Ah, graduation day at Cheltenham High School, 1967, a beautiful June afternoon in Wyncote, Pennsylania. Senior boys adjust their gowns and tassels. Senior girls look down at their hems, each hem exactly eight inches from the ground. Mrs. Downey and Mrs. Engle were on hand to help measure and pin the hems for graduates sitting in the front row.Bibi knows what Israel had to do in 1967 just to stay alive, and why those borders today are indefensible. He also fought in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. He understands what Israel is facing today.
“And the world will be better for this
That one man, scorned and covered with scars
Still strove with his last ounce of courage
To reach the unreachable star”
After the invocation the Senior Vocal Ensemble sings “The Impossible Dream,” with all its pomp and mustard. And Mr. MacFarland hands out the diplomas:
“… Penny Neckowitz.
Alan Joel Nelson.
Benjamin Netanyahu.”
Where was that Benjamin, anyway?
“Barbara Jo Netter.
Richard Neuman…”
One senior girl, Zelda Rae Stern, clubs editor of the yearbook, knew where Ben Netanyahu was: He was in Israel. It was June 7, 1967, day three of the Six Day War. While Cheltenham seniors, back in May, were studying for finals, Egypt moved tanks into the Sinai, and the Netanyahus, she learned later, returned to Israel, and to uniform.
Obama does not.
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