KFAR SABA, Israel — Israel is faced by two dangerous peoples, each presenting Israelis with an implacable enemy which strives for Israel’s destruction.
The rulers of Iran are Persian Shi’ite religious fanatics whose aim is to lead a resurgent worldwide Islamic Caliphate. (Persians, who ruthlessly control the many minorities in Iran, are only a slight majority.) Evidently, Persians are among the most clever peoples, as proven by their complete domination of the talks going on in Vienna to reinstate the provisions of the JCPOA, commonly known as the Iran deal.
While this deal was extremely deficient in controlling Iranian nuclear weapons development from its inception in 2015, its reincarnation will be much worse. It’s incomprehensible how the Iranians sway the negotiations, which are drawing to a close with Iran’s achievements exceeding its expectations. Iran’s interlocutors have negotiated as if they were the weaker party, while Iran has exulted in bulldozing them on just about every point. Nor did it even mention Iran’s missile program or global financing of terror (Middle East, Europe, South America).
The result, not quite achieved at this point, is not a “longer and stronger” deal, as promised by President Biden, but a short-lived, weaker version of what was a horrendous agreement to begin with. The plan didn’t prohibit Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. Instead, it allowed for Iran’s emergence as a nuclear-equipped power in 10-15 years.
The expected “accomplishment” of returning to the JCPOA will probably lead to the Middle East’s strongest powers (Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and perhaps others) attaining nuclear weapons for themselves. That is, nuclear proliferation throughout the Middle East, which was supposed to be precluded by the original Iran deal.
Not only that: Sanctions against Iran for its terrorist activities will mostly be eliminated. Billions of U.S. dollars will flow towards Iran to finance its proxy war against Israel and the West. Iran’s ongoing missile development program will get a boost. And almost beyond belief, according to Reuters, “The United States is considering removing Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from the foreign terrorist organization blacklist in return for Iranian assurances about reining in the elite force, a source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.” That’s right, Iranian “assurances!”
The renewed deal is between Iran and the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council — China, France, Russia, U.K., U.S., plus Germany) together with the European Union. Who’s missing? The countries that are most endangered by Iran’s bellicose activities: Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the other Gulf countries.
Israel was basically told to “shut up” if it wanted to receive any information on ongoing negotiations. This was a bad bargain on Israel’s part, because it handcuffs Israel’s leadership from arguing against a deal which allows arming its worst enemy with atomic weapons, which Iran has continually told everyone will be used to erase the state of Israel. So, the world doesn’t believe Iran, it didn’t believe Hitler, and a few weeks ago it didn’t believe Vladimir Putin.
What can Israel do about it? That’s not clear. All Israelis can hope for is that Israel’s leaders will preemptively undercut Iran’s power so that it will be unable to launch an attack against Israel and its new-found Arab “allies.” Naturally, Israel is not hinting at such an action, but it shouldn’t be discounted. After all, Israel has twice suffered international opprobrium when it made preemptive attacks against nuclear facilities in Iraq and Syria, attacks which Israel deemed necessary to protect itself.
The second problematic group Israel faces is the Arab Palestinians. Nearly all are Sunni Muslims, but there are a small and diminishing number of Christian Arabs as well. The fact is that the Arab Palestinians have rejected every offer of compromise from Israel, while maintaining their eliminationist demands on Israel. Still, the Arab Palestinians have an advantage in that it is Israel, the Jew among nations, that they are fighting. One might think that a government which financially rewards its citizens for killing Israelis might be shunned, but that isn’t the case.
Take the current U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Thomas Nides. He describes himself as “Center-Left or Left generally.” He concerns himself with Israel’s “security” and “the plight of the Palestinians and the desire of the Palestinians to have the same rights and securities as the Israelis did.”
The “plight” of the Palestinian Authority? Their condition is self-imposed! There is no precedent for refugees from an offensive war to retain “refugee status” for ensuing generations following the conflict. A special organization had to be established by the U.N. to accommodate this singular group. As generations pass, the world will soon be overrun with P.A. refugees because they continue to grow geometrically regardless of whether they attain citizenship in another country or not. Already, the original 750,000 (or less) refugees “officially” number some 5 million. All are eligible for services from the unique agency devoted to the P.A. population, UNRWA. For how long can this group be subsidized by the world?
Ambassador Nides avers, “We must have a two-state solution. If we lose sight of a two-state solution… it is not good for the Palestinians; it’s certainly not good for Israel [or] for the Jews. It’s not good for anyone.” So he says. The P.A. obviously is bent on a one-state solution, which includes only Muslims, not Jews or even Christian Arabs, many of whom have emigrated from P.A.-controlled territory.
Steve Kramer is a freelance writer based in Kfar Saba, Israel. He may be contacted via steve.kramer@sdjewishworld.com
For the Middle East hands in the Biden administration, what matters most is completing the project many of these Obama alumni helped initiate while serving under Biden’s former boss—realignment with Iran.