Economic Integration and Peace
July 18, 2008 at 4:40 pm | In Integration, Peace Process | Leave a CommentToday Israel ranks as one of the world’s most globalized economies, making it unique in the Middle East. It was among the first countries to establish free trade agreements with the United States and European Union, and today has robust commercial ties with many other states around the world. Israel’s place in the global economy was achieved because of the country’s belief in the integration of the world community and the need to forge international economic cooperation for the mutual benefit of all society. Israel’s positive integration creates a stark contrast to the Middle East, where trade is all too rare.
In the recent years the southeast region of the U.S. has grown rapidly and attracted large scale international investment. Many Israeli companies have discovered the region’s potential and started moving their North American headquarters to the area, creating jobs and strengthening the local economy.
Israel is also expanding its relationship with Europe. Through the EU-Israel Association Council, an organization headed by Foreign Ministers, which conducts the bilateral relations between the two, Israel and Europe are ushering in a new era in relations, a consequence of nearly a year of extensive effort. As a result of hard work, Israel has increased its participation in European plans and agencies and is now being examined for possible integration into the European single market.
The Israeli economy and society are moving closer to European norms and standards. The competitiveness of Israeli companies in the European market is increasing, primarily in the field of high-tech, and with the signing of a recent aviation agreement, another result of the council’s work, consumers in both Israel and Europe will benefit from lower prices.
Increased trade and cooperation have improved Israel’s relations with Europe and with the EU in recent years. Israel has enjoyed a significant improvement in its diplomatic relations with most European states, as well as with EU institutions, which is expressed, among other ways, in the many visits to Israel paid by European leaders.
Israel and Europe have reached a number of important agreements over the past year, including: an upgrade in the diplomatic-strategic dialogue between Israel and the EU; Israel’s new membership to the official EU program for research and development; and trade liberalization in the field of agriculture. A framework agreement has been signed for Israel to enter EU programs, a high-level business dialogue has been established between the Israeli and European business communities, and negotiations on free trade in the financial services sector are about to begin.
Whilst Israel celebrates its economic integration into the European Union and the American Southeast, it must never forget its neighbors in the Middle East. It is a tragic fact that trade in the Middle East is rare and minimal, not just between the Arab states and Israel, but even between the Arab countries themselves. Trade has the power to bring countries closer together, and the globally vital Middle Eastern region should not be an exception. Cooperation and integration have proven themselves to be major vehicles for peace around the world and should be brought to the Middle East, a region deeply in need of their pacific effects.
Article appeared in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on July 4th, 2008
A Growing Movement: American Jews and the Israeli Druze
July 18, 2008 at 4:39 pm | In Integration, Peace Process | Leave a CommentIt began shortly after I first landed in Atlanta to take my position as Consul General. Members of the local Jewish population took an interest in my background and started to visit Israel’s Druze communities. Many traveled to my northern Israeli home town of Isfiya, on Mount Carmel. People wanted to know: “what’s this new Druze Consul General ‘made of’” and, “who are these Druze anyway?”
It became a movement. Every other week I received letters and post cards from Jewish families around the Southeast. They had visited one of the Druze communities and were coming back with messages from my friends and loved ones.
For many of these travelers and those who hear their stories, their Druze experience has a profound impact on their lives. They are inspired to get involved in social and educational projects in the Druze community. One Jewish family got so exited after a visit to Horfesh, a Druze town in the Galilee, that the family helped the town build a library in one of the local schools. The Mayor of Horfash informed me that ORT USA was donating ten computerized “Smart Classes” to local Horfash schools; worth $500,000.
One might ask, “Why would Jewish Americans care about the Druze in Israel?” The answer is simple. The Israeli Druze are the mirror image of the American Jews. They are both strong minorities that work diligently to contribute positively and integrate into their country.
The movement for increased partnership between the Druze and American Jews has created strong bonds, in part because the Druze support the Jews and Israel politically. But, the support is more than merely political. The Druze are sacrificing hundreds of their own as Israeli solders, defending Israel and its people. Young Israeli Druze are fighting bravely on the frontlines in the war against terrorism and Islamic extremism.
