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Eitan Haber
Photo: Shalom Bar Tal

Coping with an unjust world

Whole world may be against us, but we need to deal with this reality

Israelis who watch every news update and show great interest in current events have been experiencing a sense of freefall lately; everything seems to be collapsing, certainly in respect to the world’s attitude to us. We are back to the good old “the whole world is against us” tune: The UN, Turkey, the US, the Goldstone report. Who isn’t against us these days?

 

The easiest solution common among many Israelis is to utter the following: They’re all anti-Semites and they should all go to hell. God will save us from them.

 

Those who count on God only are happy people. They are only concerned about not missing a prayer session; the rest is not in our hands anyway. Those who believe that everyone is an anti-Semite and that they simply hate us and will be against us regardless of anything are not as happy. In their view, and based on their experience, the gentiles will end up losing and the Jews will end up winning. Just look at all the nations and states that no longer exist; look at them and look at us.

 

A section within Israel’s population that may not be the largest, yet sets the political tone, utters roughly the following message: It is true that the whole world is against us and it’s true that there is no justice in the attitude shown to us – but this is reality and we need to cope with it.

 

These people have no illusions: Ties between states are usually based on interests, and this includes the State of Israel as well. The way the world sees it, if you happen to have some oil wells you will always be right. We need to exist in this unjust world, as we did rather successfully thus far.

 

We always knew that a billion Muslims add up to more than seven million Israelis and that 57 Muslims states are more than the one State of Israel. We earned our special place among the family of nations, first and foremost, because of America’s recognition of our uniqueness: The sole regional democracy, the values of the prophets, and the Bible.

 

World doesn’t trust Netanyahu 

The change of opinion in America prompted (almost) the whole world to turn against us: The US has grown tired of cooperating with us in matters that pertain to the occupation. The great America, which chose to turn a blind eye for 42 years, opened both its eyes at the same time and indicated to the world that the rules of play have changed.

 

The world was lying in wait for that moment: It loved it such much. Indeed, it woke up. What appears and sounds wholly unjust to a large part of our population appears very just in the eyes of the new US Administration. In its view, the 1967 occupation must end.

 

The second reason the world is against is has to do with the prime minister. As result of their bitter experience from his first term in office, world leaders don’t believe him. At least, not for now. They still view him as the king of tricks and shticks; a man who employs doublespeak – one message to the settlers and another to Hillary Clinton.

 

Others believe that he has not made up his mind yet: As a man of the world he figured out a while ago what needs to be said and done. However, as a scion of the Revisionist Movement, he cannot turn his back to his past or the history of the movement that brought him to power.

 

Netanyahu may be torn inside, but the Americans are quietly lying in wait. They are convinced that Netanyahu’s moment of decision is nearing. The Americans are convinced that in order to stand erect, one needs to first get down on his knees.

 


פרסום ראשון: 11.13.09, 00:05
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