Middle East Press on: Galilee, Gaza, Israel, Haifa, Terrorism, Khamenei, Hamas: New Age Islam's Selection, 2 December 2024
By New Age Islam Edit Desk
2 December 2024
The Galilee Over Gaza: Gov't Must Restore Security To All Of Israel
Why Early Elections In Israel Are Crucial For The Country's Future
Beyond The Ceasefire: How Haifa And The North Are Navigating Post-Conflict Challenges
Khamenei’s Push For Terrorism Undermines Global Stability
A Big Win For Terrorism: The ICC Targets Israel’s Leaders, Ignoring Hamas’s Atrocities
Israel’s Role In Climate Tech Innovation: A Blueprint For Regional Cooperation
Trump’s Pro-Israel Team Sparks Debate On Middle East Diplomacy
What The Maccabees Can Teach Us Regarding The Israel-Hamas War
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The Galilee Over Gaza: Gov't Must Restore Security To All Of Israel
By Jpost Editorial
December 2, 2024
Diaspora Affairs Minister MK Amichai Chikli took the stage at Israel Hayom’s security conference in Jerusalem on Sunday with a bold declaration.
“Settling in the Galilee is far more urgent than settling in Gaza.” Speaking at the Bible Lands Museum, the Likud MK captivated the audience with his clear-eyed focus on rebuilding Israel’s northern communities, highlighting the stark challenges faced by towns along the Lebanese border.
His remarks stood in contrast to recent calls for resettling Gaza as a punitive measure, instead urging Israelis to prioritize strategic, demographic, and economic imperatives that directly impact the nation’s future. With the October 7 attacks still fresh in the national psyche, Chikli’s pragmatic vision demands our attention.
The Galilee, located along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, has long been a critical region for national security. This became even more evident during the October 2024 escalation with Hezbollah, which followed the devastating Hamas attacks on southern Israel.
Border towns like Menara, Shtula, and Avivim faced significant challenges even before the war, including population decline and economic stagnation. These vulnerabilities were compounded by rocket attacks and infiltrations during the conflict, exposing the urgent need to strengthen these communities.
The Galilee is strategically vital
Strengthening the Galilee is not just about reinforcing the border; it is about ensuring that Israel’s northern flank remains secure against one of its most formidable adversaries, Hezbollah, which continues to restock its arsenal that sat at over 150,000 rockets. Resilient and thriving communities in the Galilee act as a critical buffer zone, reducing the potential for territorial and demographic erosion in this strategically vital area.
The Galilee is home to a mixed Jewish and Arab population, with many areas having a Jewish minority.
This demographic reality highlights the importance of incentivizing Jewish families to settle in the region, preserving Israel’s vision as a Jewish and democratic state. The 2022 State of the Nation Report by the Taub Center highlighted that economic disparities between Israel’s central and peripheral regions, including the Galilee, have led to stagnation in population growth and economic development.
By channeling resources into developing the Galilee, Israel can address these disparities, offering incentives such as affordable housing, employment opportunities, and improved infrastructure. In contrast, resettling Gaza would require vast military and political investments, diverting resources from existing communities that need support.
The aftermath of the October 2024 war provides an opportunity to refocus national priorities. Just as Israel rebuilt its economy and infrastructure after the Second Lebanon War (2006), it must now invest in regions like the Galilee, which were neglected even before the recent conflict. This is not just about recovery but about long-term growth and stability.
Communities along the Lebanese border were already in crisis before October 7, with limited access to quality healthcare, education, and employment opportunities. For example, Menara saw a 15% decline in population between 2018 and 2023 as young families left in search of better prospects. Rebuilding and revitalizing these areas will not only strengthen Israel’s northern border but also create a sense of security and belonging for residents.Calls for resettling Gaza, such as those made by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, may resonate emotionally, but they prioritize symbolism over practicality.
Resettling Gaza would provoke international outrage, potentially reignite conflict with the Palestinians, and require a permanent military presence to sustain. The resources needed for such an undertaking would be better spent addressing the tangible needs of the Galilee, where settlement efforts align with Israel’s legal and strategic framework.
History can remind us of the importance of focusing on practical, achievable goals. The Zionist movement’s success in establishing thriving communities in the Negev and Galilee during the mid-20th century laid the foundation for Israel’s territorial integrity.
Finally, Israel’s leadership must embrace a vision for the Galilee as a national priority. This includes allocating significant resources for infrastructure development, creating incentives for young families to move to the region, and investing in industries that can drive economic growth. Programs that support agricultural innovation, eco-tourism, and hi-tech development in the Galilee can transform the region into a vibrant economic hub.
