Let’s Blame Israel

I am reminded that many thought (and some still do) that the United States went to war in Iraq on Israel’s request and for her sole benefit. President Bush, close with the Saudis, apparently cared so much more about Israel that, notwithstanding any threat to his friends the Saudis, he mobilized the entire US military to protect and defend Israel against an enemy she knew well how to handle. We can use as an example Israel’s 1981 bombing of the Iraqi nuclear reactor.

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For the past two weeks, our series “Postcards from America – Postcards from Israel” has been very critical of President Obama’s active interference in Egypt’s politics, from calling for President Mubarak’s outright resignation and departure from his country to threatening to immediately withhold American foreign aid funding unless the Egyptian military oust their commander in chief. President Obama does not dare do the same vis-à-vis Iran, which poses a real and imminent danger to the United States, but flexing his power against a friend of many decades became a nonissue. Thus, it was with utter astonishment that I began noticing the following chatter: The USA is not doing enough in Egypt to help the popular revolt because of Israel. It is in Israel’s interest alone – not the world’s – that Egypt will not be further shaken; America follows suit. Seemingly then, Israel manages to hold back the President of the most powerful nation in the world, forcing him to dance to the sound of her flute, to the detriment of the oppressed Egyptians that want freedom and Democracy. The idea that the Jews (and by extension the Israelis) control the world has been embedded into our collective consciousness so deeply that we do not even question the logic behind such pronunciations. Israel has been found guilty once again! This time, it is Israel standing in the way of the benevolent masses whose sole wish is to reform their own country. Simply fascinating: The USA is not doing enough to help the Egyptians rid themselves of a tyrant, while the Iranian parliament expressed its support for “the Egyptian nation’s uprising and movement against tyranny.” Both the USA and Iran find themselves promoting the same cause, and both are now justified at their anger against Israel! It does get better! Iran and Egypt are approximately the same size in terms of population. Iran is very advanced academically, so it is safe to presume that Internet usage is at least as prevalent, if not greater than in Egypt. The demographics of both countries are also similar, insofar as there is a large base of people under 30. Thus, in Iran they have not known anything but the rule of the Mullahs, while in Egypt the same base has not known anything other than life under President Mubarak. The United States actively supported the social revolt in Iran, but that was quickly put down. Yet in Egypt greater forces are at play. There is an e-mail circulating now by an American who has lived in Egypt for the past 15 years and is obviously Jewish. She provides a synopsis of the events in Egypt, as the Internet was just turned back on. In her words, she is “writing messages to everyone as fast and furious as possible. I have no idea if it will stay on or if it is going to be turned off again.” The write-up was prepared in advance, and to dispatch it simultaneously to a great number of recipients only takes a click of a button. But the story sounds better, and the stage has to look just right for the act. I will spare the scripted analyses, written for Western ears, and will skip to the ending paragraph, seemingly the crescendo to the diatribes against President Mubarak’s regime:

That's about all I can manage to squeeze out this morning. Please share this far and wide, and as high up the food chain as you can get it. Fifteen years in Egypt gives me the right to see what is going on. BTW, as an American, I think the US was very slow to react. I know all about our strategic interests, Israel and what not, but I have to admit I believe our policy makers are more interested in what affect the change in regime will have on Israel than on what affect it will have on the Egyptian people. And that is wrong. Israel has to face the world like all the other countries and stop relying on the US to protect it. If and when there is regime change here, if they listen to the Egyptian people, it is true, the peace agreement will not run the country anymore, but if the US plays its cards right, even after the Palestine Papers that have been released, there may be a chance for a balanced policy here in the region that does not allow the dehumanization and periodic slaughter of the Palestinian people. America should be on the right side for a change and letting Mubarak go, is the right side.

If one had any doubt which way the winds are blowing, reread the above summary. Israel is preventing the will of the Egyptian people from emerging by pressuring the United States not to apply pressure on President Mubarak. Those of us who actually live in the United States have heard our President do exactly the opposite, following the exact recipe of President Carter: He is applying more force on President Mubarak designed to reach a breaking point when Mubarak will be forced to leave power and the country, another victory for Hope and Change. The e-mail now circulating is written as if by a layperson, while all indications are that it is the work of a professional, trying to downgrade the level to a more personal, more amicable, more familiar and resonating tone. The timing of the e-mail is additional evidence that coincidences do not happen, but are created. Its goal: to try and influence American public opinion, before the Black Friday developments in Egypt. More importantly, as it relates directly to Israel, the e-mail and recent chatter indicate the course of action expected in the coming days, weeks and months: Israel is next to be dropped by the U.S., and the first manner by which this will be felt will be cutting the three billion in annual aid Israel receives from the United States. American Jewry, predominantly on the Left but also others, has talked about this for the past few weeks. “It is positive to apply pressure in this way,” said Prof. Galia Golan in a visit just concluded, “Israel cares about what the United States thinks and does.” An idea repeated often enough sinks in, and voices are starting to be heard, even on Capitol Hill. Israel must be prepared not only for another active front on her southern border, but also for a loss of the aid she receives from the United States. Israeli leaders would be smart to be ready with a remedy and announce, without any delay, that Israel respectfully requests to have the aid cut due to the financial difficulties the US is facing and the surging national deficit in the US. At the very least, this will take the sting out of President Obama’s next attack on Israel. The Egyptian people lived for three decades under President Mubarak. He has announced he will not run again and asked his people for an orderly transition. If he wanted to flee, or transfer billions out of Egypt, he would have done so already. He did not. President Mubarak cares about his people and his country. If this uprising is really for the benefit of the Egyptian people, then the message has been heard and will be acted upon. Anything further at the moment indicates there are foreign interests meddling in the Egyptian pond. Egypt will lose, and with her the entire Middle East and world at large.