The ‘war’ for legitimacy is a war Israel may never win
By Adam Horowitz | December 29, 2009
While there is no doubt that Israel holds military superiority over any possible armed force it might go to war with, there is another threat that Israel appears to have no response for – moral outrage. The Jerusalem Post covers a new report which outlines Israel’s true Achilles heal. From the article “Hubs of delegitimization“:
A new report by the Reut Institute, a Tel Aviv-based national security and socioeconomic policy think tank, maps out the “new battlefield” in which Israel finds the legitimacy of its very existence attacked by a wide array of organizations and individuals in global centers like London, Toronto, Brussels, Madrid and Berkeley.
The report, which also makes recommendations for possible remedies, is to be presented next week to Israeli diplomatic officials, and will also be presented at the Herzliya Conference in January. The report’s authors spent two weeks in London interviewing some 45 people, including members of Muslim groups and anti-Zionist Jewish organizations, and academics, journalists, pollsters, jurists, activists and politicians.
Beginning with Israel’s traditional strategic concept, conceived by David Ben-Gurion, which posits that to win its wars, the IDF would have to take the fight to its enemies, the Reut report posits that increasingly, Israel cannot “win” its wars in the traditional sense as it is not up against conventional Arab armies, and there is no decisive victory over an enemy army to be had.
While there is still a physical existential threat posed by certain enemies (including unconventional terrorism), the new front focuses its attack on Israel’s political legitimacy, painting Israel as a pariah state, exhausting Israeli society, burdening its economy, and mobilizing Israel’s Arab minority as an anchor in the struggle against the Jewish state.
The key concept for this “Resistance Network” is overstretching Israel along the fault lines of demography, democracy (binational state vs a state of the Jewish people), Jewish identity and territory.
What does it mean that Israel views challenges to racist demographic priorities and simple calls to democracy as an existential threat? It is also interesting to note that later in the article the think tank’s recommendations ape the Israel settler “price tag” strategy for dealing with opponents (“establish a ‘price tag’ for attacking Israel and punish boycotters”).
At least this report seems honest about the near impossible task at hand – trying to sell Israel’s apartheid system to a liberal international public. Often times when Israel’s supporters try this it comes off looking like a sad joke. Like this op-ed in today’s Haaretz, where an Israeli settler compares herself to Rosa Parks:
Despite the fury and the insult, let’s not turn to violence. There is a simple, natural solution that is full of life – continuing to build. That will perhaps embarrass the prime minister in front of U.S. President Barack Obama, but that’s precisely the point. A person with a manual cement mixer in Samaria can change history. Sometimes the man in the field can be a lot stronger than the great leaders. Just like Rosa Parks.
Arguments like this are going to make the Reut Institute’s work much harder.
First of all Israel has never had a great leader (all came from a background of terrorism and violence and there is not a leader in Israel now or ever that one could even loosely compare with Mrs. Rosa Parks, a woman of principle and great bravery.
This is the Jewish problem, myths, and thoughts of super-beings, yet at the same time designating themselves the victims, always the victims, while they now victime the entire world in one way or the other. Unfortunately, if the entire world does not act very soon we shall be at the point of ‘THE FINAL SOLUTION” AS THE JEWISH STATES MILITARY AGAIN ENTERS GAZA AND ATTEMPTS TO FINISH ITS GENOCIDE OF THE GAZAN CIVILIAN POPULATION THERE. This time it will be with the help of the Egyptians and I truly hope that everywhere that Egyptians try to partake in Arab or Muslim discourse, Mosques, Arab Centres they will be made to feel outcasts from the Muslim/Arab world for their countries cruel and barbaric support of the Jewish State. The West needs to stop what is happening in Israel now – they do not have the luxury of time to talk about when the Israelis will strike because they cannot be without blood for long and if they again will be stopped from attacking Iran then they will have to have their quota of death – this is the Jewish way!! If governments will not stop them then we need mercenery armies to do it and attack them in the same way that they attack the Palestinians without mercy. Perhaps that way they will learn or just finally leave a land they have no right to and go back to Europe where they will feel more at home than trying to change the middle east into Europe. After all, Ancient Hebrews did not come from Europe did they? they came from various parts of Arabia originally. Israel was never their ancestrial home.
