In anticipation of the Canadian Institute for Jewish Research’s upcoming Sunday, 6 November 2011 International Conference, “Combatting the Delegitimation of Israel,” this week’s Daily Briefings will focus on the global effort to demonize the lone democracy in the Middle East. The series will provide insight into the pervasive “soft war” being waged against the Jewish State—in the media, in Europe, at the UN, on and off North American campuses, and in Israel itself. It will also convey relevant ways of combatting, and ultimately defeating, this dangerous propaganda campaign.
A video of the Conference will be posted on CIJR’s website, www.isranet.org. (For registration information call [514] 486-5544 or write Yvonne@isranet.com.)
DELEGITIMIZING THE DELEGITIMIZERS
Caroline B. Glick
Jerusalem Post, November 3, 2011
You have to hand it to the Palestinians. They decided to abandon the peace process and seek international recognition of the “State of Palestine”—a state in a de facto state of war with Israel. And they are pursuing their goal relentlessly.
This week their efforts bore their first fruit with the UN’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) vote to accept “Palestine” as a full state member. It is not a coincidence that the PLO/PA decided to apply for membership for “Palestine” at UNESCO first. Since 1974, UNESCO has been an enthusiastic partner in the Palestinians’ bid to erase Jewish history, heritage and culture in the Land of Israel from the historical record.
In 1974, UNESCO voted to boycott Israel and to “withhold assistance from Israel in the fields of education, science and culture because of Israel’s persistent alteration of historic features in Jerusalem.” UNESCO’s moves to deny Jewish ties to Jerusalem and the rest of historic Israel have continued unabated ever since. For instance, in 1989, UNESCO condemned “Israel’s occupation of Jerusalem,” claiming it was destroying the city through “acts of interference, destruction and transformation.” In 1996, UNESCO held a symposium on Jerusalem at its Paris headquarters. No Jewish or Israeli groups were invited to participate.
Beginning in 1996, the Arab Wakf on the Temple Mount began systematically destroying artifacts of the Second Temple. The destruction was undertaken during illegal excavations under the Temple Mount carried out to construct an illegal, unlicensed mosque at Solomon’s Stables. UNESCO never bothered to condemn this act. It was silent despite the fact that the Wakf’s actions constituted a grave breach of the very international laws related to antiquities and sacred sites that UNESCO is charter bound to protect. Similarly, UNESCO never condemned Palestinian desecration of Rachel’s Tomb, of Joesph’s Tomb or of any of the ancient synagogues in Gaza and Jericho which they razed to the ground.
The reason for UNESCO’s miscarriage of its responsibilities is clear. Far from fulfilling its mission of protecting world heritage sites, since 1974 UNESCO has been a partner in one of the greatest cultural crimes in human history—the Palestinian and pan-Arab attempt to wipe Jewish history in the Land of Israel off the historical record. And UNESCO’s crimes in this area are unending. In 2009 it designated Jerusalem a “capital of Arab culture.” In 2010, it designated Rachel’s Tomb and the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron as “Muslim mosques.” UNESCO’s campaign against Jewish history is not limited to Israel. In 1995, it passed a resolution marking the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II. Despite requests from Israel, the resolution made no mention of the Holocaust. In December 2010, UNESCO published a report on the history of science in the Arab world. Its report listed the great Jewish doctor and rabbinic scholar Rabbi Moshe Ben Maimon—Maimonides—as a Muslim renamed “Moussa ben Maimoun.”
In light of UNESCO’s virulently anti-Jewish policies and actions, it is not surprising that it cooperated with the PLO/PA’s bid to achieve recognition of a state that is in a state of war with Israel.
More surprising than UNESCO’s behavior was the behavior of all but five EU member states. Aside from the Czech Republic, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Sweden, all EU member states either voted in favor of the Palestinian membership application or abstained.
The reason it is surprising is because the EU has made strengthening UN institutions and speeding up the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians to facilitate Palestinian independence the central aims of its foreign policy. And by supporting or failing to oppose the Palestinian membership bid, the Europeans undercut both aims.…
What the Europeans’ behavior at UNESCO indicates is that just as UNESCO is willing to undermine its mission to harm Israel, so the Europeans are willing to undermine the declared goals of their foreign policy if doing so will harm Israel.
