A clandestine undertaking on behalf of Israel, the Jets and the Jews.

 
1980 vs. 2003

In the current issue of New York Magazine, Craig Horowitz writes about evangelical Christian support for Israel.

Horowitz notes that in 1980 "Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin outraged much of the Jewish community by presenting the Jabotinsky Centennial medal to the Reverend Jerry Falwell for his work on behalf of Israel." Now, however, "much of that queasy reluctance has been overcome, or at least pushed aside, as Israel's situation has worsened. As the violence gets more horrific and more relentless, and the overall outlook more bleak, Israel seems to have fewer and fewer friends. Support from the evangelicals, however, hasn't wavered."

Horowitz's assumption that "Israel's situation has worsened" since 1980 is a commonly held view, but I'm not sure it's accurate. It is true that Palestinian terror is much worse now, with the PLO in Eretz Israel rather than Lebanon, and Hamas no longer an obscure opposition to the PLO. And the fact that another generation has gone by and the prospects for peace with the Palestinians remain bleak is obviously not a good thing. Nor is Israel's demographic problem. And Iran's development of nuclear weapons is extremely troublesome.

None of this can be underestimated, but nor should the many areas in which Israel's situation has improved since 1980 be overlooked. For example, while in 1980 Saddam Hussein was developing the Osirak nuclear facility, a year later that facility was destroyed by the IAF, and today with Saddam gone Iraq is not a military threat. The threat from Israel's east has also been reduced as a result of the peace treaty with Jordan, which Yitzhak Rabin and King Hussein signed in 1994.

In 1980, Israel was seven years removed from the Yom Kippur war, which it won at a very heavy price, and had fought four regional wars in its 32 years of existence. 23 years later, while the peace with Egypt is extremely cold, it has endured, and Israel has now not fought a regional war in 30 years.

In 1980, the USSR was supplying weapons to Syria. Following the demise of the Soviet Union, Syria ceased to pose an existential threat to Israel, and Israel now possesses vast military superiority over the Arabs. The demise of the USSR also resulted in hundreds of thousands of Russian immigrants to Israel, alleviating (at least temporarily) the demographic threat.

The Arab boycott of companies doing business in Israel was in full force in 1980, but is dormant today. While Israel is now in a deep recession, its per capita income is far higher today than it was in 1980, even as the Arab and Muslim states remain mired in Third World conditions.

Ultimately, Israel's strategic position is far stronger today than it was in 1980. Then, however, Jews were not being killed regularly on Israeli streets, as is occurring in 2003. Israel must therefore decisively win the current war being waged against it. When it does, the Arab threat to it will have been reduced, and Israel will be in a stronger position to deal with the military, political and demographic problems that remain.
posted on 9/23/2003