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Comment by elona-llyn-shoshanna kidner-williams | December 29, 2009 |
I take issue with this comment: “While there is no doubt that Israel holds military superiority over any possible armed force it might go to war with…”
Hezbollah kicked the IDF out in 2006, and they can do it again today.
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Comment by Alan Cabal | December 29, 2009 |
Israel has become an aparthied state suffering under the delusion of Israeli exceptionalism. It’s national identity embraces racism and the rest of the world knows this full well.
US citizens are waking up to the Zionist influence in our own “War on Terror” and it is further tarnishing Israel’s reputation.
The day of reckoning is coming. As the United State’s economy continues it’s implosion, there will be very little will to continue to pour billions of dollars into a state that acts contrary to the US national interest.
Bought off and blackmailed politicians will be thrown out of office and replaced with those who have America’s interests foremost in their hearts and minds. It’s only a matter of time….
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Comment by brisa | December 29, 2009 |
Criticism of Israel is so unfair. There are so many other countries which are worse than Israel which are not subject to continuous condemnation by the UN.
Lets accept that as a fact.
Criticism of apartheid South Africa was unfair for the same reason. There were and still are many countries worse than the old South Africa. Life isn’t fair.
In contrast to South Africa and the present day countries worse that Israel they do not agree their treatment of minorities is a failing. They defend it as part of their society. Israel agrees its treatment of its non-Jewish citizens and the non-Jews in occupied Jerusalem, West Bank, Gaza and Syria is a failing of its society.
But in admiting this aspect of Israeli society needs correction it openly refuses to change because there are countries with worse human rights records. The motto is, “We don’t have to change until everyone else does.” Governor Wallace never thought to say that.
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Comment by Matt Giwer | December 29, 2009 |
Unfair to criticize Israel??? Israel ignores 50 UN resolutions. Enough said. Other countries get military enforcement and punishment when they ignore UN resolutions, why not Israel??? It makes me sick. Am sure Israel threatens the Vatican and Mekka with annihilation and o they must comply. So easy to understand. A terror state. When will the world see and act? 2010 has begun, there is a chance for the world to force Israel to comply all UN resolutions. Then I will sleep quiet again.
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Comment by CaptainZen | January 1, 2010 |
To justify evil by saying that others do more evil is idiotic.
When I have lost a leg, does it make me better to see someone who has lost both legs? Start to be good first, others will follow.
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Comment by CaptainZen | January 3, 2010 |
>To justify evil by saying that others do more evil is idiotic.
It is not just idiotic but it is wrong.
Yet you can read it as the common thread of the defences of Israel by the Izziehuggers. It is a full and complete recognition of the evil done by the Jews to non-Jews. It is the exoneration of recognized and acknowledged evil on the grounds that worse evil exists.
As Ted Bundy might have said, murder is OK if you don’t make a habit of it.
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Comment by Matt Giwer | January 3, 2010 |
These neonazis have learned nothing from history. They would act far worse to any Goyim today than whatever happened to them and other prisoners in Germany. Why was it that Germany did this anyway?? Hmmmm.
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Comment by hangreid | December 29, 2009 |
Why the Jewish people are hated throughout history in every country they settled raises the question: “Are they maybe doing something wrong?” Enough said, they are to blame themselves for the misery they bring and brought upon them selves. Jesus saw it 2000 years ago and told them to change from fearing to loving “god”. They didn’t and now have the problem growing every day. Thanks to the Internet they can not hide any more.
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Comment by CaptainZen | December 30, 2009 |
Zionist interests determine who can be part of the United States government and who can not. Every appointee to the American government must endure a thorough background check by the American Jewish community. Zionist pressure groups operate like packs of hyenas that single out and hunt down individuals that do not meet their standards before they are able to reach an influential position. There is a growing sense of unease about this. The next revolution may well be the removal of the Zionist dictatorship in the US.
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Comment by niphtrique | January 1, 2010 |
That there are “countries with worse human rights records” does not justify Israel’s abhorrent behavior. Abandon Israel!
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Comment by Rahm Immanuel | January 3, 2010 |
http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/775.html
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Comment by CaptainZen | January 3, 2010 |