{"id":93443,"date":"2022-02-28T17:05:03","date_gmt":"2022-02-28T15:05:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=93443"},"modified":"2022-02-27T13:04:58","modified_gmt":"2022-02-27T11:04:58","slug":"05-09-70","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=93443","title":{"rendered":"Will Israel Find Itself on the Wrong Side of the \u2018Changing\u2019 World Order?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>Will Israel Find Itself on the Wrong Side of the \u2018Changing\u2019 World Order?<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n

Alex Traiman \/JNS.org<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

The UN Security Council in session. Photo: Reuters\/Lev Radin\/Sipa USA<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

With fighting raging in Ukraine, Israel finds itself torn between supporting independent Ukrainian sovereignty and not wishing to anger a newly belligerent world power in Russia.<\/span><\/p>\n

Should the Jewish state support a diminishing world order led by the United States and Western European powers, or an emerging order in which a China- and Russia-led axis now seeks to dominate international affairs? Must Israel choose?<\/span><\/p>\n

For Israel, the stakes are high.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe world order as we know it is changing,\u201d Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett told an IDF officers\u2019 graduation ceremony on Feb. 25. \u201cThe world is much less stable, and our region too is changing every day. These are difficult, tragic times. Our hearts are with the civilians of eastern Ukraine who are caught up in this situation.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Bennett\u2019s statement was carefully crafted.<\/span><\/p>\n

Support for Ukraine<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Sympathizing with the citizens of Ukraine, who have come under attack, is the correct moral position, regardless of politics.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jerusalem also has strong ties with Kyiv. Ukraine\u2019s President Volodymyr Zelensky is Jewish. Over 40,000 Jews live in the country and approximately 200,000 Ukrainians have direct Jewish lineage and qualify for Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return. In addition, Israel and Ukraine have robust economic ties. In just one example, Ukraine is a primary supplier of wheat to Israel, accounting for nearly half of the Jewish state\u2019s wheat consumption.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since the outbreak of hostilities, Jewish organizations have rushed to offer humanitarian aid to the Ukrainian Jewish community. \u00a0The State of Israel is working to facilitate the absorption of Ukrainian refugees.<\/span><\/p>\n

But coming out in support of Ukraine is a risky strategy.<\/span><\/p>\n

The larger conflict being waged by Russia is against Europe, the United States and a NATO alliance the worth of which will now be put to the test.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lapid\u2019s lapses<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Just a day prior to Bennett\u2019s statement, Israel\u2019s Foreign Ministry was less careful in its wording than the prime minister.<\/span><\/p>\n

On Thursday, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid (who is also Israel\u2019s prime minister-in-waiting) said, \u201cThe Russian attack on Ukraine is a serious violation of the international order. Israel condemns the attack.\u201d He added that Israel \u201cis ready and prepared to provide humanitarian assistance to the citizens of Ukraine.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Lior Haiat, a spokesman for Lapid\u2019s ministry, tweeted: \u201cIsrael supports the territorial integrity and the sovereignty of Ukraine.\u201d Haiat added that \u201cIsrael is continuing to engage in dialogue with its partners on ways to get the diplomatic efforts back on track.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s backing for Ukrainian sovereignty was made at the request of the United States, Israel\u2019s closest ally.<\/span><\/p>\n

From Russia with love<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Russia was not pleased with Israel\u2019s position, and quickly let the Jewish state know.<\/span><\/p>\n

Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Dmitry Polyanskiy said in a statement, \u201cWe are concerned over Tel Aviv\u2019s announced plans for expanding settlement activity in the occupied Golan Heights, which directly contradicts the provisions of the 1949 Geneva Convention. Russia doesn\u2019t recognize Israel\u2019s sovereignty over [the] Golan Heights that are part of Syria.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In referring to \u201cTel Aviv,\u201d Russia was indicating that it does not view Jerusalem, the seat of Israel\u2019s parliament, Supreme Court and the prime minister\u2019s official residence, as the recognized capital of the Jewish state.<\/span><\/p>\n

More importantly, for the last several years, Russia has been a dominant force in a war-torn Syria. Russian forces are a heartbeat away from Israel\u2019s northern border. Just two weeks ago, Russian planes were seen flying together with Syrian planes. Russian air defense systems are stationed in the country.<\/span><\/p>\n

Russia suddenly refusing to acknowledge Israel\u2019s sovereignty over the Golan, and considering the strategic hills overlook Israel\u2019s primary water supply \u2014 the Kinneret \u2014 as \u201cpart of Syria,\u201d would be a message anything but subtle. If disagreements continue, Israel and Russia could find themselves entangled in a complicated and dangerous diplomatic row.<\/span><\/p>\n

Good relations with Russia are a major strategic imperative.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018Don\u2019t have 100 rubles, have 100 friends\u2019<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Diplomatic relations between Israel and Russia have grown warmer over the past decade, to the point that the two nations are considered allies. Mutual respect was developed between Russian President Vladimir Putin and former Israel premier Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu has visited Moscow, and Putin has visited Israel. Bennett met Putin in Sochi this past October.<\/span><\/p>\n