Every year the Druze welcome thousands of American Jews visiting their villages as part of their “birthright” trip. These students enjoy the warm hospitality of the Druze in Carmel and the Galilee, and many of them remember the Druze part of the trip as the most interesting part of their tour. In return those young Jews are sharing their experiences and making the tiny Druze community very popular around the world. Just try to Google the word “Druze.”
American Jewish involvement with the Israeli Druze is nothing new. I, myself, am a product of American Jewish philanthropy. As a youth I went to my town’s local branch of BBYO, a branch that was supported by a generous American Jewish family. BBYO was one of the reasons that, years later, my town of Isfiya became known as the “town of Ambassadors.” The town had three Ambassadors, including myself, all simultaneously serving the State of Israel on three different continents.
My middle school education at the Leo Buck School in Haifa was the initiative of reform Rabbi Samuels. Rabbi Samuels decided that it was important to invest in the education of young Druze. Even my graduate studies at Harvard University were the product of American Jewish generosity, made possible by the Ohio-based Waxner Foundation. The Waxner Foundation has sent many of Israel’s government officials to Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, one of the best public management schools in the world.
The Druze, with the help of Jewish support, have chosen their path. They stand resolutely on the side of Israel. However, for other minority groups in Israel the future remains uncertain. Today, Israel’s Arab minority is experiencing a struggle between their Martin Luther Kings and their Malcolm X’s, between their moderates who, like the Druze, push for integration and their extremists who push for Palestinian nationalism within Israel, which leads only to violence and instability.
American Jews can make a difference in Israel by getting involved in the social well being of moderate minorities in Israel. By strengthening the ties between these groups and their own, American Jews will bolster the moderates and forever change the course of events in the Middle East. Through support and common understanding more groups can follow the path of the Israeli Druze. As it did with the Druze, this movement of cooperation will allow American Jews to make a constructive contribution to the strength and future of the State of Israel.
Article appeared in the Jewish Daily Forward on May 8th, 2008; and in the Atlanta Jewish Times on May 23rd, 2008
Israel: The Next Sixty Years
July 18, 2008 at 4:37 pm | In Economics, Peace Process | Leave a CommentIt took two thousand years to dream of it, sixty years to plan it, and sixty more to bring it to life. The modern state of Israel will celebrate its sixtieth anniversary in 2008 with great pride in its achievements and with the knowledge that its story, like that of any other democratic society, remains unfinished. We Israelis live in a region filled with great instability and anxiety, but we will never give up our hope for peace.
Israel is a small place, no bigger than any state in the American South. Yet its people represent a brave and ancient nation with a dynamic soul. Today Israel ranks among the world’s 25 most advanced and freest nations. In 1995 it was the first country to sign a free trade agreement with both the United States and Europe. Israel is the only non-European Union state to be included in the EU science program, and was recently announced as a candidate for the prestigious Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Israelis believe that anything can be possible. This was our belief from the moment our first immigrants entered the Promised Land in the late nineteenth century, and it continues to drive us today. The strongest internal calling of contemporary Israelis echoes the desire of early Zionist thinker Achad Ha’am (1856-1927): to fulfill Israel’s destiny as ‘a light unto the nations.’ Achad Ha’am’s essential idea to create an intellectual hub in the Promised Land still motivates the Israeli spirit of innovation and generosity.
This is the attitude behind the Israel of scientific achievement, the powerhouse of innovation that created the smallest satellites in the sky, the smallest pill cameras, and technologies that are incorporated into every cell phone and personal computer. Israel leads the world in the number of patents registered and high-tech firms per capita.
Israelis do not dwell on their security problems. Since the early 1950s they have journeyed throughout the developing world to share their technological expertise. When MASHAV aid recipients from the Amazon to Southeast Asia refer to Israel as a superpower, it has nothing to do with its military power. To them Israel is a superpower because it sends them engineers to help them acquire drinking water, or doctors to help them treat diseases.
