In the Israel-bashing world of international diplomacy it’s easy to see why friends of the Jewish State would want to grab on to any thin reed of support they can get, but even so it’s hard to see why the latest agreement between Israel and the international Red Cross is worthy of all the hoopla it’s received. The admission of the Magen David Adom into the international body is certainly a victory in light of the discrimination, emanating largely, though not exclusively, from the Middle East, that has long faced Israel on the world stage. Yet beyond Israel’s borders, the Magen David Adom will have to place its Star of David inside a new red crystal symbol developed because the Star of David by itself would be too offensive to Israel’s opponents.

This was not lost on most of the politicians who stood on Capitol Hill yesterday to applaud Magen David’s admission, not least because they delivered their comments in front of an ambulance marked with the name of the American Friends of Magen David Adom and, yes, a Star of David. Senator Schumer noted that the occasion was “a little bittersweet” because it should have happened so long ago. Although he noted that this event “drives a dagger through the heart of this instance” of anti-Israel bias, as he was leaving the press conference he decried the remaining symbol of bigotry, remarking to us that “no one else has to twist themselves into a pretzel to be accepted.” Other New York politicians, such as Reps. Engel, Ackerman, and Crowley, tried to be more upbeat, although all three told us later they were disappointed about the symbol bigotry to varying degrees. We predict that the red crystal will serve as nothing so much as a reminder that Jews are not acceptable in the eyes of the supposedly enlightened international Red Cross, which remains a hostile organization.