Why Israel?
From an excellent Jay Nordlinger piece in The Corner.And we get to the most fundamental question: What is Israel for? The answer, or one answer, is: To shelter the Jews against exterminationist attack. So how long does Israel stand around, while the threat gathers? How patient is Israel in waiting for an American green light, or an American blessing? Isn’t the whole idea of Israel that the Jews no longer have to depend on the kindness of strangers?Read the whole thing.
I do not say there are easy answers. I don’t envy the government of Israel, whoever is in power. In Jordan the other day, Ephraim Sneh told me, “No government in Jerusalem — no government: left, right, or center — would allow Iran to go atomic.” The world fears an Israeli attack on Iran. Israel — almost alone — fears an Iranian attack on Israel.
How long would you wait, if you were Israel? What would you do? Something to think about, in your idle moments.
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:43 PM
2 Comments:
Israel can't allow outsiders to determine her fate - whether its enemies like Iran or its sole ally, the United States. The very point of Zionism is to allow Jews to decide what happens to them. If Israel is going to allow others to make critical decisions for her, the Zionist enterprise might as well close up shop.
My point is that sovereignty is the power to ensure that you control events not the other way around. For the Jewish people that is historically speaking, a relatively new idea as is the notion they can and should assert themselves before the world.
A Jewish State thus ensures the vow "Never Again" means that there will never be a Second Holocaust. If nothing else, that is the raison'd etre of Israel's existence.
Israel will be criticized when she attacks Iran just as when she demolished Iraq's nuclear reactor, so why wait? I vividly remember the hostile reaction of the Reagan administration towards Israel(not Reagan personally so much). Like a thunderclap, it was over and normal, positive relations occurred thereafter between Reagan and Israel. A few decades later, few honest observers would doubt Israel made the correct move on Osirak. The threat here is distinct: of greater complexity, but even delaying the program for two years(or more)is worth it.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't one of the heated statements by the US against Israel in 1981 that the US administration was not notified? but Israel countered that the Carter administration was briefed during the transition, but this 'message' was lost in the transition shuffle. Seems like a big thing for Carter to neglect to tell the Gipper=) My own theory at the time was that the US faked being shocked.
This time, there has been too much talk on all sides and not enough action. This will be the true test of Obama's stance on Israel.
The thing that bothers me is there are many here who claim that W was more warm hearted towards the Jewish people, Israel from a strong internal biblical perspective. If that is true, then why didn't Israel attack during Bush term? or during the transition? If the belief within Israel is that Obama is more of an unknown towards Israel, then logic dictates an Israeli attack before January 2009. Is it possible that an attack from Israel is simply not feasible? as the JPOST contributor Weissman suggested today? I hope this is not the case.
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