Strengthening the Galilee is not just a matter of regional development; it is a national imperative. By focusing on this vital region, Israel can build a more robust, more secure, and more prosperous future for all its citizens. These words should guide us: The Galilee must come first.
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-831550
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Why Early Elections In Israel Are Crucial For The Country's Future
By Susan Hattis Rolef
December 2, 2024
In my last article, I mentioned several issues that ought to be decided in early elections.
I did not state that early elections will, in fact, take place, nor did I state that all the issues I mentioned, and many others I did not, are issues that will determine whether Israel will remain a liberal democracy or turn into an illiberal democracy, or (heaven forbid) an authoritarian state.
I believe that though a government enjoys the full support of a majority of citizens of the state, as reflected in the makeup of the Knesset, it may tamper with the type of regime we have, as suggested recently by Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi.
The fact is that the current makeup of Knesset does not accurately reflect the current makeup of public opinion.
True, according to Israel’s unwritten constitution, as outlined in its basic laws, a government can continue to serve as long as a majority of the MKs support it.
However, according to all the polls, if early elections were held today, the makeup of the Knesset would change significantly and the number of Knesset seats held by the current coalition members would fall from 68 to 49-52.
If these were normal times, this situation would be tolerable. But these are not normal times. We are in a state of war, conducted by a government that no longer has the support of a majority of the citizens on numerous issues.
In addition, 18 of the coalition’s 68 MKs – members of the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) parties – are actively seeking to be unconditionally exempted from military service.
Another 11 MKs are members of two coalition parties – the Religious Zionist Party and New Hope-United Right – which, according to all the polls, will fail to pass the 3.25% qualifying threshold in the election for the 26th Knesset.
Common sense says that such a government cannot change the state’s regime by weakening its judicial system; privatizing the public media and disempowering those elements of the media that are more critical of the government; and trying to disqualify various representatives of the Arab citizens of Israel, as the current government seems determined to do.
By the time the next elections are held in October or November of 2026, the chances of the current opposition winning the elections will be greatly reduced.
Pessimists in the opposition today even believe there is a possibility that elections might be put off indefinitely.
What is the argument against elections?
THE MAIN formal argument against holding early elections today is that we are in the middle of a war, and all efforts should be placed on winning the war – not on political battles.
Unfortunately, it is not at all certain the government wants to end the war as quickly as possible; instead, it may be trying to gain time for various undeclared purposes, which allegedly include keeping the current coalition intact.
A case in point is the sudden, rapidly attained ceasefire agreement regarding the fighting in the North – which is certainly not an agreement with Hezbollah, with whom we have been battling directly for the last 14 months, nor with the Lebanese government, which is a weak and ineffective body that would be happy to end the fighting but has no control over the goals and activities of Hezbollah.
Did our government sign this agreement, with the US as a mediator, in order to end the fighting, or to prove that Hezbollah is untrustworthy and that the fighting must go on?
Perhaps Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wanted to give President Joe Biden some semblance of a diplomatic achievement before he departs.
But one doesn’t have to be a great military expert to understand that this agreement does not enable the immediate, safe return of our northern population to their homes.
There appears to be no systematic plan that will keep Hezbollah as far as possible from southern Lebanon and the Israel-Lebanon border. Nothing is said about a buffer zone and the mechanism for ensuring the agreement is kept by Hezbollah.
WHAT NETANYAHU really wants with regard to the Gaza Strip is also a well-kept secret.
Does he want to defeat Hamas both militarily and as a governing force, and enable a new, non-Hamas Palestinian reality to develop in the Gaza Strip, under Israeli military rule, if necessary?
Or does he want to encourage Jewish settlement, driven by messianic expectations, all over Gaza, and encourage the emigration of Palestinian Gazans by making their lives even more intolerable than they are today?
Furthermore, the release of the remaining 101 hostages appears to be a vague issue with Netanyahu, though perhaps the fact that president-elect Donald Trump is reported to want the hostage issue resolved by the time he resumes office on January 20 will have a practical effect on Netanyahu.
If we have early elections, all these issues will have to be addressed by both Netanyahu and the opposition parties. Voters will, at long last, be able to replace speculations and incertitudes with concrete propositions.
Other issues, more or less urgent, will also have to be clarified, such as the rights and duties of the haredim in the State of Israel, the rights and duties of Israel’s Arab citizens, whether Israel needs public TV and radio broadcasts, and possible compromises on the makeup of the Supreme Court, as between conservatives and liberals, and more varied communal groups.