In spite of these achievements, the Israelis have yet to attain what will be their greatest accomplishment. They long for the day when they will live peacefully and securely along side a stable, prosperous Palestinian state. Peace is the desire of the Israelis, and it is our wish for all of our children over the next sixty years: Palestinians and Israelis; Arabs and Jews alike.
The Israeli – Palestinian conflict is one of many conflicts in the area stretching from the Persian Gulf to Northern Africa. There are those who are determined turn the Middle East into the center of a global clash of civilizations. Israel, however, will use its next sixty years as it used its first sixty, working to achieve the dream of peace and stability. Our history gives us hope as it teaches us that people of good faith do have the power to implement their dreams. Our peaceful wishes and positive thinking might make us seem weak to tyrants, but Israel will prove that the victory of peace over hate is inevitable.
Article appeared in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on May 8th, 2008; in the Birmingham News on May 18th, 2008; in the Asheville Citizen Times on May 18th, 2008; and in Israel 21C on May 19th, 2008
In the Middle East, the Footprints of Iran are Everywhere
July 18, 2008 at 4:36 pm | In Security | Leave a CommentReading the headlines, one might mistakenly conclude that Iran’s quest for nuclear weapons is the only threat posed by the extremist regime. In reality, the threat is much larger. Iran’s footprints can be found all over the Middle East. The extremist state is currently playing a role in creating or maintaining almost every conflict in the region.
Iran uses its vast oil wealth to extend its influence across the Middle East, buying allies and recruiting terrorists to fight its battles. Tehran’s aggressive posturing fuels the fires of ancient hatreds, disrupting the delicate balance of the region. The regime has renewed longstanding Arab and Persian resentment by forcing territorial and commercial disputes with Kuwait and United Arab Emirates. In Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Iraq, the Iranian regime has fomented unrest in the Shiite population with the hope of enlarging its powerbase at the expense of domestic authority.
In Iraq, the Iranian presence is visible in the explosion of nearly every roadside bomb. Tehran provides Shiite militias, radical insurgents, and vicious terrorists with arms, support, and IEDs. These are the same weapons that are used against U.S. and Iraqi soldiers. Iran hopes it efforts will topple the fragile Iraqi government and force a U.S. retreat, allowing Tehran to supplant American and Iraqi authority with its own.
In Lebanon, the Islamic regime trains, finances, and arms the terrorist group Hezbollah. The Iranian proxy is responsible for numerous political assassinations, kidnappings, and killings and has now threatened to take over its own country by force. Through Hezbollah, Iran is fighting to destroy the democratically elected moderate Lebanese government.
In Gaza, Iran has allied itself with the terrorists of Hamas. The terrorist group openly admits that its militants are trained in Iran. With Iran’s support, Hamas has declared war against the elected government of the Palestinian Authority and has started a bloody and horrifying civil war. Hamas is also using its Iranian supplies to attack the innocent population of its neighbors. Since January 1st, thousands of Hamas rockets have been launched against towns in southern Israel.
Given the regime’s dangerous habit of meddling in conflicts throughout the Middle East, Iranian nuclear development poses an even larger threat. The Islamic regime, enriched by its vast oil recourse and no longer held in check by a militarist Iraq, has spread misery and hatred. Iran’s track record leaves little reason to believe that, if armed with nuclear weapons, the country would act any differently than it has. Tehran is seeking to increase its own power and influence, and does not care at whose expense their goals are achieved. Obtaining nuclear weapons would only increase Iran’s ability to accomplish its mission.
Despite its obviously malicious intentions, some still believe Iran when it declares that it is peacefully seeking nuclear power. However, the regime sits on one of the world’s largest reserves of oil and natural gas, resources from which Tehran derives its power. Endowed with so much natural wealth, the country has absolutely no use for nuclear energy.
Others contend that after it successfully develops a nuclear weapon Iran could be deterred. Even without nuclear arms, Iran is already attacking its enemies directly and through its proxies. These behaviors are unlikely to change once the country acquires a nuclear bomb. The real question is not how to deter Iran, but how the international community could avoid being deterred by a nuclear Iran, as it continues to work toward its goal of dominating the Middle East.
