Israel and the World: Nothing Changes

After the 1973 war, which Israel almost lost, the great Norman Lamm wrote a biting analysis of the world order. I include the tastier bits below.

What blew me away about this is that, since 1973 to the present day, nothing has changed. Nobody has learned from their mistakes or moved on. Nobody has grown out of earlier sillinesses. The very same posture Lamm describes: “When you are out of the government, you are a pro-Israel Zionist, and when you are in the government, you are pro-Arab.” It describes every American president who promised to move the embassy to Jerusalem – starting with Reagan in 1984, Bush in 1988, Clinton in 1992, (Hillary in 1999!), George W, and then even Obama. All promised to do this. Each and every one reneged on that promise when they were in power. Until Trump.

Here’s Norman Lamm. Has anything changed?

Consider this: when Israel was first attacked from two sides, during these fateful 24 or 48 hours, and the United States brought in a cease-fire proposal to the Security Council, it could hardly find one other government to go along with it. There were all kinds of discussions and conversations, and we were told that they could not agree on a cease-fire resolution until “the military situation is clarified.” What incredible rot, what transparent hypocrisy! What they meant--and any intelligent 10-year old knew about it--was that they first had to find out who was winning the battle. If the Israelis were winning, they would call an immediate cease-fire in order to limit its victories. If the Egyptians and Syrians were winning, they would let them continue until they finished off Israel. And our great Western allies: France, la belle France! They have become the successors to India and Krishna Menon as the paragons of pious duplicity, of sanctimonious self-righteousness, of moral unctuousness. And France continues to maintain that the Mirages it sends to Lybia are not meant for combat. Apparently, they are meant merely for the entertainment of Lybia’s dictator who likes to play with jet planes. England, that land of civilization and gentlemen, continues to play the same game it always has: when you are out of the government, you are a pro-Israel Zionist, and when you are in the government you are proArab. And it does not matter whether you are Tory or Labor. And those primitive African nations, bribed by oil, who do not have the elementary decency to break relations with Israel and keep quiet, but have to float ads in the NEW YORK TIMES, maintaining that their enmity towards Israel is not because of oil, but because of the issues-- and here they repeat the ritualistic inanities about Israel, mimicking the Arabs. And these nations have the unmitigated gall to call themselves “non-aligned!” Greece and Turkey, which have been greased and fattened by United States help, will not allow their great benefactor to come to the help of an embattled small ally. And Germany-ah Germany! What marvelous progress! Thirty years ago Germans killed and others were passive spectators, surveying the massacre of Jews with glossy eyes, and never raising a voice in protest. Now the Germans have climbed up the moral ladder. Now others are doing the killing, while Germany stands by as the passive spectator refusing to help!

I find this amazing.