I am pessimistic whether early elections will actually take place. Netanyahu and his coalition partners realize the opinion polls are not favourable to them.
Though they might publicly pooh-pooh the polls’ findings, in reality, they take them very seriously. Early elections will only be held if the coalition falls apart of its own volition.
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-831552
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Beyond The Ceasefire: How Haifa And The North Are Navigating Post-Conflict Challenges
By Vardit Shterenbach
December 2, 2024
As I write these words, Israel’s fragile ceasefire with Hezbollah hours ago remains technically intact. Yes, there have been breaches, but not to the extent that we’ve been forced back into bomb shelters. However, for those who have been living in genuine fear for their lives, escaping the mental and emotional prison of such trauma is not easy. Adults can’t shake it off, let alone children. It has simply been too terrifying for far too long.
Rebuilding life in the North demands more than promises and rhetoric. The restoration of communities in areas such the Golan Heights and Western Galilee must become a national priority of the highest order. In a better-governed world, our leadership would focus on three key objectives: bringing back the hostages; restoring the security and deterrence capabilities of the IDF and other security forces; and rebuilding the North in every imaginable aspect.
I could fill pages criticizing the government’s misplaced priorities, but it feels more urgent to focus on the day-to-day realities in towns like Haifa and the Krayot (a grouping of four small cities and two Haifa neighborhoods founded in the 1930s). Some northern localities, such as the cities of Nahariya, Acre, and Kibbutz Gesher HaZiv, were never evacuated, leaving them in an even more dire situation.
The scars on these communities, both physical and emotional, might never fully heal, not to mention the heartbreaking sights of ruins in Safed, Metula, Kiryat Shmona, Dalton, and countless other beautiful places.But let’s return to Haifa for a moment. Last week, schools had not fully resumed, and children were still studying in limited “capsules.” Even in exceptional schools like my son’s, where the education, welfare, and emotional support systems are outstanding, it’s difficult to grasp the enormity of the situation.
The challenge lies in the impossible expectation that life should somehow return to normal when nothing about the current situation is normal. How can children be expected to settle back into a routine when their educational framework hasn’t fully recovered, and when Haifa is still classified as a “yellow zone”? The fear persists – and it will remain with us for a long time.
Unfair expectations
I cannot think about the cliché that by choosing to live in Israel, we must resign ourselves to the constant presence of missiles and terror in our lives. It was never a fair expectation, and now, with rising antisemitism worldwide, it feels even more absurd.
Israel is our only home, and we must defend it – absolutely. But should we also accept fear as an intrinsic part of civilian life? Before the war, I never thought about what would happen if a siren blared while I was in the shower; nor did I hesitate to light calming scented candles or leave a pot of soup simmering on the kitchen stove. These thoughts may seem excessive, but they became our daily reality – minute by minute, hour by hour. Every plan revolved around the inevitability of a sudden siren.
The truth is that the lives of everyone I know in my hometown area have not returned to what they once were. Yes, over time, we may adapt to some extent, but we’ll still jump at every ambulance siren. The only true salve for the people of the North is resilience and determination.
Northern residents’ deepest fear now is daring to embrace freedom: the freedom to go to work without worrying about how we’ll reach our children in sudden danger; the freedom to offer our children a real childhood with reasonable, not suffocating, limitations; the freedom to breathe. We are afraid to taste freedom only to have it snatched away again.
It turns out that you only truly appreciate something after you’ve lost it, and the North has indeed lost much – on multiple levels.
The path forward demands decisive action against every violation or sign of rearmament. This ceasefire cannot be merely a respite for leaders to attend to personal matters. It must be an opportunity to rebuild all that has been broken as far as security, trust in the state, the joy of living in one of the most beautiful places in the world – the North of Israel – and, most importantly, our collective sense of self as a nation.
Only then can the residents of the North breathe freely once more and look toward a better future with determination.
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-831547
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Khamenei’s Push For Terrorism Undermines Global Stability
By Erfan Fard
December 2, 2024
On November 25, during a meeting with Basij forces, Ali Khamenei emphatically declared, “An arrest warrant for Netanyahu is insufficient; an execution order must be issued,” about the ICC’s actions a few days earlier.
We are living in a troubling and absurd time where those who commit acts of violence and crimes remain secure and enjoy security, while individuals fighting against terrorism face trials or even execution. As Salman Rushdie aptly put it: “This situation is grotesque.”
