Time to pay the price

Op-ed: For years Israelis thought they can fool the world; soon we’ll be paying the price

Eitan Haber|Published: 09.27.11 , 17:02

Many years ago, in the mid 1960s, then-General Rehavam Ze’evi worked out a contingency plan which he dubbed the “all-out scenario.” He attempted to address the following question: What will happen if all Arab states join forces against Israel?

On the negative side of the ledger he wrote down near and far Muslim states, going all the way to Pakistan. On the positive side he wrote down Iran, Turkey and of course the United States and European states.

The balance titled in Israel’s favor. Who could overcome us back then? The outcome of the Six-Day War seemingly proved that Ze’evi’s estimates were correct and wise. We won, big time.

However, slowly (and some will say quickly,) the clouds of war are gathering above us. One needs to be deaf, foolish and blind in order to ignore what’s happening around us. Some of the events have nothing to do with us, yet at the end of the day everything will be directed at Israel.

The hate for Israel is the only cause that brings together the Libyan rebels and Gaddafi fans, the Sunnis and Shiites in Syria, and the revolutionaries in Egypt. The best example of this is Egypt. When the “Arab spring” erupted, people here were issuing comforting statements: There are no anti-Israeli phenomena in Cairo; no Israeli flags are being burned on the streets. Today we can see the foolishness of these commentators.

Yet as opposed to Ze’evi’s “all-out scenario,” this time around Iran (which is close to securing a nuclear bomb) and Turkey (with its huge military) are on the negative side of the ledger.

All Israelis at fault

Against this backdrop, it’s funny to hear our leaders voicing their willingness to cut billions from the defense budget. At the end of the day and following some impassioned chatter, not even one cent will be cut. We won’t be surprised if the defense budget is in fact boosted.

No political leader wishes to face the soldiers, who in the 1973 war stole (there is no other word to describe it) equipment from other units in order to join the war. What about Education and social welfare? These are important issues, but life is more important.

The blame for the difficult state faced by Israel can also be attributed to Benjamin Netanyahu, yet we must speak the truth here: The culprits are almost all of Israel’s citizens over the years, regardless of party affiliation, who for long years believed that the world is an idiot, that it will turn its blind eye to what goes on in the territories, and that it will allow the Jews to return to what are today Arab communities.

People around here thought they are the masters of the land and of the world, that they are wiser than everyone, that they are fooling everything, and who cares if we plant another olive tree in Kedumim or set up another plant in Beit-El.

Well, the world let us be for some 40 years, yet now it wants to exact a price. Soon, the IDF will start preparing contingency plans in case we need to fight against Egypt, Jordan, Libya Iran, and possibly Turkey, the Palestinians and Syria as well. In two months we’ll be told that there is no way to cut even one cent from the defense budget, because en route to Masada we must make a stopover in Sparta.