An open letter to President Biden: Stop turning a blind eye to terror - opinion

• Published date: 19 April 2024
• Author: RUTH WASSERMAN LANDE
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

I feel that you, personally, understand the righteousness of my people's path, despite the fact that it is, of course, not devoid of errors

Nonetheless, Mr. President, I would like to share with you my deep concern in light of your call on Israel not to respond to the recent unprecedented Iranian attack on our soil. That is, in your words, to prevent the situation from escalating into a regional war. Mr. President, we are already in a regional war!

The West turns a blind eye to terror

For whatever reason, the West chooses to continue to turn a blind eye to the terror cultivated by the Ayatollah regime. I cannot imagine that this regime's ideology and ambitions remain hidden from you, a leader who has the best intelligence capabilities at his disposal.

This is a regime that began its relentless, systematic, and meticulously planned assault on Western values in 1979, immediately following the Islamic Revolution in Iran.

It is a regime that teaches tens of thousands of Shi'ite girls in Syria and Iraq to engage in temporary "marriages of convenience," which are annulled shortly after consummation.

After annulment, the "fruits" of these temporary marriages are then taken to be cultivated as future soldiers in the Shi'ite militias in Iraq and Syria. The long arms of this terror take the form of the Houthis in Yemen; Hamas and the Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip, Judea and Samaria, and Lebanon; as well as Hezbollah.

Iran sponsors terror in Sudan and many other countries on the African continent and quietly nurtures "terror cells" in the West, including in Europe, Canada, Australia, and, of course, the US. All this, Mr. President, is well beyond a regional war.

In the wake of the current Iranian regime's show of terror in the form of over 300 missiles aimed and fired at Israeli cities, it is hard to imagine that its declaration of intent regarding the destruction of the State of Israel is empty of content and that it will not do everything in its power to realize its threats. That is, particularly if Iran continues to see, hear, and feel the hesitation of Western countries to stop it.

Your clear stand on Israel's side – intercepting and stopping this unprecedented attack – did not go unnoticed by me or by my fellow citizens. It moved me and re-instilled in me the hope that good will yet prevail.

You were also able to produce an impressive and unprecedented international and regional coalition that even included...