THE WEEK THAT WAS: BIBI WARNS CONGRESS: “EVEN IF ISRAEL HAS TO STAND ALONE, ISRAEL WILL STAND”; & OUR ANNUAL PURIM-SHPIELS

We welcome your comments to this and any other CIJR publication. Please address your response to:  Rob Coles, Publications Chairman, Canadian Institute for Jewish Research, PO Box 175, Station  H, Montreal QC H3G 2K7 –

Contents:

Bibi’s Not Churchill, Nor Obama Chamberlain—But Congressional Speech Does Draw Blood, Upsetting U.S.-Iran Nuclear Applecart: Frederick Krantz, CIJR, Mar. 5, 2015 — Munich 1938 analogies being made to describe Israeli P.M. Netanyahu’s speech to Congress are inexact. 

The Story Behind Marble Moses in Netanyahu’s Speech: Anav Silverman, Jewish Press, Mar. 4, 2015 — While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referenced several cultural, political, and historical figures throughout his highly-anticipated speech to Congress on Tuesday March 3 – including Harry S. Truman, Queen Esther, Robert Frost, and Elie Wiesel – he concluded his historical address with the biblical figure of the prophet Moses.

Purim-Shpiels:  CIJR, Mar. 6, 2015

On Topic Links

Israel Issues on L’Chayim (Video): Isi Leibler, Candidly Speaking, Mar. 2, 2014

Happy, Happy, Happy: Drybones, Mar. 6, 2014

How J Street Misled Obama Into Netanyahu Speech Debacle: Moshe Phillips and Benyamin Korn, Algemeiner, Mar. 5, 2014

Why Obama's Criticism of Netanyahu's Iran Speech Is Flawed: Ryan Mauro, Clarion Project, Mar. 5, 2014

BIBI’S NOT CHURCHILL, NOR OBAMA CHAMBERLAIN—

BUT CONGRESSIONAL SPEECH DOES DRAW BLOOD,

UPSETTING U.S.-IRAN NUCLEAR APPLECART

Frederick Krantz

CIJR, Mar. 5, 2015

Munich 1938 analogies being made to describe Israeli P.M. Netanyahu’s speech to Congress are inexact.  Israel is indeed a small country excluded from talks affecting its fate, but while there are certain analogies, Netanyahu isn’t Churchill, Obama isn’t Chamberlain, nor is Israel a helpless victim facing “German”, i.e. Iranian, aggression.  Indeed, Netanyahu’s powerful critique, made before an overwhelmingly approving joint American legislature and carried on most radio and T.V. networks across America and the world, has clearly drawn political blood.

Most commentators—even those critical of Mr. Netanyahu’s supposed use of the venue for  political reasons (the Israeli election is only two weeks away)–agreed with Isaac Herzog (Labor), his domestic electoral opponent, that “the speech we heard today was impressive”. 

They also generally agreed that its substantive critique of the deal moved the Iran negotiation issue off a largely unexamined dead center, reinforcing the bi-partisan Congressional demand that any deal be subject to its approval and, if necessary, strengthening.  Such opposition has been  reinforced and given renewed life.

Netanyahu was careful to emphasize that he sought not to destroy the deal, but to help achieve the best deal possible, for Israel and the U.S. He underlined that this means not only the substantial dismantling of Iran’s capacity to produce sufficient fissionable material and the means to deliver it (its so-far unrestricted intercontinental ballistic missile development), but also an end to Teheran’s broad  backing of M.E. and international terrorist regimes. 

Iran’s unrelenting pro-terrorist activities were noted: in the Middle East, in Gaza (Hamas), Lebanon (Hezbollah), Syria (Assad and, paradoxically, IS), Iraq (Shi’ite militias), Yemen (the now-dominant Houthi rebels), and also internationally, in Argentina (1992, 29 dead in the Israeli Embassy and (1994, 87 dead)  AMIA Jewish Community Center bombings, the attempted assassination of the Saudi ambassador in Washington, DC (and, Netanyahu might have added, its support for the Chavez dictatorship in Venezuela).

Indeed, the careful delineation of the extremist Iranian Islamist dictatorship’s record as the primary supporter of world-wide terrorism (generally ignored by an Administration increasingly viewed as seeking a Shiite alliance against Sunni extremists) was one of the speech’s strongest dimensions. It threw light on the key question of why Obama makes concessions to such a thuggish entity–having initially pledged to eliminate its bomb-making capacity entirely, but now allowing retention of both processing plants and thousands of centrifuges, with an agreement end-term of only ten years (with even this now rejected by the regime ). 

