by Herbert I. London, Hudson New York
September 21, 2011
With a vote at the UN this week on Palestinian statehood it is appropriate to ask if the United States will save Israel or will Israel save the United States.
After ten days visiting defense installations in Israel and talking to members of the general staff, my confidence about Israel’s ability to defend itself has soared. This tiny nation of seven million is a miracle of technical marvels and remarkable spirit. Every weapon system this nation buys is Israelized. The Israeli drone is a composite of parts from several nations and Israeli avionics. The F-15 is an American plane adapted for the conditions in the Middle East neighborhood.
While some native Israelis lament the decrease in national spirit, the IDF education program instills in every draftee a sense of national history and purpose. It is inspiring to meet teenagers of eighteen and nineteen who are prepared to make battlefield decisions. One twenty-one-year old brigade commander in an elite unit is an articulate warrior, and at least as sophisticated as most officers ten years his senior in the United States.
In their book Start-Up Nation, Dan Senor and Saul Singer point out that these soldiers who are given great responsibility become desirable candidates for corporate recruiters. A highly decorated communications unit had three times the number of applicants as available billets. As one officer pointed out, these youngsters can secure some of the nation’s most desirable jobs once the tour of duty is over.
As Israel is not saddled with a hydra-headed bureaucracy expanding to meet regulations and oversight committees, Israel’s military force is lean, adaptable and alert. Incompetence at any point in the chain of command could be deadly.
The larger U.S. force structure and international missions militate against the adoption of an Israeli system. Nonetheless, there is much to be learned: the hair-trigger response to attacks of any kind; the ability to move ground troops quickly, and the surveillance tools are unquestionably a source of security strength. Israel, despite residing in a turbulent area with 250 million hostile Arabs, is a unique illustration of military preparedness.
There are those in the United States who believe Israel is a strategic liability. As long as we are committed to its survival, they say, American forces will be obliged to be in harm’s way. Of course, what these detractors overlook is that Israel is the eyes and ears for the U.S., in a region fraught with extremists. In a real sense, Israel is the first line of defense in the war against radical Islam, a war that promises to be long and bloody. Israel is not merely an ally, it is a democratic nation in a despotic wasteland.
This war is not only likely to be long; it is a civilizational battle in which liberalism with its attendant values of individual rights, free markets, private property and the rule of law is pitted against an eighth century adherence to conformity and an opposition to personal liberty. Israel assumes the vanguard in this struggle, in part because of its location and, in part, because its very survival is dependent on prevailing against its adversaries.
To return to the question of whether the U.S. can save Israel or whether Israel can save the U.S., is to realize that the relationship is symbiotic. The U.S. needs Israel as a first line of defense, a barrier against the expansion of radical Islam; Israel needs the U.S. for technical advances and the assertion of international power. If the day comes when the U.S. believes Israel can be set adrift, international equilibrium will be permanently disrupted. Israel is for the U.S. a listening post in a world where intelligence is critical for security. As political currents are roiled by expressions of regional dismay and religious orthodoxy, U.S. interests are uncertain. This condition, perhaps more than any other, explains why the U.S. needs this extraordinary ally in the Kingdom of David.
Lives AREN’T irrelevant to Him who called into being the Eternal People, and made them a nation.
To begin with, there’s obviously nothing ‘relativistic’ about me; the assertion is merely your defense against my characterization of you as brittle — though I stand by it.
Secondly, if you can insouciantly kiss off what I’ve said as “Christian liberal-humanistic,” then it’s apparent that none of those words have any intrinsic meaning for you except as you find them useful to manipulate in a propagandistic sense. In other words, the true relativist here is none other than yourself.
It seems that you need to be continually reminded, Yamit, there is no Jewish hierophant — including the Rambam (who would himself be scandalised by the notion) — and no Jewish magisterium either. As Ted told AE [above], “Judaism has no dogmas.”
Objectively speaking, Yamit, your remark couldn’t have sounded less ‘Jewish’ if it had come from the pen of that other brittle ideologue, a certain Lev Bronstein.
Shavua tov, one and all.
Lets say that as a Jew I view the world and our place in it based on Jewish values and not your Christian liberal-humanistic relativism. In Judaism, moral purity is the only human objective. Lives are entirely irrelevant, in a national sense.
Ted 2 comment didn’t make it through one in moderation the the other disapeared. You may find them interesting yourself although I think last year one was posted here.
