homeland. President Obama, I do hope you will make every effort to join us. You see, this is my first visit to Israel and I want to make it a memorable one. Let’s put to rest all that nonsense when you muttered under your breath years ago that you would never set foot on Israeli soil as president of the United States. Awaiting your reply, I remain your dedicated adherent. Shalom! Roger Gitlin, Teacher Roger Gitlin Most recent columns  Roger Gitlin,ROGERGITLIN.COM, is a California-Credentialed teacher and founder of the Santa Clarita Valley Independent Minutemen. He is also a National Tea Party member and Del Norte CountyTea Party organizer where he serves as one of the Group’s policy advisors. He resides in Crescent City, California. Roger can be reached at:RAGITLIN@aol.com |