This state of affairs has important consequences for Israel. To date, Israel has placed fostering good relations with EU member states high on its list of priorities. In light of the Europeans’ behavior at UNESCO, this ranking should be revised. The Europeans do not merit such high consideration by Israel.
Finally, the UNESCO vote exposed disturbing truths about US President Barack Obama’s position on Israel. Obama has been widely praised by American Jewish leaders as well as by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for his announced commitment to veto the draft Security Council resolution recommending that the PLO/PA be granted full state membership at the UN. Obama’s pledge—forced out of him by massive congressional pressure—is touted as proof of his commitment to the US alliance with Israel.
But Obama’s response to the PLO/PA’s bid for UNESCO membership tells a different story. In the lead up to the vote, the Obama administration went out of its way not to threaten UNESCO. It did not threaten to withdraw the US from the organization. Instead, just days before the vote, US Under Secretary of Education Martha Kanter addressed the body and praised the “great things [that] have happened at UNESCO,” over the past year. Kanter then announced the US’s bid for reelection to UNESCO’s executive board.
The administration did not attack the move as one that undermines chances of peace.… Rather, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland sufficed with claiming that the move was “regrettable,” and “premature.…”
As Claudia Rosett reported in Forbes on Tuesday, David Killion, the US ambassador to UNESCO, made what bordered on an apology for the US funding cut-off when he said, “We sincerely regret that the strenuous and well-intentioned efforts of many delegations to avoid this result fell short.” Killion added, “We pledge to continue our efforts to find ways to support and strengthen the important work of this vital organization.…”
To understand the full significance of the administration’s behavior, it is important to contrast it with the administration’s response to the Israeli government’s decision in the aftermath of the UNESCO vote to approve the construction of housing for Jews in Jerusalem, Ma’aleh Adumim and Efrat.… A US official told Reuters that the administration is “deeply disappointed” by the announcement. “We continue to make clear to the [Israeli] government [that] unilateral actions such as these work against efforts to resume direct negotiations and do not advance the goal of a reasonable and necessary agreement between the parties.”
So on the one hand, the Palestinians’ move to abandon the peace process and UNESCO’s support for their move is merely “regrettable” and “premature.” But on the other hand, Israel’s decision not to discriminate against Jewish property rights undermines efforts to resume peace talks and harm prospects for an agreement.…
In the end, the only way to defeat those who delegitimize Israel and deny our rights to our land, our nationhood and our history is to expose their corruption, and their malevolent, dishonest and hateful intentions towards the Jewish people and the Jewish state. That is, the only way to defeat the delegitimizers is to delegitimize them by proudly and consistently asserting Israel’s historic and legal rights and the justice of our cause.
ISRAEL’S JEWISH CHARACTER IS HER TRUTH;
THE REST IS JUST COMMENTARY
Matt Hausman
Canada Free Press, October 12, 2011
A bill was introduced in the Knesset last year to amend Israel’s Oath of Allegiance to require all new immigrants to swear their loyalty to a “Jewish and democratic” state. The bill does not represent any great ideological shift, but rather is consistent with Israel’s Declaration of Independence and Basic Laws, which refer to her as a Jewish state multiple times and have the force and effect of a constitutional mandate.
Nevertheless, the proposed amendment has been roundly condemned by the political left and liberal press in Israel and abroad, with many commentators opining that it is incompatible with democratic principles. This assertion is nonsense, however, and serves only to camouflage the post-Zionist, anti-Zionist or anti-Israel sentiments of the proposal’s critics. It also betrays an ignorance regarding the fundamentals of democratic governance. In no way does official acknowledgment of Israel’s Jewish character compromise the individual rights and liberties of Israeli citizens, or inhibit the electoral process or the workings of her representative government.
