Israel Hogtied...............by Dan Friedman

First came the assimilated European Jew who sought to blend into the background. Hitler brought that fantasy to an end. Then came “the Zionists” who reasoned Jews could only be secure in a Jewish state of their own that could then blend into the background. Today, in the Obama era, that fantasy too is coming to an end.

By any yardstick you wish to apply, Israel’s efforts to assimilate into “the international community” have been a dismal failure. Instead, Israel is the object of The Nation’s obsessions, and the schemes to bring the Jewish state down take up an inordinate amount of their time and effort. Alas, after 60 years Israel still sticks out like a sore thumb.

If you’ve never heard of the acronym R2P (right to protect), now’s the time to read this, because R2P – a product of leftist thinking - was the justification used by Obama and the U.N. to go to war in Libya. But that’s not all. R2P also builds the legal framework for the U.N. to “legally” attack Israel. Little wonder Barack Hussein Obama made an end-run around Congress and went straight to NATO and the friendly confines of the U.N. The man is not simply redistributing our wealth, he’s redistributing America’s power and sovereignty as well.

Put simply, the R2P doctrine widens the legal limits that allow a third party to intervene in a conflict to include circumstances where significant numbers of civilians are put in harm’s way. If your mind has immediately jumped to Gaza, southern Lebanon and the West Bank, give yourself a hand. All three are chockfull of terrorists without uniforms living side-by-side among civilians by design.

Perfect timing, too, because buried among the headlines you’ll find Israel has been under a renewed barrage from Hamas-controlled Gaza and there is an even chance the situation will get worse. Israel, tentative and irresolute in it’s last two wars in 2006 and 2008, now has the R2P doctrine hanging over its head. And the Arabs have found another skirt to hide behind.

If Israel continues to try and satisfy its antagonists ground rules, Israel will soon find it’s lost a zero-sum game. For Israel to survive, there’s only one way out. She must understand she dwells alone among the nations, and must stop trying to live up to double standards which are only meant to destroy her.



Dan Friedman
NYC