Putin has been very friendly to the Jews of Russia compared to Russian leaders of the past. Historically, the words \u201cczar\u201d and \u201cpogrom\u201d have been synonymous. Not so under Putin. Russia\u2019s Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar is known to be a confidante and advisor to the Russian leader. Putin himself donated to Russia\u2019s Jewish museum.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then there is the issue of Israel\u2019s military campaign in Syria, where Iranian fighters have been active in recent years, and to which the Islamic Republic has been importing arms. \u00a0Weapons traveling into Syria often make it to Lebanon, where Iranian proxy Hezbollah has over 150,000 rockets and missiles, many precision-guided, pointed at the Jewish state.<\/span><\/p>\n

To limit Iran\u2019s hegemonic aspirations and to protect its own security interests, Israel has conducted numerous military actions against Iranian fighters and weapons convoys in Syria, mostly by air, and even some on the ground. Sophisticated de-escalation measures with Russia are in place to ensure that Russian military adventures don\u2019t instigate any retaliation from Israel and vice versa. It is imperative that these understandings between Israel and Russia remain in place.<\/span><\/p>\n

Recognizing that it may have erred in openly siding with Ukraine, Israel refused to back a UN Security Council resolution on Friday night condemning Russia\u2019s invasion. While it is true that resolution had no chance to succeed due to Russia\u2019s own permanent Security Council veto, it is similarly unlikely that Israel will support a UN General Assembly resolution, which Russia cannot veto, due to the sensitivities involved.<\/span><\/p>\n

Poking the Chinese bear<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Back in June, Lapid and the Foreign Ministry made a similar diplomatic error.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then, Israel voted at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to condemn China for its treatment of the Uyghurs.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the time, I wrote, \u201cJews should undoubtedly be the first to express deep concern over grave human rights abuses. Yet, the Israeli government should know better than to give any credence to a forum that unfairly singles out Israel for censure more than all the world\u2019s countries put together. Secondly, Israel should think twice about angering an ascending global superpower.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Why did Israel vote against China, in a vote that passed by large margin \u2014 meaning that Israel\u2019s own vote was of no consequence to the outcome? Because the United States asked Israel to do it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lapid, who was all-too eager to please the Biden administration, allowed his foreign policy establishment to make a rookie mistake.<\/span><\/p>\n

The United States has been repeatedly pushing Israel to temper its relations with China, and the suggestions indeed have merit.<\/span><\/p>\n

China is a nation on the offensive, and their business practices are often less than scrupulous. They regularly steal technology and data, and undercut national and company interests by offering low-interest financing that ultimately ends up weakening the nations and companies they do business with. China is also a surveillance state that commits numerous human rights violations.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet China is a nation that has no history of antisemitism, and has something of an affinity with the Jewish state. They value Israel\u2019s status as the \u201cstartup nation\u201d and an incubator of the technology they crave. As China becomes the dominant world superpower, it behooves Israel to remain on China\u2019s good side.<\/span><\/p>\n

With friends like these\u2026<\/strong><\/h5>\n

At the same time, it is worth reevaluating Israel\u2019s alliance with the United States and Europe.<\/span><\/p>\n

Though Israel, as a liberal democracy, sees its values as being closely aligned with the West, there are two major challenges. The first is that the United States and Europe are diminishing world powers.<\/span><\/p>\n

The economic and moral foundations of the United States are cracking. Lengthy campaigns to undercut American values are proving effective, while the economic might of the United States is dwindling. The United States no longer acts like a moral superpower.<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the messages being heard through Russia\u2019s aggression in Ukraine is that the United States has dropped the banner it has carried since World War II as the foremost leader of the free world.<\/span><\/p>\n

The United States may have the world\u2019s largest and most powerful army, but in recent campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, as in Vietnam, it did not prove victorious. America\u2019s recent hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan demonstrated tremendous weakness. Firepower is well and good, but if one does not have the will to fire, let alone the will to win, might is lacking.<\/span><\/p>\n

Europe is in a similar position. The withdrawal of Great Britain from the European Union was a serious blow to Europe\u2019s dominant position.<\/span><\/p>\n

Secondly, as allies both the United States and Europe are double-edged swords.<\/span><\/p>\n

The international community frequently condemns the Jewish state for applying sovereignty in lands it controls between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, despite strong legal, moral and historical claims to that land.<\/span><\/p>\n

Empowering and enriching Israel\u2019s enemies<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Western powers are heedlessly and senselessly rushing towards a renewed pact with Iran that would lift sanctions on the Islamic Republic and infuse the world\u2019s largest state sponsor of terror with billions in capital to fund its hegemonic aspirations.<\/span><\/p>\n

This despite the fact that Iran violated the terms of the first nuclear agreement, the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and has been enriching uranium to levels that are only necessary for developing nuclear weapons. At best, even if Iran signs a new deal, the deal\u2019s terms would be set to expire in barely two and a half years, at which point Iran will legally be able to become a nuclear power.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is unclear what the West is getting in return for its negotiating position.<\/span><\/p>\n

