Year of defeat

For the first time in history almost, the United States is losing a war – in Iraq. For the first time in history, Israel also lost a war – in Lebanon. Those two defeats have a common denominator: Religion, which twists reality both here and there.

The American president is a deeply religious man, and this is how he views things – as divine inspiration. Therefore, he thought that despite the defeat in Vietnam, he'll be winning in Iraq, without knowing the conditions for victory.

When Bush was asked who his favorite philosopher was, he replied without hesitation: Jesus Christ. He wants to run his immense country through faith. His entire Administration is made up of devout Christians, while believers were assigned to key posts.

The current president curbed any assistance to a company that encourages abortions. He sends aid to fight AIDS in Africa, yet not contraceptives, but rather, abstinence teachers. Since he was elected, there has been significant rise in the number of attacks on American hospitals suspected to encourage abortions.

He also launched a war on Science: Darwin is no longer scientific truth; God created the world, not evolution. Therefore, schools should be teaching old-new theories.

Here too, as surprising as it is, the dominant doctrine for many years has been Greater Israel. Because of that we couldn't make peace with our neighbors. The current prime minister, who at first spoke of realignment, also declared following the Lebanon war that it was no longer relevant.

We couldn't engage in rational talks because very powerful groups that wish to stay in the settlements are preventing us from forming alliances.

From being the country with the world's best military intelligence, with a track record of the Six-Day War, the Entebbe Operation, and more, it turns out that we've become a country with one of the worst intelligence capabilities in the world.

Hizbullah built an empire on our border for six years, right under our noses, and we didn't know about it. We didn't understand it. That's why the surprise was horrifying. Because religion, both in America and here, twists reality. If you premise your politics on religion, you fail. This has been proven both by Bush and by us.

Yet there is light at the end of the tunnel: The Democratic victory in the recent Congress elections proved that the people are awaking. Perhaps the time has come for the people of Israel to also wake up, in the same spirit.

The friendship between us and the United States is precious because both peoples are undergoing the same process. The year 2006 marked the beginning of the awakening, which may indeed come in 2007.