Israel is in trouble. No, it is not the threat from Gaza or even the greater one from Lebanon. The Jewish State has been hedging their bets with ‘allies’ for so long, it no longer sees world events with objective eyes. While the term ‘strongest ally’ has always been associated in America with Israel and vice versa, Israel is in bed with many controversial countries – some that have worked hard to subvert its so-called ‘strongest ally’ and one that is now on the verge of dragging the world into a dangerous place.
Just after World War Two, Winston Churchill published a multi-volume retrospective about the war and how it came about. The first volume was aptly named, "The Gathering Storm" and it outlined the warning signs in the 1930s that war was imminent while the world ignored them. While Hitler was planning his global dominance, England was entertaining him – trusting him and turning a blind eye to the things he was doing. In the future, we can look to this period, where Russia is devastating Ukraine, where China is scheming about Taiwan and the South Pacific, and Iran has designs on building a Shiite caliphate, as the twenty-first century's ‘gathering storm’.
The war in Ukraine, in which Russia oddly invoked the elimination of Nazis as their excuse to invade their neighbor should keep us all up at night. Not because of the devastation Russia is leveling on the Ukrainian people, but because of the lack of any meaningful response by the wider world. Sanctions have been leveled, but Europe is still buying gas from Russia, in fact, it was revealed earlier this week that Russia earned over $97 Billion in oil sales alone since they launched their war in February.
Israel has refused to call out Russia or help the people of Ukraine with what Israel is best at, defense. In fact, it has gone out of its way to ignore the atrocities that are being committed daily, the same atrocities we as a nation remind the world often have happened to us. Israel has made an industry off of the memory of the Holocaust and yet when several are happening in front of our faces, between the Uyghurs in China and the devastation to the Ukrainian people, we sit idly by with our lips shut.
Churchill’s post-mortem should have taught us something. When Germany ‘absorbed’ Austria, no one batted an eyelash. When Czechoslovakia was invaded based on a far-fetched narrative about Bavarian separatists, not a finger was lifted. The financial interests and the general lack of an appetite for war allowed Hitler to feel emboldened – to gain strength and feed the popularity that would help grow enlistment in his army. Israel’s financial interests. focus on outmatched Muslim extremists, and petty political bickering have made us no better than the Europeans of the 1930s.
By the time the war broke out Britain had a conciliatory attitude that aggression could be tackled through concessions. Even in the case of Ukraine, the war continues and no broad and active coalition has been formed against the clear aggressor, Russia. The countries of the free world ‘care’ when the cameras are on. They entertain Ukraine’s President via video in their parliamentary halls and give him standing ovations but drag their feet on providing the weapons that could have ended this aggression. They say the right things, but do not do anything. Israel is worse than that. Israel does not even say the right things. So as not to insult Vladimir Putin, the Knesset did not even give Zelensky the honor of speaking within the legislative chamber, they gave him a Zoom call where Knesset members picked their noses and checked their emails while wearing pajamas. And regarding the Uyghurs in China, has any Israeli leader opened their mouth and spoken up against a situation that clearly echoes our own experiences? Not one.
Benjamin Netanyahu made it a point to remind the world every chance he had that the Jews were victims. His annual drama-filled United Nations speeches would focus on Iran’s desire to finish Hitler’s work. Yad Vashem raises hundreds of millions to keep the Holocaust going so that no one forgets, and the motto ‘never again’ is used as a national slogan. All the while we cozy up to people who are doing it again – we partner with despots while ignoring their roles in committing similar horror that was inflicted on us. By doing so, we dishonor our relatives who lived through the Holocaust and sully the memory of the ancestors who did not survive it.
Fears are growing in eastern European countries that when Putin is done with Ukraine, he will turn his sights on them. This war has already extended beyond Europe. It has emboldened North Korea; it has shown China they have nothing to worry about if they want to take Taiwan or even a few South Pacific islands. And worse for Israel, it has made Iran stronger and brought them so close to the one tool they need to truly end us. The lack of firm action has been so bad, that in trying to get Iran to a new deal, the world was and is still relying on the warmonger Russia to lead those talks.