Iran already poses a conventional threat to the international community. Soon Iran may become a nuclear threat as well. The extremist regime’s long history of aggression proves its intent. Tehran seeks to destabilize the region, to bring back ancient and violent animosities, and to become the unchallenged leader of the Middle East. Iran must be prevented from achieving its aims. The international community must take diplomatic action before it’s too late.
Article appeared in the Nashville Tennessean on April 13th, 2008; in the Atlanta Jewish Times on April 25th, 2008; and in the Deep South Jewish Voice on May 1st, 2008
Israel is Going Green in America
July 18, 2008 at 4:34 pm | In Enviromental Conservation | Leave a CommentThis November the country will change its entire U.S. fleet of diplomatic cars to hybrids. This small gesture is an effort to promote clean energy and the notion that human innovation will generate new energy solutions for our high-tech age. And the solutions will need to come soon, since the division between energy and security has all but disappeared.
Being green is part of Israel’s culture; it is part of Israelis’ daily lives. In our country there is a solar panel on almost every rooftop, supplying our energy and heating our water. Our solar power company, Solel, is at the head of its class, having upgraded power plants in Southern California. And the use of solar energy is being expanded: now the sun powers our payphones and street lights.
Israel has taken the lead in clean automotive technology. The Israel Corporation has invested $100 million to build the infrastructure for electric car recharge stations throughout the entire country. Israeli scientists are creating fuel from the most unlikely sources such as grass clippings and cow waste. The country now has hundreds of start-up companies in the energy sector. Banana peel and beer can powered cars, such as the Delorean from the film: Back to the Future, may not be that far away.
Despite its success, Israel’s focus on alternative energy was not originally by choice. The country lacks any significant fossil fuel resources and is surrounded by hostile states wielding their oil wealth like a fierce weapon.
These harsh conditions are no longer unique to Israel. Today we live in a volatile oil market where the price is set by a cartel of unstable and despotic regimes. So while the debate on the politics and causes of the global oil dilemma continue, the facts remain clear: oil is only getting more expensive and less abundant. We cannot afford to invest in $100 barrels of unfriendly energy.
Developing new energy sources must be the mission of our generation. After all, we live in a global community where people are only a click away. It no longer makes sense to use energy technology that is a century old. The rest of the world should look to Israel as an example, as a beacon of innovation in energy technology.
While it is likely that the next major energy breakthrough will come from Israel, until that breakthrough arrives we need to focus on conservation. On this front, companies from around the world are developing new high-tech methods to better manage energy consumption.
Simple methods can also be used to conserve energy. In the 1970’s the oil producing Arab states cut off Israel’s resources, hoping to force the country into submission. Israelis fought back by cutting back. Israel reduced its use of gasoline by 7%, assigning each citizen a day of the week during which they could not drive. People carpooled, used public transportation, or walked to get by and took one seventh of all cars off the road.
The 21st century has begun with oil as a major barrier to global freedom. As democratic and open societies, we must rebuke the inflated influence of corrupt oil rich countries. To stay faithful to our values of liberty and advancement, we must not shy away from this challenge: taking humanity to the next level of prosperity, security, and peace.
Article appeared in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on November 23rd, 2007; and in Israel 21C on December 2nd, 2007
Poetic Justice for Ahmadinejad
July 18, 2008 at 4:32 pm | In Security | Leave a CommentOn the very day that Iran’s President Ahmadinejad spoke at Columbia University, I happened to be reading poetry to thirty Holocaust survivors in Atlanta. Throughout the presentation, I felt uneasy; I felt as if I should be exposing the radical leader who not only denies the Holocaust, but calls for a new genocide in “wiping Israel off the map.”
But in actuality, the situation in Iran has already exposed him as a cruel and ineffective leader. The Iranians are tired of his empty promises “in the name of God,” although only a miracle could now save the failed Islamic Revolution. More than 20 % of the nation is unemployed, the educated are leaving the country resulting in a substantial brain drain, and despite its massive oil reserves, Iran is heavily dependent on imported fuel. It continues to scrape by because of the current high crude oil prices, but Ahmadinejad knows that this is only a weak patch for a bleeding economy.