The Islamic regime in Iran was founded on distorted perceptions, falsehoods, historical fabrications, and radical political Islam propagated by Khomeini and the Shi’ite clerics, which has inflicted immense harm on both Iran and the broader Middle East.
This regime is characterized by backwardness, delusion, and a constant state of crisis. Both Ruhollah Khomeini and Ali Khamenei are fixated on Quranic verses that promote violence and slaughter, showing a complete disregard for peace, coexistence, or even respect for other religions and ethnicities.
The current regime in Tehran is fundamentally hollow and devoid of substance. It is not an exaggeration to describe this despotic and outdated regime as a blend of radical Islam and communism. Over the past 46 years, its superstitious, deceitful, and populist religious ideology has served as a mechanism for unchecked power and displays of sheer barbarism.
Tyranny in Tehran
In today’s world, absurd courts driven by misguided ideologies issue rulings that appease Islamic terrorists and terror networks established throughout the Middle East. Yet, the global media often neglects to highlight that over the last half-century, Iran’s two dictators – Khomeini and Khamenei – have been far more destructive than the Mongols and are a stain on the history of humanity.
The current Islamic caliphate regime in Iran bears no significant difference to the bloodthirsty Safavid monarchs or the incompetent Qajar dynasty. Today’s rulers in Iran are essentially the successors of the Pakistani Fedayeen of Islam (Islamic Commandos) terrorist group.
These kangaroo courts also fail to recognize that the mullahs created the Shia crescent terror network, orchestrated the atrocities of October 7, and actively pursue the destruction of Israel.
The tyrannical regime in Tehran operates as a toxic combination of sycophancy, corruption, mafia networks, and religious fanaticism. In the winter of 1979, under the banner of “the Lord,” Khomeini laid the groundwork for one of history’s bloodiest and most corrupt “divine” governments on Earth, instituting a reactionary order that is crude, savage, and grotesque – all falsely under the guise of “pure Mahometan Islam.”
The current Shia rulers in Tehran operate within a mafia-like system populated by dangerous individuals who shamelessly and brazenly claim their legitimacy. They rely on terrorism, chaos, and crisis creation to maintain their rule. Their ideological foundation is rooted in thuggery, charlatanism, and radicalism – all key elements and hallmarks of Khomeinism.
THIS REGIME’S ideology is fundamentally hostile to global friendship, harmony, peace, and order. Domestically, it rules through violence; internationally, it deliberately spreads terror and fear. The regime, under Khamenei’s orders, has repeatedly sent terrorist groups to assassinate US president-elect Trump while plotting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s murder, without facing any significant condemnation or accountability.
Called an “ayatollah,” which means “a sign of God on Earth,” Khamenei’s false sanctity remains largely unchallenged and unmasked. He should be viewed as a symbol of corruption, theft, and violence reminiscent of historical caliphate rulers of Islamic history (over the past 1,400 years).
While absurd court issued ludicrous rulings against Netanyahu on November 21, 2024, it ignored critical lessons from history. Since 1979, Khomeini and Khameini have proven more dangerous than Hitler (Germany), Mao Ze Dong (China), Lenin and Stalin (Russia), Mussolini (Italy), Pol Pot (Cambodia), Kim Jong-un (North Korea), Fidel Castro (Cuba), Idi Amin (Uganda), Franco (Spain), Gaddafi (Libya), Saddam Hussein (Iraq), and Ceausescu (Romania). It seems the courts – and much of the world – are blind to reality.
The plundering regime seeks to establish a “union of Islamic states.” At the regime’s core now lies a push for his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, to be his successor – a move designed to create a façade similar to a Saudi-style crown prince.
Historically, such hereditary succession mirrors the corrupt practices of the Umayyad Caliphate when Yazid inherited power from his father Muawiyah. The history of the Shia imamate is rife with hereditary rule. If the current regime in Iran retains power, its behavior will remain unchanged and continue to perpetuate terrorism and instability in the region for years to come.
While the world has heard Khamenei’s statements, it has remained largely silent. Global media appears to be enamored of Tehran’s propaganda, and these outlets eager to amplify regime’s propaganda often celebrate even their defeats as “victories,” while promoting Khamenei’s military threats against Israel or his ambitions for nuclear armament and bomb-making.
Whenever faced with serious challenges, the mullahs retreat into defensive postures. Khamenei has grown confident that he can manipulate global media narratives and is adept at using deceit to market his agenda, establishing terrorist groups against Israel whose actions are framed as “Islamic victories” behind the façade and a false narrative of “Islamic resistance.”