This, and his reminding his distinguished audience of the long record of Iranian nuclear subterfuge and broken agreements, right up to this week’s IAEA statement about continued, and hidden, Iranian nuclear weapons research, served to raise key issues: why give up sanctions, which brought Iran to the table; why not press for tougher terms, especially given the current collapse of oil prices; and why uncritically assume the reliability of any agreement entered into with Teheran?

The impact of the speech on Congress, and on the American people, will undoubtedly make selling it in what looks to be its current naïve and trusting form harder, if not impossible, for the Obama Administration. In this respect, Netanyahu, for whom the deal raises immediate existential questions for Israel, clearly succeeded in his primary mission.

The key question now is, What can Israel do if Obama, who gives every indication of pressing on with the current deal, signs it, and manages to either evade, or somehow to maneuver, Congressional approval?

Here there are only two possible answers: either Israel accepts the fact that, sooner or later (probably sooner) Iran is a nuclear power, threshold or actual, and forges some kind of MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) strategy neutralizing its arsenal; or Israel decides that it has to remove, or substantially reduce, Iran’s nuclear capacity militarily.

The first instance is not promising. The extremist Islamic Iranian regime is not the nuclear-armed Soviet Union which the U.S. faced in the Cold War: it is a millenarial theocratic structure seeking regional hegemony, and for which a coming titanic Messianic confrontation with the infidels is an article of faith. Far from rationally backing away from such a nuclear Armageddon, as the Soviets did, Teheran may well welcome it.

The second instance, Israel alone acting militarily against Iran to destroy or severely delimit its nuclear potential, is also fraught with dangers. Aside from issue of Israel’s military capacity to achieve such a result, there is also the problem of Iran’s retaliatory ability, which involves not only its own military assets, but those of its regional clients (e.g., Hezbollah’s proven arsenal of over 100,000 rockets and missiles, Syria’s remaining chemical weapons capacity (and its own missile arsenal), and even—if a general Middle East war were sparked—unstable Islamist Pakistan’s nuclear potential.

On the other hand, a region (and a world) in which a genocidal Iranian regime–pledged to destroy the “Zionist entity” and, unresponsive to MAD considerations, actually possessed multiple nuclear war-heads and a missile delivery system–is simply an unbearable existential reality for the tiny Jewish Israel.

Publically raising and underlining such issues, consciously obscured by the Obama Administration’s P.R. for an Iran nuclear agreement which has clearly become a major ”legacy” goal, is the clear achievement of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech.

So no, it is not exactly 1938—but not because the “Great Powers” (the 5+1 of the US., Britain, France, Russia, and China, plus Germany, the last five of which look forward to resuming their lucrative pre-sanctions contracts with Teheran) are  incapable of selling out a tiny state. And it is not 1938 because Netanyahu in fact literally thinks he is Churchill (though he was, before his speech, presented by Congress with a bust of the great British Prime Minister [a similar one was removed from the Oval Office by Obama as his first Presidential act in 2009]).

No, it is not 1938 because modern Israel—though like Czechoslovakia excluded from the conference affecting its fate—is not the weak and defenceless state dismembered and finally given over to Nazi destruction by Western  appeasement. (NB: March 15th is the anniversary of the final post-Munich German invasion and conquest of Czechoslovakia.)

Where the Munich analogy most clearly breaks down is clear from  the concluding words of the Israeli leader’s  address to Congress.

Having initially noted the emblematic importance of the coming Purim holiday, with its celebration of Israel’s triumph over an earlier Persian regime’s attempt to destroy the Jewish People, and directly addressing Holocaust witness Elie Wiesel, symbolically as well as physically present in the audience, Netanyahu guaranteed that “the days when the Jewish people remained passive in the face of genocidal enemies…are over…Even if Israel has to stand alone, Israel will stand”.

Netanyahu concluded his address to tumultuous applause by stressing Israel’s and America’s shared heritage and values.  He pointed to the largely unknown sculptural relief of Moses, savior of the Jewish people,  placed above the Congressional chamber,  quoting—in Hebrew and in English–the great Jewish leader’s Biblical call to his People, and to Congress: “Be strong and resolute, neither fear not dread” our enemies.

Should the Iranian nuclear treaty in its present form be signed, and should Obama, as promised, veto any Congressional role insofar as its final approval (and, potentially, enhanced treaty safeguards) is concerned, it would then remain for Israel, alone, to deal with the existential threat . How, and whether, it would so, remain key questions—concerning the latter issue, the Israeli leader’s speech seems clear enough.