U.S. think-tank: Obama should rethink military aid to Israel
Influential CSIS says current spat between leaders is more than a clash of personalities.
WASHINGTON – Given the United States’ current financial straits, aid for Israel cannot be taken for granted in the future, according to a new report published by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.
In the report, titled “Crossroads: The Future of the U.S.-Israel Strategic Partnership,” CSIS Deputy Director of the Middle East Program Haim Malka notes that security cooperation between the countries has reached an all-time high – but this may change, given the growing differences in analysis of the strategic threats.
AE, I’m so tired of hearing about all the money that America gives to Israel ( Actually today it’s Chinese money) that I am giving you a study showing or demonstrating that not only is that aid to Israel negative, Israel will actually lose according to every economic and political parameter and thus weaken Israel by those same parameters.
Economic and Strategic Ramifications of American Assistance to Israel After reading this full study if you still support American assistance to Israel then it’s you who is anti-Isra
The real costs of America’s assistance to Israel.
In 2011, American assistance will comprise some 24% of Israel’s security budget, 4% of the country’s total budget and approximately 1.5% of the GDP. All American assistance to Israel, as of 2008, is military in nature. This is the case since the agreement signed by the first Netanyahu government and the Clinton administration in the 1990’s, in which the US Government ceased providing civilian assistance to Israel. Seventy five per-cent of this military assistance must be allocated to US-based purchases and the remainder may be designated toward acquisitions in Israel or
from other countries.
Assessing Actual Value
To begin with, the total figure of this assistance does not represent its actual value to the defense establishment, due to the stipulation allocating much of the package toward US acquisitions. Were Israel’s defense establishment free in selecting all its purchases, no doubt many would be made in the USA, but it is highly unlikely that they would amount to the total required seventy-five percent, 2.25 billion dollars. Less expensive equipment of perhaps even higher quality might be available in Israel or in other countries. But with the US-purchase budget so ample, and the shekel budget so limited, there is little leeway but to buy in the USA. In this sense, the cost of this equipment does not reflect its real value, since many of the same items could have been purchased at a lower price. “The cost of the (American) raw materials is double that of the options available in Israel or Europe, upping the final cost by 20%.”
Former Minister of Defense MosheArens in 2001, that some 50% of the assistance would be spent outside of the United the US, some $750 million annually, is not economically justifiable. Raphaeli brought an additional assessment from David Vaish, former economic advisor to the Ministry of Defense, who estimated that in 2001, the IDF would have elected to make some $400 million of its military product purchases within Israel, but that these potential acquisitions were tabled due to the requirement to purchase US-made products – translating into a $400 million loss for the Israeli economy. Since then, the value of those same products is 50% higher, equivalent to some $600 million in today’s terms
For each dollar of military aid to Egypt, Israel must spend between 1.6 and 2.1 dollars in order to maintain its qualitative military advantage, yet receives only 1.5 dollars for every dollar invested in Egypt. Some of the resources invested in order to stave off a potential Egyptian threat are deployed on other fronts as well. Raphaeli estimated that for every dollar of American aid to neighboring countries which translates into support for their armies, Israel needs to spend between 1.3 and 1.4dollars in order to preserve the balance. In this sense, Israel has a lower return on investment than Egypt for every dollar spent, due to the greater amount of military goods it must acquire. Not only does American assistance not provide Israel with an economic advantage, it requires Israel to expend additional amounts from its own internal security
reserves.
The benefits of Israel’s grant are thus greatly diminished, and perhaps canceled out altogether, if weighed beside the costs which accompany America’s aid to Israel’s neighbors.
Undercutting Israel’s Military Industry
Israel is among the leading arms manufacturers in the world, with arms exports forming
an important component of its economy. Collaboration between Israel and the United
States contributed to the growth of Israel’s arms industry, yet American assistance to
Israel undercuts its success. Read More
AE. I find it offensive when you attack the propensity of religious Jews to look to the torah and its sages for guidance or even for instructions. It is their right. I say that as a secular Jew. You essentially are pissing on the Jewish religion. Do it on on antisemitic site, Don’t do it on a Jewish site.
It is also the right of secular Jews to ridicule such reliance. This is a family quarrel. But I don’t think it is appropriate for you to come here and tell us not to look to our sages. Come here and talk about common sense all you like but don’t try to undermine our religious beliefs or practices.
You don’t seem to realize that what makes Judaism great is its internal dialogue. Jews have been recording Rabbinic rulings for thousands of years and always included dissenting opinions. These different opinions are constantly being debated. Judaism has no dogma’s. It is a living breathing religion.