The United States and Europe are also the primary sponsors of the Palestinian Authority, despite the PA\u2019s constant incitement to violence and convoluted multimillion-dollar terror financing schemes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Similarly, the United States, Europe and United Nations constantly censure Israel over its settlement policies, and even its military responses to terror flareups.<\/span><\/p>\n

A window of friendship<\/strong><\/h5>\n

The Trump administration, by contrast, was a brief window of true friendship. Trump recognized Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, and insisted that settlements were not inherently illegal. Trump pulled out of the JCPOA and installed crippling sanctions on the Iranian regime. He similarly defunded the PA and expelled the PLO mission to Washington.<\/span><\/p>\n

Furthermore, the Trump administration protected Israel at the United Nations after the Obama administration secretly brokered and then allowed UN Resolution 2334 to pass, censuring Israel and calling settlements a \u201cflagrant violation of international law.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

More importantly, the Trump administration helped Israel broker the Abraham Accords normalization agreements with Arab-majority nations, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan and Kosovo.<\/span><\/p>\n

Among the strongest lessons of the accords should be that Israel has no choice but to align its interests with nations in its own neighborhood.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Biden administration is back to the behavior of the Obama administration, in which the United States continuously undercut the positions of several allies, including those in the Middle East.<\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Democrats continue to blame Israel for working well with a president \u2014 Trump \u2014 who arguably did more to advance Jewish interests than any other American leader.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, while American and European leaders consistently pledge their support for the Jewish state, many of their actions prove otherwise. Israel finds itself forced over and over again to beg for friendship. Such behavior is not what Israel should expect from countries it calls allies.<\/span><\/p>\n

Israel must defend itself by itself<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Israel should take several lessons from the early days of fighting in Ukraine. The first is that Western allies cannot be counted on to defend its sovereignty.<\/span><\/p>\n

To survive and thrive in a dangerous region and a dangerous world, Israel must maintain its military doctrine of being able to defend itself, by itself. Relying on the guarantees of others for security is foolish.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet the doctrine must not apply only to troops and technology. Israel must strive to be self-sufficient with regards to weapons and munitions. A primary example is the replenishment of its Iron Dome missile interceptor system.<\/span><\/p>\n

The system was used to shoot down a significant portion of the 4,000 rockets fired at Israeli population centers from Gaza during the May flare-up, as a result of which Israel launched Operation Guardian of the Walls.<\/span><\/p>\n

The US administration had promised Israel in June to provide the funds necessary to replenish the Iron Dome, just weeks after fighting concluded. Yet the funding has been delayed for months in Congress, leaving Israel\u2019s missile defense system dangerously undersupplied.<\/span><\/p>\n

A nation that stands alone<\/strong><\/h5>\n

The second lesson is that the world order is indeed changing. Rapidly. Military power, economic power and diplomatic power are shifting.<\/span><\/p>\n

Israel has always been, both historically and prophetically, a nation that stands alone. Israel must be on good terms with the West, but it is not a Western country \u2014 despite its democratic and liberal values. Israel may not approve of Russia or China\u2019s behavior, but it must remain on good terms with them as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

The third is that the United Nations cannot be counted on to bring peace to the world. Proof of this is the world body\u2019s frequent condemnation of Israel, and its newly minted open-ended international investigation into Israeli treatment of Palestinians.<\/span><\/p>\n

Israel is a nation that craves peace and stability more than any other. To achieve that peace, Israel must be dependent on no foreign power, must use savvy to navigate between world powers with their own sordid interests, and be both willing and able to use force when necessary to protect its sovereignty.<\/span><\/p>\n

As world powers sort out their positions in a changing world order, ultimately Israel must stand alone.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Alex Traiman<\/strong> is CEO and Jerusalem bureau chief of Jewish News Syndicate.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

Zawarto\u015b\u0107 publikowanych artyku\u0142\u00f3w i materia\u0142\u00f3w nie reprezentuje pogl\u0105d\u00f3w ani opinii Reunion’68,<\/em>
\nani te\u017c webmastera Blogu Reunion’68, chyba ze jest to wyra\u017anie zaznaczone.
\nTwoje uwagi, linki, w\u0142asne artyku\u0142y lub wiadomo\u015bci prze\u015blij na adres:
\n<\/em>webmaster@reunion68.com<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Will Israel Find Itself on the Wrong Side of the \u2018Changing\u2019 World Order? Alex Traiman \/JNS.org The UN Security Council in session. Photo: Reuters\/Lev Radin\/Sipa USA With fighting raging in Ukraine, Israel finds itself torn between supporting independent Ukrainian sovereignty and not wishing to anger a newly belligerent world power in Russia. Should the Jewish […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3,6],"tags":[26,24],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93443"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=93443"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93443\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":93475,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93443\/revisions\/93475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=93443"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=93443"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=93443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}