(Prof. Frederick Krantz is President and Director of the Canadian

Institute for Jewish Research  in Montreal and Toronto)

Contents                                                                                      

THE STORY BEHIND MARBLE MOSES IN NETANYAHU’S SPEECH   

Anav Silverman                                                                                                                  

Jewish Press, Mar. 4, 2015

While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referenced several cultural, political, and historical figures throughout his highly-anticipated speech to Congress on Tuesday March 3 – including Harry S. Truman, Queen Esther, Robert Frost, and Elie Wiesel – he concluded his historical address with the biblical figure of the prophet Moses.

The Israeli prime minister did not just mention Moses in passing, he also pointed to the image of Moses in the form of white Vermont marble relief, hanging over the gallery doors overlooking the lawmakers in the House of Representatives Chamber. Netanyahu spoke of the biblical leader, saying “Moses led our people from slavery to the gates of the Promised Land. And before the people of Israel entered the land of Israel, Moses gave us a message that has steeled our resolve for thousands of years.”

It was probably the first time that the marble relief portrait of Moses hanging in the House Chamber ever received such public acknowledgement.

The portrait, designed by artist Jean de Marco, is one 23 marble reliefs that depict historical figures noted for their work in establishing the principals that underlie American law, according to the Architect of the Capitol, a U.S. government website. The site is devoted to providing historic and current information about the function and architecture of the U.S. Capitol Building where Netanyahu gave his speech before a joint-session of Congress.

On either side of the portrait of Moses, there are 11 profiles in the eastern half of the chamber that face left and eleven in the western half, which face right, so that all look toward the full-face relief of Moses in the center. He is described on the site as a Hebrew prophet and lawgiver, who transformed a wandering people into a nation and received the Ten Commandments.

The other profiles include writer of the Declaration of Independence and the third president of the U.S., Thomas Jefferson; King of Babylonia, Hammurabi; Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Suleiman; Athenian statesman, Solon; Napoleon I, and Maimonides, among other significant leaders from different periods of history.

The image of Moses and other leaders of civilizations and societies have been hanging in the chamber for 65 years. Scholars from the University of Pennsylvania and the Columbia Historical Society of Washington D.C. chose the subjects with the help of authoritative members of the Library of Congress over six decades ago. A special committee of five Members of the House of Representatives and the Architect of the Capitol approved the selection, and the reliefs were installed when the House Chamber was remodeled from 1949-1950.

Prime Minister Netanyahu at the end of his speech quoted Moses from the Book of Deuteronomy, stating in Hebrew, “Be strong and resolute, neither fear nor dread them,” which were the leader’s parting words to the Israelites before they entered the land of Israel. For Netanyahu, they were words that highlighted the strength of friendship shared by the United States and Israel, two countries with a deep respect for the timeless road of history and the challenges along the way.

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PURIM-SHPIELS, PURIM-SHPIELS, PURIM-SHPIELS, PURIM-SHPIELS

CIJR, Mar. 6, 2015

WEEKLY QUOTES

“Look, it’s no secret that the United States is no longer a key player in the Middle East. We hope that this move will not only bolster our regional presence, but also will further improve our ties with one of the world’s most  rapidly developing economies,” — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. The White House announced Monday its plans to re-open an embassy in the Iranian capital Tehran, 36 years after it was closed in the wake of the Islamic Revolution and Ayatollah Khomeini’s rise to power. The U.S. has not had diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic since the Iran hostage crisis of 1979, when supporters of the Ayatollah took over the U.S. embassy and held 52 American diplomats and citizens hostage for over one year. Now, with Iranian relations and the West improving rapidly, and Obama regularly meeting his Iranian counterpart, the “moderate mullah” Hassan Rouhani, Washington believes an embassy in Tehran will further accelerate the ongoing nuclear negotiations between Iran and world powers. Iran “should achieve its desired goal of acquiring a nuclear weapon as soon as possible, and our re-opening the Embassy will only help bring that goal,” Kerry said. (Washington Appeaser, Mar. 4, 2015)  

SHORT TAKES

PURIM-SHPIELS, PURIM-SHPIELS, PURIM-SHPIELS, PURIM-SHPIELS

ISLAMIC STATE TO HOST 2026 WORLD CUP (Zurich) — FIFA, the governing body of soccer’s World Cup, announced today from its Zurich headquarters that Islamic State, the world’s newest, and most media-savvy, terrorist state will host the 2026 World Cup. FIFA’s President Sepp Blatter told reporters that I.S. won the bid over other “worthy nations” that had applied to host the event, such as North Korea, Iran and Libya because they “would have no problem finding slaves to build the enormous infrastructure required to host such an event.” FIFA has already been criticized for awarding the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, a nation that has a dubious record of sponsoring terrorists such as Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, and whose temperatures during the summer months usually exceed 40C. When asked why a murderous, Islamist entity such as I.S. should receive the honor of hosting soccer’s most prestigious tournament, Blatter said that “we really had no choice but to give it to them because, if we didn’t, we would have been labeled Islamophobic.” (New York Roast, Mar. 1, 2015)

