He sheds no tears for Lebanon

Yossi Olmert, brother of prime minister of Israel, speaks at Steinhardt Hall. Olmert said that the West has not done enough to stymie Iran.

Yossi Olmert, the brother of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, expressed concern yesterday regarding Iran's nuclear capabilities and said Western governments had not taken a strong enough stance on Iran.

He addressed an intimate group of students last night at Steinhardt Hall in an effort to bolster support for Israel in its current confrontation with the Islamic republic.

The Israelis "cannot accept that Iran possesses an actual [nuclear] bomb," Olmert said. "The efforts led by the United States unfortunately do not produce results. For us this is an existentialist threat, to [the rest of the world], it is not."

Olmert said that France, Spain, Russia and China were not acting like friends to Israel. He said that France and Spain turn a "blind eye" to the plight of the Israelis, and Russia and China undermine the "legitimacy" of Israeli existence by supplying opposing forces with weapons for financial gain.

On the contrary, Olmert praised British Prime Minister Tony Blair for his practicality and also commended billionaire Warren Buffett for continuing to support economic growth in Israel by standing by his investments there.

Olmert said that while he regretted that there were many Lebanese casualties in its recent conflict with Israel, he said casualties are a fact of war.

"My heart does not bleed for Lebanon, only Israel," Olmert said. "It's my duty to look out for myself."

He concluded by urging citizens of the United States, particularly those in college, to "keep your eyes open."

"The mistake of the Western World is that we cannot expect people to see as we do," Olmert said. "But we need to look after our own interests. Do not be complacent with the United States and Congress. Be alert and know that the forces against us are laying low. They don't like any of us and they do exist."

Rinat Bialer, Israel coordinator for the Jewish Agency and Hillel of Greater Philadelphia, said during a question and answer session that she believed Israel had acted justly in the recent Lebanese-Iranian conflict, in which she served as a communication officer.

"I want people to know that Israel was very humane during the war," Bialer said. "All decisions were made with regard to human value and made with [forethought]. The Israelis acted extremely responsibly."

Comments (4)

My heart does not bleed for Lebanon, only Israel, Olmert said. "It's my duty to look out for myself." Thank God that there are still a few people left like Yossi Olmert who have the moral clarity to tell right from wrong. I am sick and tired of liberals whining about the plight of Lebanon when the conflict is clearly Lebanon's fault. And don't go on about the poor Lebanese people when they either tacitly or openly supported the terrorists. Lebanon (and the rest of the terrorist Arab states) deserved everything it got and more. Olmert is right when he says that we should keep our eyes open. The socialist Europeans, notably France and Spain, have not lost their historic anti-Semitism and continue to undermine Israel existence by refusing to give the Jewish state (and only MidEast democracy) their unconditional support. Even our own government gives aid (using my tax dollars) to the terrorists in the Palestinian and Lebanese governments. The ridiculous moral relativism concerning Israel (and so many other things - homosexuality, feminism, the UN, environmentalism, etc.) taught in our universities poses a grave risk to our Judeo-Christian society. I do hope that Penn gets more clear-thinking speakers like Mr. Olmert.

Well id like to answer, that Olmerts speech was highly skewed and historically inacurate. Israils claim that it has the right to defend itself is highly missleading for a country that was founded fifty years ago in Palestinian territory. So actually it is logical that the Palestiniens would want to fight back. I by no means believe terrorism is right and i am highly against it, but just as much I don not believe that Israel has the right to bomb Lebanon

I would like to continue by saying that even though missiles where launched in to northern Israel the attacks were highly disproportional. Over 1000 totaly innecent women and children were killed in Lebanon, and I ask the Israeles was this there fault? And as for the fact that Israel acted very consiously i think it forgets the fact that it bombed a refugee camp killing hundreds as well as killing a number of UN troopers. The conflicts in the middle east are complex and they should not be solved through warfare. And Israel being a democratic country and militarily superior should attempt diplomacy and not warfare.

the recent Lebanese-Iranian conflict? If this is referring to the conflict between Lebanon and Israel in July and August, this is the first I've heard it be called the "Lebanese-Iranian conflict". How about "Lebanese-Israeli conflict"?

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