The Iranian President is desperate, and has every reason to be: his beloved Islamic Revolution is almost thirty years old, but it has failed the Iranian people. Ahmadinejad is selling the nuclear illusion to his citizens to distract them from his and Khomeini’s monumental failure.
Scoffing at the 9/11 tragedy and denying the Holocaust are both dangerous and shocking behavior from a potential nuclear power, but these declarations say something even more disturbing about Ahmadinejad. He sees the world through the eyes of a street fighter, continuously spewing threats from the losing side of his global gang fight in the attempt to save face. After all, Ahmadinejad was among the mob that stormed the US Embassy in Tehran in 1979, a protected symbol of dialogue between nations- the dialogue that he was allegedly seeking at Columbia just last week.
This brutal mentality makes a nuclear Iran even more dangerous. We have no assurance that Ahmadinejad would not pass the bomb to one of his many proxy terrorist groups in Iraq, Lebanon and Gaza to be detonated in London, Paris, New York or Tel Aviv. In fact, I believe he would, for dictators never know when to stop, and in their desperation they don’t hesitate to take others down with them.
Despite the looming nuclear threat, I found a bit of poetic justice by the end of my poetry reading. Reading Hebrew poetry to a group of Holocaust survivors could possibly be the greatest act of defiance against the world’s most visible dictator. It was as if we were saying “we are still here, and we will be reading our poetry long after the champions of hate like you are gone.”
And so there we were: almost thirty Holocaust survivors and an Israeli diplomat gathered together during the same moments that Ahmadinejad was preaching hate and violence. Thirty survivors- one for each year of the failed Iranian revolution- all with shared hope that Ahmadinejad will continue to fail in bringing upon us his nuclear nightmare.
Article appeared in the Atlanta Journal Constitution on October 4th, 2007; in the Daily Alert on October 23rd, 2007; in the Deep South Jewish Voice on November 1st, 2007; in the Birmingham News on November 4th, 2007; in the Asheville Citizen Times on November 9th, 2007; and in the Durham-Chapel Hill Federation Menorah on November 20th, 2007
Reflections: Achievements and Challenges of the State of Israel
July 18, 2008 at 4:28 pm | In Economics, Peace Process | Leave a CommentUpon its upcoming 60th birthday, Israel will look back on a great history of achievement, far beyond its achievement of mere survival. Looking to its future, Israel’s main focus will continue to be nation-building, the foundation for its citizens’ quality of life in the place they proudly call home.
In the past six decades, Israel has realized levels of advanced technology and statehood that few nations in this world have been able to attain, and Israel has accomplished this even in the face of ongoing conflict and the struggle for survival. From minisatellites high in the sky to smart submarines deep in the seas, from the technology that helps navigate the Internet to the technology that helps doctors navigate inside the human body, Israeli innovation is an essential ingredient. It is in every computer, every cellphone and every other means of telecommunication that our modern world relies on.
It is the quintessential Israeli attitude that has produced this innovation, advancement and social welfare in Israel: Anything and everything is possible if one puts his mind to it. This same Israeli attitude envisioned their cattle leading the world in milk production in a place where other people saw only swamps and wasteland. It envisioned fish farms and sweet watermelon groves using subterranean salt water where others could see only a desert wilderness.
Israel has managed to become the leading country in the world in the number of doctors, engineers and scientists per capita despite its volatile borders and dangerous neighbors. We have to remember that Israel has not seen one decade without violence, and it has paid the price for survival with the lives of too many young heroes. But come what may, Israel remains among the leading nations in average life expectancy.
It is of course life that is the most valued entity, the most important principle for the Israeli people. Yet Israel is in a neighborhood where the sanctity of life is becoming more vulnerable than ever: Growing violence in the Middle East, especially in the past seven years, coupled with the culture of death propagated by terror masterminds in Tehran and Gaza, is endangering life, in every meaning of the word. The past seven years have been an awkward mix of continued success in Israel and a growing doubt of peace in the region’s future.