The real issue for Israel’s critics is not the wording of the oath of allegiance. Any sovereign nation has the right to require new citizens to pledge allegiance to its national values. Indeed, naturalized immigrants in the United States are required to swear an oath to the Constitution as if it were holy writ. No, the real cause for progressive discomfort is Israel’s perceived audacity in proclaiming her essence as a Jewish state premised on Jewish values. None of Israel’s detractors would think to condemn Arab-Muslim countries that base their governments on Islamic law, or Jordan for enacting Nazi-like laws prohibiting Jews from citizenship, or the Saudis for prohibiting Jews entry to the Arabian peninsula, or the Palestinian Authority for openly inciting antisemitic hatred and supporting terrorism, calling for Israel’s destruction, and seeking to create a state through ethnic cleansing.
On the contrary, liberal commentators and pundits are conspicuously silent in the face of persistent Arab-Muslim rejectionism, racism and antisemitism, and they compound the perfidy of their silence by engaging in a secular form of taqiyya in order to disparage Jewish historical claims, and thereby Israel’s legitimacy. The pervasive anti-Israel bias of progressive political society is reflected in its disingenuous defense of Sharia as a benign expression of Islamic faith, its tendency to minimize the risk of Islamist terrorism…and its assurances of Arab-Muslim moderation despite the Palestinians’ stated goals of destroying Israel and exterminating her people.
Progressive criticism of the amendment to Israel’s oath does not arise out of any genuine concern for democratic values. Rather, it is fueled by the desire to delegitimize Israel by impugning her historical foundations, particularly as they are expressed in traditional Jewish nationalism and modern political Zionism. The pathological urge to belittle Jewish historical rights is, after all, the true motivation for the boycott, divestment and sanctions (“BDS”) movement and coordinated international efforts to cast Israel as a pariah state.…
If individual rights and liberties are considered the cornerstones of the American system, then Israel measures up well. Israel has an open electoral system in which Arabs and Jews vote, run for office, and participate in government; and in certain ways her system is perhaps even more open than that in the United States. Indeed, the Knesset has Arab members who voice anti-government and anti-Jewish rhetoric, openly sympathize with Israel’s enemies, and engage in seditious conduct that would likely constitute treason in the United States.…
Although Arab advocates claim that they are second-class citizens in Israeli society, there is no dispute that Israeli Arabs enjoy the highest standard of living, the lowest infant mortality rates, the longest life expectancy, and the highest literacy rates of any Arab population in the Mideast.…
Israel’s existence is justified precisely because she is a Jewish nation in the ancient homeland. No other sovereign nation existed in this land from the time of the Dispersion to the reestablishment of the modern state.… Israel exists as the homeland of an ancient people that maintained its national identity, religious integrity and connection to its land throughout the millennia. This connection is corporeal as well as spiritual and remains unbroken to the present day.…
Israel is first and foremost a Jewish nation. She is not a melting pot, but rather a patchwork where individual and minority rights are respected as long as they do not threaten her security and continuity as a Jewish state. No other country is expected to court national suicide by sacrificing its needs and ideals to placate hostile critics and enemies who are opposed to its very existence. Therefore, Israel must not indulge those who denigrate her existence and call for her destruction. Instead, she should rejoice in her history as the homeland of the Jewish People and her mission as their national refuge. When all is said and done, Israel’s Jewish character is her truth and the rest is just commentary.
(Matt Hausman is an attorney in New York State.)
ISRAEL: A STRATEGIC ASSET FOR THE UNITED STATES
Robert D. Blackwill & Walter B. Slocombe
Jerusalem Post, November 3, 2011
…Over the decades, American leaders have primarily explained the foundations of the US-Israel relationship by properly citing “shared values”: the two countries’ common democracy, mutual experience in fighting for freedom, roots in Judeo-Christian culture and civilization, and commitment to the right of nations…to live in security while manifesting the will of the people.… Arguments in favor of strong ties with Israel usually also include a second profound rationale for the depth of the relationship: the moral responsibility America bears to protect the small nation-state of the Jewish people.