…lost touch with the best part of himself. . . .
They are all of our children.
If you really cannot see that
— if you truly cannot be troubled,
not only by the prospect of putting them in harm’s way,
but also by the unnaturalness (and even perversity)
of asking the young to risk death for the mature,
instead of vice versa
— it is because you are a brittle ideologue
who has lost touch
with the best part of himself.
I pray that you will find it again.
The TORAH makes clear? How about “common sense” makes clear? Loyalty to God? How is YOUR loyalty to God any different from your adversary’s loyalty to the same God, which enables them to oppress their own people and kill anyone in their path?
You people need to start thinking for yourselves in REAL terms instead of hiding behind what Moses wrote eons ago.
You don’t know Yamit very well, do you? As an enemy of the U.S and a supporter of Barack Hussein Obama, this was actually terrible news for him.
Michael, are you being disingenuous or are you just ignorant of the BILLIONS that “Americans” through the U.S. government have GIVEN Israel over several decades in terms of grants, loans, arms deals, joint intel projects, UNSC vetoes, and a pledge by George Bush to stand with Israel against a nuclear Iran? Perhaps you are just talking about American Jews.
The facts are that most American Christians have always supported Israel unconditionally for decades, whereas most American Jews are not too sure. I deduce this from their continuing support for Barack Hussein Obama by 54% after all the evidence is in about him.
Michael, as a good Jew, you are now expected to put your brain in neutral, park your common sense, and shut the hell up, because the Rambam has spoken about what Moses wrote eons ago, and you can take it to the bank. However, you will have to add a couple of bucks if you want to use it to buy a cup of coffee at Starbucks.
The TORAH makes clear? How about “common sense” makes clear? Loyalty to God? How is YOUR loyalty to God any different from your adversary’s loyalty to the same God of all creation, which enables them to oppress their own people and kill anyone in their path?
You people need to start thinking for yourselves in REAL terms instead of hiding behind what Moses wrote eons ago.
You don’t know Yamit very well, do you? As an enemy of the U.S and a supporter of Barack Hussein Obama, this was actually terrible news for him.
Michael, are you being disingenuous or are you just ignorant of the BILLIONS that “Americans” through the U.S. government have GIVEN Israel over several decades in terms of grants, loans, arms deals, joint intel projects, UNSC vetoes, and an unconditional pledge by George Bush to stand with Israel against a nuclear Iran? Perhaps you are just talking about American Jews.
The facts are that most American Christians have always supported Israel unconditionally for decades, whereas most American Jews are not too sure. I deduce this from their continuing support for Barack Hussein Obama by 54% after all the evidence is in about him.
Michael, as a good Jew, you are now expected to put your brain in neutral, park your common sense, and shut the hell up, because the Rambam has spoken about what Moses wrote eons ago, and you can take it to the bank. However, you will have to add a couple of bucks if you want to use it to buy a cup of coffee at Starbucks.
These seem like stupid premises to me. HCQ’s comments are like hubris and paranoia gone wild.
For decades now the U.S. has underwritten the security of Israel in every which way because the two countries trace their founding principles to the same philosophical roots. Ironically, most Americans, which means most American Christians, support Israel unconditionally, while most Americans Jews do not.
Unlike Australia – always – and Britain – most of the time – Israel has never joined in any open way in any of the American interventions and liberations for geopolitical reasons as well as because it has never been necessary. However, they work closely behind the scenes. If push comes to shove the U.S. will always stand with Israel unconditionally and vice versa. No adversary would be stupid enough to make this happen.
You are seeing this even as we speak when even the most pro-Arab and anti-Semitic president in U.S. history was constrained to threaten to veto a unilateral Palestinian state at the UNSC.
Not sure if I should reply to your comments as they are likely to offend and since I see you are one of the good Jews I won’t.
I will though offer you some food for thought:
You should learn the mitzvah of yishuv Eretz Yisrael. The pasuk says, “V’horashtem es ha’aretz vee’shavtem bah” – You shall possess the Land and you shall settle in it (Bamidbar 33:53). The Ramban, in his commentary on Chumash, explains that the Torah is commanding us in a mitzvah assei, namely to inherit and dwell in Eretz Yisrael. Similarly the Ramban counts this mitzvah in his count of mitzvot assei (number four of the mitzvot that the Rambam did not count).