Many Israelis have lost hope for a peaceful existence, and thousands of them have left the country since the outbreak of the second intifada in 2000. Last year was the first year since the early 1980s that Israel had more people leaving the country than immigrating to it. It is no surprise, then, that Israel’s major challenge in the next decade will be regaining the confidence of the Israeli people in their homeland’s future.
It is true that some challenges require the cooperation of our neighbors and do not depend on our action alone. However, there exist many other internal social issues that must be addressed.
The economic divide is wider in Israel today than it has ever been. On one side, we see 40 families that control a huge chunk of the Israeli economy and the high-tech millionaires living the “American dream” in Israel. On the other side, we see the middle class that has been the foundation for Israel’s democracy, defense and prosperity shrinking every day. If Israel continues to drift in the direction of a society composed of the extremely poor and the extremely wealthy, it will lose those in the middle who are the base of its society.
As we usher in the Jewish year of 5768 and reflect on Israel’s turbulent and unparalleled history, we hold on to the hope that the future holds more promise. We wish that the next seven years will be the seven good years, that they will see a decrease in violence from Israel’s enemies and that they will see the rejuvenation of the strong social base that made Israel an exemplary world leader in innovation.
Article appeared in the Atlanta Jewish Times on August 7th, 2007
Iran’s Influence on the Middle East
July 18, 2008 at 4:25 pm | In Peace Process, Security | Leave a CommentWhat do all the current threats in the Middle East – the Hamas takeover in the Gaza Strip, Hezbollah’s bid for power in Lebanon, political turmoil in Iraq and imminent nuclear weapons in the hands of a radical dictatorship – have in common? Iran.
Those issues are linked by Tehran’s drive for regional hegemony. Iran’s strategy has been in place since the 1979 Islamist revolution, but it has only recently begun to pay off. The often-stated goal of the revolution was to turn Iran into a utopian Islamist society and to spread the revolution throughout the Middle East and the Islamic world in general.
Iran has often been cautious in pursuing its program, especially given the war with Iraq in the 1980s and the possibility of Western opposition. But events have given the regime renewed confidence, and the extreme line taken by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has produced more daring – thus reckless and violent – behavior.
Iran tries to extend its influence in three ways: propaganda and incitement; the promotion of client groups; and the projection of the state’s own power. Iran sponsors radical Islamist groups in Afghanistan, Iraq and Lebanon and among the Palestinians, as well as in other countries. Its two most important clients are Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Palestinian group Hamas.
Those organizations are not totally controlled by Tehran and do not have their every move dictated by it, but Iran finances them, provides weapons and training, encourages them to launch attacks, and shapes their ideology. Without Iran’s backing, they would lack most of their power.
The evidence indicates that Iran has urged them to be more aggressive and to launch terrorist attacks and more general offensives.
Take Lebanon, for example. Hezbollah, a Shiite Muslim group, closely follows Iran’s line. The organization’s head, Hassan Nasrallah, is also the official representative in Lebanon of Iran’s “spiritual guide” or supreme leader – that country’s most powerful official. In 2006, Hezbollah launched attacks on Israel that led to a major war, steps it would never have taken without knowing Iran wanted such actions. Indeed, in an April interview on Al-Kawthar TV, Hezbollah’s deputy secretary-general, Sheik Naim Qassem, said: “Hezbollah, when it comes to matters of jurisprudence pertaining to its general direction, as well as to its jihad direction, bases itself on the decisions of the spiritual guide [Iran's supreme leader]. … With regard to all the other details – whenever we need jurisprudent clarifications regarding what is permitted and what is forbidden on the jihad front, we ask, receive general answers and implement them.”
Since the end of the summer 2006 war, Hezbollah’s emphasis has been to control Lebanon, though it has also rebuilt its military power. On a number of occasions, Iran has been caught smuggling arms to Hezbollah through Syria and Turkey. Iranian Revolutionary Guards act as military advisers to Hezbollah. Opponents of an Iranian-Syrian takeover in Lebanon, politicians and journalists, have been killed in terrorist attacks. Iran is seeking to turn Lebanon into a satellite state.
