Jun 22, 2009

Waiting for the Phone to Ring

Jim Fletcher
By Jim Fletcher

In the 42 years since Israel smashed her enemies in the Six Day War, there has been a steady stream of propaganda that the victor was, is, and will be the aggressor in the region.

Even today, our erstwhile envoy, Sen. George Mitchell, Maine, is dutifully carrying out the orders of Barack Obama, who insists that the Jewish state consider disappearing.

We don’t call it that, of course. That’s too upfront; too out-there.

Yet for the first time in world history, a victor in war is told to give it all up and give in to the enemy’s demands.

Moshe Dayan, the flamboyant Israeli defense minister in 1967, famously said afterwards that he was “waiting for the phone to ring” when asked if he’d consider negotiating with the Arabs.

Technically, Israel launched a preemptive strike on June 5, 1967, but the Arabs were massed with armies and planes and tanks on every side.

Reading Michael Oren’s Six Days of War (you must get a copy!), one gets a sense of just how eerily similar the policies of Lyndon Johnson and Barack Obama. The two American presidents — and all their club members in-between — had a simple strategy for the Israelis:

Trust us.

Thankfully, the Jews are a little smarter than that. Levi Eshkol considered that attempt at comfort from LBJ and sent his air force south to deal with Egypt. Hopefully, Bibi Netanyahu will take a similar stance with Obama.

The assumption is that Israel today is faced with a graver threat than that posed by the Arabs 40 years ago. After all, Iran can presumably send over a nuke.

However, it is important to remember two things:
  1. the existential threat was dire in 1967 and,
  2. God is real
Point 2 seems trite, but it’s the biggest key of all. If the Bible is true and the Creator presented there exists, Israel is not only not going anywhere (this is a point that seems painfully obvious, but it is lost on most today, including pro Israel Christians), but the game is up for her enemies.

In Isaiah 54:17, God tells the Jews that “No weapon formed against thee shall prosper,” and that further, everyone who rises against Israel will be condemned.

Of course, Israel must deal with threats. We all must live out our lives, and we must meet challenges as they come. But to worry about Israel’s existence is, to me, not only misplaced but borderline blasphemous.

Oren, almost ironically now the incoming ambassador to the U.S. now says he is confident that Israel will reach agreement with Obama on settlement growth.

Don’t count on it.

Never mind that Netanyahu this past week called for a “demilitarized” Palestinian entity/state. Israel knows it will have to fight, and is no doubt making contingency plans.

Education Minister Gideon Sa’ar said that Netanyahu’s speech reduced American pressure for a time. Isn’t that pathetic? No doubt Netanyahu’s legendary speechmaking ability — often without notes — comes in handy as at least one arm is behind his back.

Because Barack Obama has, evidently, zero belief in the historicity of the Bible, he believes he can force the Israelis to make peace with the Palestinians. This (and here Obama is no worse than any other occupant of the Oval Office) reinforces the old adage that you can make things worse by appeasing terror.

More than a decade ago, Ariel Sharon told me that they (Israel) might have peace with the Palestinians in “50 years.” What he really meant was “500 years.” Or just plug in any long period of time.

Until the Arab psyche changes, the region’s lone Jewish state will face unwanted conflict.

One can visit any Arab town in Israel and be struck by the squalor. If certain factions there would give up dreams of eliminating Israel, they would be able to turn the area almost into a Garden of Eden.

Until then, the Jews will have to stay vigilant, prepare for war, and wait for the phone to ring.

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