The Rambam and what appears to be his exclusion of living in Eretz Yisrael as a positive commandment: It is clear that the Rambam made certain assumptions regarding the human condition, that is, what comes natural to man. By nature, man is a political being. He is, from a Torah perspective, a social creature whose fundamental need is to associate with his fellow man. This once understood, and taking into account the nature of the halakha derived by Maimonides from the sources, it must be understood that a national existence is an assumed state of being for man. That the Jew has his own set of codes, laws, and customs is part and parcel of the will of G-d. That the Jew should exist as a separate entity, apart from all other nations, is also the will of G-d. That the Jew is to exist separately with his own codes, laws, and customs in a national setting is a given. It is as if the Rambam would have been forced to explain that in order for a man to don t’fillin at morning prayer, he would first be required to wake from his sleep. It is only natural that man be awake at morning prayer and at the time of wearing the t’fillin; therefore, it is superfluous to state as much. Likewise, the natural state of man requires that he live within a society of men with similar ends. To state that the Jewish people must fulfill, what from all religious and rational perspectives seem obvious, would be a waste of words and a corruption of the concept of Mitzva. [The Rambam is most careful not to waste words or dilute ideas. For a better idea of his position see More Nevukhim, Introduction to Treatise.] We realize that without waking in the morning no mitzvot can be performed, so to, must we understand that without a Jewish national existence the will of Hashem remains unfulfilled, as well as a majority of the Taryag Mitzvot.
The state, from the position of the Rambam, is very much akin to the tools of the sculptor. It is there to mold the character of the Jewish people, to formulate the correct set of guidelines for each generation, all within the primary notions of Torah. Without the commonwealth there can be no Jewish existence.
dweller, No they are not children, except for their parents and siblings. In all things they are adults at least insofar as they assume responsibility.
For anybody with eyes to see.
They’re children. . . .
1. Another 20 of us were on a bus stuck in traffic.
2. 35 or 55, still pathetic.
3. The problem however is different from what concerns Yamit. For non-Orthodox Jews assimilation and loss of Jewish identity is a major threat. For the religious community the problem is a lack of connection. Not to Judaism, not to Israel, but to activism. It’s not that they don’t care. Many have family in Israel and many of the younger people see aliyah as a serious option. But they don’t understand the need to turn out publicly for Israel. The very religious regard observance as activism (a position that I would find very hard to justify on either secular or religious grounds). The modern orthodox community is concerned but often so caught up in its dalid amos they have no clue as to the bigger picture.
4. Yamit and all Israelis should take heart in the results of the recent special Congressional election in NYC. The election was very much a referendum on Obama’s indifferent policies on Israel. In a heavily Democratic area that had not voted for a Republican candidate in generations, the Republican won a decisive victory.
5. In rich and comfortable American people can get away with caring but not acting. Israelis in general understand nothing happens unless individuals act to making it happen. American Jews need to connect action to belief. However, for Yamit to conclude that they don’t care (certainly the religious community and many not so observant Jews as well) is not correct.
6. I will concede that at the end of the day caring without acting is the functional equivalent of not caring, so the lack of activism in the American Jewish community is a troubling problem. But there are those like myself who keep on trying to change this.
7. Further and to conclude positively, many, many Jews who would not turn out for a demonstration (perhaps because demonstrations have negative connotations for them) contribute generously to Israeli charities.
Heartbreaking? For whom? The Torah also makes clear that serving to protect and defend the people of Israel is equated with loyalty to G-d (Which includes Diaspora Jews). For example, when the tribes of Gad, Reuven and half of Menashe wanted to settle east of the Jordan river, Moshe rebukes them because he thinks they are trying to avoid military service: There is no greater (Jewish Obligation)
Moshe answered the descendants of Gad and Reuven saying: shall your brothers go to war while you remain here? (Numbers 32:6).
He goes on to equate the possible avoidance of military service with turning against G-d. He accuses them of being no better than the spies who forced the people to wander for 40 years in the desert:
Now behold you have risen up in the place of your fathers, a brood of transgressors, to bring even more of God’s wrath upon Israel. If you turn away from Him, He will leave us in the wilderness and you will have destroyed this whole people (Numbers 32: 15)
Moshe is not satisfied until he extracts a promise from the tribes of Gad, Reuven and half of Menashe that they will serve in war against Israel’s enemies.
G-ds solution to the Israel Arab conflict! (The only one not yet tried!!)