The same tactics are employed with the Palestinians. Hamas and the even more extremist Palestinian Islamic Jihad follow Iran’s line. Tehran has publicly urged those organizations to carry out terrorist attacks and, in addition to training and arms, provides examples of anti-Semitic rhetoric duplicated in their propaganda.
This June was a turning point in Palestinian history. Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip, expelled its nationalist Fatah rivals, executed many people because of their political views or activities, and made clear its intention of transforming the Gaza Strip into an Islamist state, following Iran’s example.
Many Palestinians and other Arabs state their fear and resentment at the idea that Hamas represents an Iranian effort to seize control of their land and cause. On June 20, Yasser Abed Rabbo, a senior member of Fatah’s PLO executive committee, said in a press statement: “Iran helped Hamas to lead a military coup against the legitimate Palestinian leadership and to control the Gaza Strip.”
Egyptian Foreign Minister Aboul Gheit asserted in a recent speech that Iranian aid to Hamas in Gaza poses a threat to Egyptian security.
Hamas co-founder and former Foreign Minister Mahmud al-Zahar told Der Spiegel in June: “I personally once brought $20 million from Iran to the Gaza Strip in a suitcase. No, actually twice – the second time it was $22 million.”
Two of the Arab world’s top journalists have spoken out on this issue.
Tariq al-Humayd, the editor of the popular Arabic daily Asharq Alawsat, wrote: “The source of the funds is obviously Iran. Today, no one has control over Hamas … except Iran, its economic patron, and Syria,” where Hamas has its headquarters.
Ahmad Al-Jarallah, the editor of Kuwait’s Al-Siyassa, wrote: “By means of Hamas’ takeover in Gaza, the Iran-Syria axis has managed … to sabotage the Israeli-Palestinian peace” and become the main arbiter of regional politics.
On the horizon looms Iran’s nuclear arsenal. If Tehran gets the ultimate weapon of mass destruction, it will rally far larger numbers of radical and terrorist forces to attack the West and moderate Arabs, as well as Israel. Hiding behind its nuclear umbrella, Iran and its allies would be able to attack Western interests without fear of retribution. Iran would block any chance for peace and push the region into decades more of bloodshed.
Events in Iraq, in Lebanon and among the Palestinians reinforce the need to contain Iran and to ensure it does not obtain nuclear weapons.
Article appeared in the Hebrew Watchman on July 19th, 2007; and in the Atlanta Jewish Times on August 13th, 2007
Gaza: A 40 Year Struggle to Maintain Hope
July 18, 2008 at 4:24 pm | In Peace Process | Leave a CommentMair Shalev, a leading Israeli author, wrote in a recent article that 40 was a popular number in the Bible: It was 40 years the people of Israel wandered in the desert, and it was a 40-day flood before Noah’s dove retrieved the famous olive branch. Now, 40 years after the Six-Day War, Israelis ask whether the violence will end. Will this tragic story come to a close that brings hope to Israelis and Palestinians?
John Lennon and Yoko Ono once suggested that Arabs and Jews should gather on the border and have a shouting match and let the louder party win. I am not sure shouting is the way to do it – talking may be better – but open communication is definitely required. The Middle East has been dominated too long by a rigid, singular method of resolving disputes: violence. I think it is high time the people and leaders of the Middle East understand that it is more important to live for your cause than to die for it.
Two stories from the Six-Day War remain with me as symbols of the cost of war.
The first is that of a banner raised by Israeli paratroopers at the closing stages of one of the fiercest battles in the outskirts of Jerusalem: “Buried here are brave Jordanian fighters.” I am moved still today by the value these Israeli soldiers placed on human life; they felt it only right to commemorate their falling enemy.
The second account is that of Israeli Druze solders who fought in the heavy battles against Syria in the Golan Heights. When battle ceased, they discovered from the ID cards of fallen Syrian solders the names of fellow Druze from the other side, some of whom were family members. No one wins in war, and everyone loses.
I was too young during the Six-Day War to recall details, but I still keep the postcards that my uncle Waleed sent my family from the front lines. In the postcards he asks about me and prays that when I reach military age, there will be no need for me to serve, as we would have peace. This is the common prayer of every mother and father in Israel, the prayer of peace.