PURIM-SHPIELS, PURIM-SHPIELS, PURIM-SHPIELS, PURIM-SHPIELS

EGYPTIAN CLERICS ANNOUNCE MAJOR “REVOLUTION” IN ISLAM: BEER (Cairo) — Islamic religious authorities announced this week a major revolution in Islamic law, the first change to Islamic doctrines in hundreds of years. According to an Al-Azhar spokesman, the drinking of beer will be permitted by male jihadis returning from conquest in lands controlled by the “infidel.” Al-Azhar is a major authority of Sunni Islam and center of Islamic learning, located in Cairo and founded in the tenth century. It is thought that the permission of beer drinking by jihadis is in response to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a vocal supporter for a renewed vision of Islam, who recently called for “a religious revolution” in Islamic thinking. Al-Sisi has been a vocal critic of the Islamist violence that has bedeviled the Muslim world since 9-11. An Al-Azhar spokesman told reporters that “Sisi asked for change, he will have change. All our glorious fighters can now get drunk and enjoy themselves, Inshallah, like those American soldiers we see in Hollywood movies such as Apocalypse Now.” An Islamic State fighter, speaking to the BBC from the first-ever Oktoberfest held in the fledgling I.S. capital Raqqa: “My friend, nothing beats having a cold one after a long day of rampaging, enslaving villagers, and decapitating Christians…Alahu Akbar! Alahu Akbar!” (Daily Snail-Mail, Feb. 27, 2015)    

PURIM-SHPIELS, PURIM-SHPIELS, PURIM-SHPIELS, PURIM-SHPIELS      

IDF “BAMBOOZLED,” PURCHASES AGING, USED SUBMARINES FROM CANADA (Haifa) — The IDF has rarely made mistakes in its illustrious history. On Monday, however, the Defense Ministry announced it had made a “grave error” when it agreed to buy four aging and un-seaworthy Victoria-class submarines from the Canadian Navy. The cost of the submarines was one billion Canadian dollars. The submarines, already used when purchased by the Canadians from Britain’s Royal Navy, have been plagued with mechanical problems since delivery, and will likely never see combat. “We made a mistake, that’s all I can say,” a visibly distraught Gadi Eizenkot, the new Chief of Staff of the IDF, said at a press conference in Tel Aviv. “Those shifty Canucks bamboozled us!” he added. Ever since crippling Western sanctions against Israel took effect last December, the IDF has been unable to acquire any new military equipment from the U.S., or any of its other sources. The much-anticipated, nuclear-capable, Dolphin-class subs, built by Germany and slated for delivery this year, were canceled. Canada is the only country still refusing to impose sanctions on the Jewish State, and is currently Israel’s only source of military hardware. Prime Minister Netanyahu, who normally speaks highly of Israeli-Canadian relations, said “the proud IDF, heirs to a great fighting force starting with the Jewish Legion, through the War of Independence and the Six-Day War, to the recent conflict against Hamas, is now buying used lemons from the Canadian Military, oy vey!” (HaHa’retz, Mar. 2, 2015)    

CIJR Wishes All Our Friends and Supporters: Shabbat Shallom!

Contents

On Topic

Israel Issues on L’Chayim (Video): Isi Leibler, Candidly Speaking, Mar. 2, 2014

Happy, Happy, Happy: Drybones, Mar. 6, 2014

How J Street Misled Obama Into Netanyahu Speech Debacle: Moshe Phillips and Benyamin Korn, Algemeiner, Mar. 5, 2014—Who misled President Obama into his losing showdown over Prime Minister Netanyahu’s blockbuster speech to Congress?

Why Obama's Criticism of Netanyahu's Iran Speech Is Flawed: Ryan Mauro, Clarion Project, Mar. 5, 2014—Politico has published an article listing the "5 things President Obama's team thinks [Israeli Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu got wrong." These five arguments are merely obfuscating talking points for those wish to bury their heads in the sand about the Iranian nuclear threat.

Rob Coles, Publications Chairman, Canadian Institute for Jewish Research/ L'institut Canadien de recherches sur le Judaïsme, www.isranet.org

Tel: (514) 486-5544 – Fax:(514) 486-8284 ; ber@isranet.wpsitie.com