12 Kislev, 5769 (Nov. 29, '09)
Wherever I go and wherever I speak, the same question surfaces time and again: How do we know how you will stand up to pressure when you are prime minister? Who's to say that you won't change your policies like all of your predecessors?
"It makes no difference who the prime minister is," explained Israel Radio's commentator this week. "He will always implement the policies of the Left."
Is he right? Is this just a fact of life? Maybe once a person becomes prime minister he is privy to knowledge that we mere citizens do not know? Maybe this secret knowledge leaves them with no choice but to capitulate? What exactly did Sharon discover when he became PM that he did not know when he served in almost every other ministerial capacity in the government? What new insight has Netanyahu perceived that he didn't know the last time he was prime minister?
Let us explore the two worst-case scenarios:
One scenario is that Obama is threatening Netanyahu that the US will not stop Iran's nuclear development and will even penalize Israel if it attacks Iran without his authorization. The second scenario is that Obama has threatened Netanyahu that if he does not clamp an immediate freeze on building in the settlements, he will consent to a "Palestinian" unilateral declaration of independence - which would effectively transform us all into war criminals.
When Ben-Gurion was poised to declare the establishment of the State of Israel, our situation was much worse. We did not have tanks or fighter jets, seven Arab armies threatened to easily finish the job that Hitler had begun and to top it all off, the US threatened that if Ben-Gurion would declare statehood, it would impose an embargo on all US arms sales to Israel. That is, in fact, exactly what happened and the American arms embargo remained intact until Israel liberated Judea, Samaria and Gaza in the six day war of miracles in 1967.
When Saddam Hussein was about to produce his own nuclear bomb, America was opposed to an Israeli pre-emptive strike. When Begin instructed the air force to destroy Iraq's nuclear reactor, Shimon Peres tried to torpedo the plan. Begin was forced to keep the mission a secret from Peres so that he would not leak the information to America. After the fact, the Americans condemned the attack, but Israel was strengthened, which in turn strengthened the American interest in continued relations with Israel. Ultimately, the US also thanked Israel for its pre-emptive strike.
Today, Israel is in a much more dangerous situation. Elimination of the Iranian nuclear threat is liable to trigger a massive missile attack on Israel from Iran, Lebanon, Syria and Gaza. We must be prepared to deal with all of those threats simultaneously.
We must remember, though, that while the arsenal of missiles that the enemy boasts today can inflict serious damage on Israel and can, G-d forbid, bring about the deaths of hundreds if not thousands of Israelis, it is not a strategic threat to Israel's existence. On the other hand, an intense nuclear attack on Israel can destroy the entire country. The government that did nothing while our enemies armed themselves with long range missiles in the early 80's brought thousands of Israelis within missile range. The government that will do nothing about the Iranian threat now will bring millions of Israelis into range of a nuclear attack, G-d forbid.
Past experience shows that when we do not take care of our own security, nobody does it for us - certainly not the US. On the contrary, it was George Bush Senior's attack on Saddam Hussein that brought the Scud missiles into Israel's cities. It will not help us to wait for the US to take care of the Iranian threat - certainly not during Obama's term. The Americans to date have afforded Iran more and more time to stock their arsenal. When we will finally be forced to address the Iranian threat ourselves, the precious time lost will, G-d forbid, extract a dear price from our nation.
Consequently, it is simply absurd to freeze building in Judea and Samaria because of the Iranian threat. This weakens Israel while giving our enemies time to prepare better to destroy our country, G-d forbid.
As to the second scenario, a unilateral "Palestinian" declaration of statehood, we must take a long and hard look at what is taking place before our eyes. For decades, Israel has been tripping over itself in its attempts to have a "place among the nations," in the words of Netanyahu, or to be "the Singapore of the Middle East," a la Peres or a "state of all its citizens," as former Chief Justice Aharon Barak advocates. But today, Israel is more isolated than ever.
America seems to be the last hope in our pathetic attempts to be accepted by the nations. But this great hope is also turning out to be nothing more than a fata morgana. In a painful and traumatic move, we destroyed Gush Katif to show the world that we were doing exactly what it wanted. Did we get more understanding in exchange? More nods of approval in London universities?
Deputy Prime Minister Moshe Ya'alon cannot visit Europe for fear of being arrested there for war crimes. Our Defense Minister cannot land in London in an unofficial capacity. Western intellectuals fashionably debate how the world will look without Israel. We are turning into international war criminals. Our situation was never this bad - not even in the 50s.
It is time for us to understand. Israel is a nation unto itself. That timeless Torah message is becoming more pertinent by the hour. The rest of the Torah verse, "and it will not take the nations of the world into account," depends on us. Leadership that is not equipped with the anchor of faith in G-d will always capitulate. But when Israel will elect leadership that clings to the Eternal One of Israel, we will merit the blessing of our Father in Heaven - and triumph.
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