Many people forget that immediately after the 1967 Six-Day War, the Israeli government offered to return all lands gained in return for peace agreements. The answer of the Arab leaders: a resounding “no.” No to peace, no to recognition of Israel, and no to negotiation.
Sadly, these were not the last rejections of peace the state of Israel encountered. The first intifada in the mid-1990s and the wave of suicide bombers in Black March of 1996 came after the Oslo Accords. In May 2000, President Clinton, Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Chairman Yasser Arafat were two yards from an agreement that could have brought lasting peace, but again peace was on the losing side. The second Palestinian intifada started thereafter.
The current anarchy in Gaza rejects peace yet again, not only with Israel, but in principle: It feeds a culture of violence, and violence does not differentiate between Palestinian children in Gaza or Israeli children in Sderot. How sadly ironic it is to hear leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad calling for the reinstatement of Israeli occupation to prevent a Palestinian civil war. It is important for me to repeat what every moderate Palestinian should know: Israelis do not want to see a Palestinian civil war. We understand and respect the value of human life and can see clearly that unrest in Gaza means unrest in Israel.
My uncle’s prayer for me was not answered, and I was drafted along with his three sons. More war followed in Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza. It is now my generation’s prayer that our sons and daughters will not enter war’s losing battle and that the dream of peace will become a reality, that moderation will prevail over extremism and that violence will be replaced by tolerance and mutual understanding. These are the challenges of history and remain the challenges we face today.
Article appeared in the Atlanta Jewish Times on July 13th, 2007
Israel Wants Peace, Political Moderation
July 18, 2008 at 4:22 pm | In Peace Process, Security | Leave a CommentMake no mistake: the Hamas takeover in Gaza is not different from the Islamic revolution of Iran and the former Taliban’s role in Afghanistan, because the final goal of Hamas is not independent Palestine but Islamic Empire in the Middle East. However, the hope that emerges from this chaos in Gaza is that the national secular government of Mahmoud Abbas will finally understand the real enemy of Palestinians is not Israel but violence and terrorism.
Many people forget that immediately after the Six-Day War of 1967 that the Israeli government offered to return all lands gained, including Gaza and the West Bank, but the stark Arab answer was “no to peace, no to recognition of Israel and no to negotiation.” In May 2000, President Clinton, Prime Minister Barak, and Chairman Arafat were two yards away from the agreement but they failed and the second Palestinian uprising started thereafter.
Before the violent Hamas takeover started, we were debating in Israel if giving Gaza to some kind of international trust will do away with the violence and anarchy that started after our complete withdrawal from the entire Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, Hamas was being built by Iran to be the next Hezbollah and to start a war similar to the one we just had in Lebanon last summer.
It is important for me to reiterate what very moderate Palestinian should know: that most Israelis do not want to see a Palestinian civil war. We know perfectly well the value of human life and understand that unrest in Israel, too. But as we learned from our own history in Israel, no stable country can survive if the central government is not the sole military power. The Palestinian president needs to live by his own campaign slogan: “one nation, one armed force.”
Gaza and Sderot are not fighting each other, but anarchy in Gaza is creating violence that does not differentiate between Palestinian kids in Gaza or Israeli kids in Sderot. It is so sad to hear the leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad declaring that Israeli occupation needs to be reinstalled to prevent a Palestinian civil war. That instead of saying peace and nonviolence is the only way to prepare the human and material infrastructure to the future Palestinian state.
I was too young during the Six-Day War to remember anything, but I still keep the postcards from the front that my uncle, Waleed, sent my family. In these postcards he always asked about me and hoped that, when I am older, the draft will be ended and war will be over. That is still a very common prayer in Israel. My uncle’s wish was not granted, I was drafted, as well as his three sons, and more wards have followed. But the hope is still alive, and now it is the prayer of my generation that our kids will not go to war and that the draft in Israel will be ended. But this will be the challenge of our time: to make moderation prevail over extremism and make sure that these floods of violence in the Middle East end soon.
Article appeared in the Nashville Tennessean on June 26th, 2007
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