This delusional and cowardly dictator seems to evade serious scrutiny. While Israel actively dismantles Islamic terrorist networks related to Iran’s regime, the media remains silent – failing to question Khamenei’s self-proclaimed status as leader of the Islamic world. No one challenges the irrationality of his claims or his reliance on propaganda in declaring himself infallible.
Meanwhile, global media continues to gloss over these realities and metaphorically apply “lipstick to a pig.” When Khomeini and Khamenei proclaimed “We stand until the end,” no one queried whether that “end” meant the destruction of Israel and the Middle East.
As American author Henry Miller wrote in 1975, we are indeed living in “the time of assassins.”
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-831545
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A Big Win For Terrorism: The ICC Targets Israel’s Leaders, Ignoring Hamas’s Atrocities
By Bradley Martin, Liram Koblentz-Stenzler
December 2, 2024
The International Criminal Court (ICC) recently issued arrest warrants, before the ceasefire between Israel to Hezbollah, for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity during Israel’s war against Hamas.
At first glance, this might seem like a commitment to justice. But a closer look reveals a troubling reality: The ICC’s failure to grasp the complexities of asymmetric warfare and its double standards for democracies combating terrorism.
Hamas’s October 7 massacre – the deadliest attack against Jews since the Holocaust – was an act of sheer barbarity. Over 1,200 people were slaughtered, including 46 Americans, and more than 200 others were abducted. Hamas’s assault on Israeli civilians was not just an attack on Israel but an assault on humanity itself. The organization’s explicit goal is the eradication of Israel and its tactics – targeting civilians, holding hostages, and using human shields – are the hallmarks of a terrorist organization.
In response, Israel declared war on Hamas, not on the Palestinian people. Unlike classic wars between countries, this war pits a democracy committed to international law against a terrorist group embedded within a civilian populations. To conflate the two – as the ICC has done – is to ignore the moral and legal distinctions between them.
Israel’s conduct in this war has been characterized by restraint and adherence to international norms as much as it can. Despite Hamas’s abuse of humanitarian aid and its use of civilian areas as launch pads for attacks, Israel continues to provide food, medicine, and essentials to Gaza’s civilians. Israeli soldiers risk their lives to minimize harm to non-combatants – a moral standard unparalleled in modern warfare. Meanwhile, Hamas has denied hostages medical treatment, starved them, and executed some US citizens, including Hersh Goldberg-Polin.
ICC's ruling will affect antisemitism
Contrast this with how other democracies have acted during wartime. During World War II, the Allies declared war on Germany, not just on the Nazi regime as Israel did by declaring a war only on Hamas. Imagine the US being required to assist Al-Qaeda following the September 11 terror attacks. Yet Israel is held to an impossible standard, expected to protect the very population that celebrates its destruction – while enduring the wrath of global criticism.
The ICC reeks of bias. While arrest warrants were also issued for dead Hamas leaders such as Mohammad Deif, the court ignored living leaders including Mohammed Sinwar, who helped plan the October 7 attack and who remains a central figure in Hamas’s ongoing aggression. Worse, the ICC equated Israel’s efforts to defend its citizens with Hamas’s deliberate targeting of civilians. This moral equivalence is not just unjust – it emboldens terrorism. President Joe Biden has rightly condemned the ICC’s actions as “outrageous,” emphasizing the absurdity of equating a democratic state with a terrorist organization.
If international bodies are to hold Israel accountable for the lives of Palestinian civilians, then they must also demand that Hamas adhere to humanitarian law. Anything less rewards terror and undermines the very principles these institutions claim to uphold.
The ICC’s ruling not only undermines Israel’s moral standing but also risks far-reaching consequences. It is likely to fuel antisemitism worldwide, as narratives equating Israel’s self-defense with war crimes are weaponized by extremist groups.
Moreover, it jeopardizes efforts to prevent a broader conflict. Hezbollah, watching Israel’s growing international isolation, may see this as an opportunity to escalate hostilities in northern Israel, believing that the ICC’s ruling has pushed Israel into a corner. This perception could derail delicate negotiations for a ceasefire, further destabilizing the region.
The ruling highlights an urgent need for reform. Democracies combating terrorism require clear, consistent international standards that acknowledge the realities of asymmetric warfare. If the ICC cannot meet this challenge, its legitimacy as a judicial body is in question.