In Bamidbar 33:53, Hashm says:
‘Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them: When ye pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their figured stones, and destroy all their molten images, and demolish all their high places.
And ye shall drive out the inhabitants of the land, and dwell therein; for unto you have I given the land to possess it.
And ye shall inherit the land by lot according to your families–to the more ye shall give the more inheritance, and to the fewer thou shalt give the less inheritance; wheresoever the lot falleth to any man, that shall be his; according to the tribes of your fathers shall ye inherit.
But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then shall those that ye let remain of them be as thorns in your eyes, and as pricks in your sides, and they shall harass you in the land wherein ye dwell.
And it shall come to pass, that as I thought to do unto them, so will I do unto you.
Mitzva of defending Israels Israel Jewish News
I say neither. America will not save Israel nor will Israel save or greatly impact in saving America. For American Jews I believe the only thing that will ultimately save a very few is Israel. All those polls that Ted and others present on this blog and others not presented show that Israel is for most American Jews either a very low priority or no priority at all. Within one or at most two generations for all practical purposes the American Jewish community as a viable and identifiable collective will have ceased to exist. only Israel can save a remnant of what will be left of that community. The handwriting is on the wall.
Jewish or Goyish – That is the Question
Thirty-five concerned Jews protested yesterday outside the UN against the upcoming UN recognition of a PLO terrorist state. 35 Jews in all of America! Hip hip hurray. Hip hip hurray!
OK, it isn’t fair to expect people to come from out-of-state. So it’s 35 out of the million plus Jews in New York. Hip hip hurray. Hip hip hurray!
What a pathetic turn-out!
Allow me to let my fellow bloggers and INN political analysts to write about the political and international aspects of this whole sad affair. I would like to use it as a springboard to write about the darkness of galut (diaspora) and the tragedy of Jewish non-identity.
In all fairness, it was a dark, rainy day in NYC, and let’s hope that was the reason the turn-out was so small. There is an interesting expression mentioned in the Torah concerning the plague of darkness in Egypt. The Torah describes it as “a darkness which could be felt” (Shemot, 10:21). Before the plague, the Jews in Egypt were ensconced deep in the darkness of the exile. However, the majority of them didn’t feel it. With the plague, Hashem added another element – He made the darkness tangible, 3-dimensional, so that you could actually reach out and touch it, so that the Jews would realize that they were living in darkness and want to escape. Unfortunately, 80 percent of the Jews in Egypt preferred to stay in exile and not leave for Israel, and these Diaspora lovers were slain during the three days of darkness (see Rashi, there). This is the darkness of the exile today for the Jews in the Diaspora, represented by the 35 proud Jews out of millions who stood in the rain to protest. It is “darkness mamash,” so dark you can reach out and touch it.
This article propagates Israeli-American co-dependency and while that’s fine for now, Israel still needs to prepare for the day when all the world will turn on her.
There are those of us who expect Israel to usurp the United States as a world power someday. While some think Israel is a millstone around the USA’s neck, I believe it’s the other way around. Israel cannot continue to put so much faith in the U.S. government. Put faith in yourselves, each other and your G-D, but do not put so much stock and store in my incompetent, 2 faced, broke ass, increasingly dhimmified behemoth government.
Maybe so.
But it’s also heart-breaking.
Israel will be considered in a more positive light by the world when it begins exporting petroleum to Western Europe and the US some time after 2011. It is the fear of this change in status that will bring about a war with Turkey (or Turkey+Egypt) in the near-term (2-3 months). The oil-producing Arab countries and Turkey can ill afford the loss of prestige that will result from Israel’s enhanced status, since they view all confrontations as zero-sum games.
I believe that the confrontation will result when Turkey places its drilling rig in Cyprus’ drilling area. Cyprus will bring the matter to the UN or the International Court, but Turkey will reject such proceedings and go on to drill with its platform being protected by its war ships. It will, I believe, prefer to forego its NATO membership and relations with Western Europe for the prospect of obtaining oil resources and revenue. If these events occur quickly (before the 2012 election circus), Mr. Obama will fail to take action. He may then call upon Israel to do his dirty work with the promise of US support. Up until that point the image is clear in my head, but after that, things become blurry and chaos of all kinds and types enter the world, confusing the he!! out of me.
Israel hasalways the capability to defend itself from any threat, as long as they have good leaders. There is also a higher assisitng, when it comes to defense of Israel, plus our standing with our brothers, and sisters together!
Most likely Israel will save the US, but shouldn’t with this current administration.