We do not yet have the distance required to understand the contexts of the events in which we live, but it is clear that America and the west did not win the Cold War, it just made it a little more palatable. Since then, China, one of the biggest violators of human rights and who is committing genocide against a Muslim population has become a world power. Israel should be embarrassed that China is a close trading partner who has been tasked with many sensitive construction projects. In fact, not too long ago a Chinese company was given a building project that resulted in massive cranes hovering above and adjacent to the IDF's headquarters. Sky-high cranes that could take pictures or record the sounds in and around the most sensitive site in Tel-Aviv.
Israel is between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, it needs Russia to continue to allow it to fight threats in Syria since Russia controls Syrian skies. The Iranian-backed Hezbollah is threatening from the north; Qatar-backed Hamas is teasing unrest from the south; and in the northeast, Iran is trying to set up shop in Syria. Jordan, the country that is responsible for the creation of a 'Palestinian-Israeli' conflict, is wholly unstable with a majority of residents not allowed to participate in whatever democracy that exists; and Iraq has aligned itself with Iran.
The pre-war activities between Israel and Iran have been taking place in the public view and on several fronts. Assassinations in Iran have ramped up. Sabotage of Israeli infrastructure is increasing and now citizens are being told there is an existential danger if they travel to certain countries. Things are so tense, that there is a danger of things spiraling out of control. There is even the feeling that things will very soon.
But in Israel, instead of preparing for a national emergency the split between the political camps has proven to be the biggest threat by far. The ability of the government and the Knesset to function is non-existent. Despite his never-ending trial for corruption, a significant percentage of the population still supports Benjamin Netanyahu, and as June moves forward the idea that he could sit on the porcelain throne in the Prime Minister’s residence once more grows all too real.
Israel’s education system is collapsing. Quality of life is falling fast; ambitious building projects have resulted in unnecessary traffic jams that add hours to people’s daily commutes. Housing prices are insanely high, making it virtually impossible for young people to dream of renting, let alone owning a home. Food costs are obscene and it is only getting worse due to Israel's reliance on Ukrainian exports for staples like oil and flour. Even the once amazing healthcare system needs resuscitation; Israel does not have enough medical schools and many capable future doctors are going abroad to study, and they are not coming back as the country refuses to compensate health workers competitively.
The citizenry is among the highest taxed in the world and the money is funding a bloated bureaucracy where the corruption is vast and taxpayer waste is unconscionable. A country founded using a Socialist infrastructure is struggling to modernize towards a streamlined capitalistic one. Small businesses suffer under impossible tax compliance laws with zero grace period that would enable them to grow while large corporations controlled by a handful of people get tax breaks, government contracts, and grants. Banks are mostly unregulated and charge a small fortune to simply have an account, and then charge for basic tasks like accepting deposits. Why is it that 'Start-Up Nation' companies can't wait to get out of Israel the minute they land a major investment or hit it big?
All this while the world around us is literally exploding. If Bennett could not bring himself to call Putin out for the atrocities his army has been committing, Netanyahu certainly will not. Bibi worked hard to be a friend to everyone, using Israel’s existential threats as justification for aligning the country with the just and the unjust – hedging our bets in case a friend one day becomes a foe. The Uyghur tragedy that is unfolding in China began on Netanyahu’s watch, and China has been rewarded for it by government contracts and trade agreements that have flooded our society with poorly manufactured vehicles and electronics, and the prize of all prizes, ownership of Israel’s primary dairy company.
The global storm has already begun, and from history, we know that the Middle East, the crossroad between three major continents, will be dragged into it. Instead of taking this time to prepare our nation, repair our broken political system, and shore up the foundations of this country, we are still mired in petty internal conflicts. It is time to take a stand, pick a side and unify the nation so that we are prepared for what might be coming. If we don't, we might just get swept up in the gathering storm.