Together, these two concepts…have been the pillars on which the United States has built a unique bilateral relationship with Israel that enjoys the deep, longstanding support of the American people, bilateral ties commonly described by a broad, bipartisan consensus of US political leaders as “unbreakable.” While accurate and indispensably important, this characterization of the core basis of the US-Israel relationship is incomplete because it fails to capture a third, crucial aspect: common national interests and collaborative action to advance those interests.…
US interests that especially involve the [Middle East] include: 1. preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, especially nuclear weapons; 2. combating terrorism and the radical Islamist ideology from which it is spawned; 3. promoting an orderly process of democratic change and economic development in the region; 4. opposing the spread of Iranian influence and that of Iran’s partners and proxies; 5. ensuring the free flow of oil and gas at reasonable prices; 6. resolving the Arab-Israeli dispute through a process of negotiations; 7. protecting the security of Israel.
Israel’s national interests are virtually identical.… Indeed, there is no other Middle East country whose definition of national interests is so closely aligned with that of the United States.…
History provides numerous examples of specific Israeli actions that have benefited US national interests. During the Cold War, the most celebrated were Israel’s daring theft of Soviet radar from Egypt in 1969, Israel’s positive reply to President Nixon’s request to fly reconnaissance missions and mobilize troops to help turn around Syria’s invasion of Jordan in 1970, and Israel’s sharing of technical intelligence on numerous Soviet weapons systems captured during the 1967 and 1973 wars. More recently, Israeli counter-proliferation efforts—including bombing the Iraqi nuclear reactor in 1981—have contributed substantially to US interests. And the 2007 attack on the North Korea-supplied Syrian reactor, never formally acknowledged by Israel, ensured that Bashar al-Assad’s progress toward a nuclear weapon…was stopped at an early stage.…
Today, Israeli contributions to US national interests range across a broad spectrum.… Through joint training and exercises as well as exchanges on military doctrine, the United States has benefited in the areas of counter-terrorism cooperation, tactical intelligence, and experience in urban warfare.… Increasingly, US homeland security and military agencies are turning to Israeli technology to solve some of their most vexing technical problems.… Israel is also a global pacesetter in active measures for armored vehicle protection, defense against short-range rocket threats, and the techniques and procedures of robotics, all of which it has shared with the United States.…
Overall, the value of annual US purchases of Israeli defense articles has increased steadily over the past decade, from less than a half billion dollars in the early 2000s to about $1.5 billion today. Among the Israeli-developed defense equipment used by the US military are short-range unmanned aircraft systems that have seen service in Iraq and Afghanistan; targeting pods on hundreds of Air Force, Navy, and Marine strike aircraft; a revolutionary helmet-mounted sight that is standard in nearly all frontline Air Force and Navy fighter aircraft; lifesaving armor installed in thousands of MRAP armored vehicles used in Iraq and Afghanistan; and a gun system for close-in defense of naval vessels against terrorist dinghies and small-boat swarms. Moreover, American and Israeli companies are working together to jointly produce Israel’s Iron Dome—the world’s first combat-proven counter-rocket system.
Counter-terrorism and intelligence cooperation is deep and extensive.… Israel is a full partner in intelligence operations that benefit both countries, such as efforts to interdict the supply of parts to Iran’s nuclear program or to prevent weapons smuggling in the Red Sea and the Mediterranean.…
Given that Iran and its allies in the greater Middle East represent clear and present dangers to US interests, Israel’s military—the most powerful in the region—plays an important role in addressing those threats posed especially by Syria, Hezbollah, and Iran itself. The ability of the Israeli armed forces to deter the military ambitions of destabilizing regional actors promotes American national interests because it presents our common enemies with an additional—and potent—military capability to resist their aggression.…
The conclusion of our analysis is that the US-Israel relationship is a significant asset to US national interests.… “US national interests” deserve equal billing with “shared values” and “moral responsibility” as fundamental rationales for the bilateral relationship.…
(Robert D. Blackwill is the Henry A. Kissinger senior fellow for US foreign policy at the Council on Foreign Relations; he served under George W. Bush as US ambassador to India and then as deputy assistant to the president. Walter B. Slocomb, senior counsel in Caplin & Drysdale’s Washington, DC, office, served in the Pentagon throughout the Clinton and Carter administrations.)