The decision, rather than fostering accountability and justice, has instead sown the seeds of greater instability and emboldened those who seek to destroy peace and democracy.
Israel’s fight against Hamas is not just about its own survival; it’s a test of whether the international community can uphold justice in the face of terror. The ICC has failed that test. In issuing these arrest warrants, it also risks fuelling further conflict.
If it wants to demonstrate moral clarity, the ICC must rescind these warrants in light of Israel’s declared intention to contest them. Anything less undermines the principles of justice and emboldens terrorism, further destabilizing a region yearning for peace.
Dr. Liram Koblentz-Stenzler is a senior researcher at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT) at Reichman University, and a visiting scholar at Brandeis University. Follow her on LinkedIn.
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-831543
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Israel’s Role In Climate Tech Innovation: A Blueprint For Regional Cooperation
By Erez Sommer
December 2, 2024
Over the past two years, the United Nations Climate Change Conference has provided Israeli environmentalists with a respite from a stifling and painful reality back home. It offers a brief opportunity to look outward and find solace in preventing a climate catastrophe – an event that unites most nations around a shared cause of critical importance.
This year, however, even this source of hope felt elusive. The choice of host country for the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29), for example, set low expectations from the outset: It seemed unrealistic to expect Azerbaijan to advocate for global reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and a shift to sustainable energy, as these actions would directly challenge its economic foundation. The official conference concluded this past weekend with minimal impact and no significant breakthroughs that would inspire hope. This comes at a time when the global order is in flux and the willingness to collaborate on shared challenges is steadily eroding.
International solidarity, reminiscent of the successful effort to address the hole in the ozone layer three decades ago, now feels like a distant memory. In the current global climate, the prospects of reaching agreements that drive meaningful change appear increasingly slim.
On a more optimistic note, however, I wish to highlight a source of hope closer to home, in the Middle East. At the Israeli pavilion, we hosted an event titled Advancing Regional Collaboration in Climate Innovation, conceived in a partnership that includes the Israel Democracy Institute, EcoPeace Middle East, and Startup Nation Central.
Optimistic future
This initiative was launched approximately a year and a half ago, prior to the events of October 7. We assembled a professional team comprising dozens of entrepreneurs from Israel’s climate tech sector, together with representatives from government, academia, and diplomacy, to evaluate the potential for collaboration with neighboring countries.
Simultaneously, we conducted comprehensive research and in-depth interviews to map the comparative advantages and challenges of each country in the region.
We found, for example, that Israeli solar technology could be deployed on Jordanian soil with Emirati funding, while Bahrain’s business-friendly regulations could provide an ideal testing ground for a joint Egyptian-Israeli hydrogen technology pilot.
The potential is vast. We are in the final stages of preparing a policy recommendations report, set to be published in the coming weeks and shared with key stakeholders in Israel and the international community. Our hope is that it will be embraced and implemented on a regional scale.
Some might argue that, given the current reality, there is no chance of initiating such a process. These concerns are, perhaps, not entirely unfounded. However, through numerous off-the-record conversations with individuals in Israel and the region, we’ve learned that many are eagerly waiting for a moment of respite to renew frozen ties, restart stalled initiatives, and publicly announce cooperative projects already in the pipeline.
Interest in the Israeli pavilion at the United Nations Climate Change Conference was truly remarkable this year.
Much like last year’s event in Dubai, it drew numerous visitors from countries not traditionally aligned with Israel. These visitors were captivated by the innovative solutions showcased by Israeli climate tech companies, which, in the absence of effective climate policy leadership, assumed a central role in both the pavilion and public diplomacy efforts. Indeed, members of the Israeli innovation community ensured Israel was on the map at the conference.
Let there be no doubt: Israel remains a key player in climate innovation, with substantial international interest in developments originating in the Jewish state. However, sustaining this momentum requires a dual approach.
On the one hand, we must strengthen Israel’s tech-science ecosystem through increased funding, R&D, support for the field in higher education, and the removal of regulatory barriers. On the other hand, we must plan and prepare for the “day after” the war and advance normalization with neighboring countries. With these prerequisites in place, we can truly envision a brighter future in every sense.
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-831538
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Trump’s Pro-Israel Team Sparks Debate On Middle East Diplomacy
By Daniel Goldman
December 1, 2024
Many American Jews and a minority of Israeli Jews share deep concerns about a second Trump presidency: will it strengthen or weaken American democracy and its global standing, and which faction of Trump’s policy team will prevail – the isolationist wing or the interventionist camp?
This is not to say those same people did not have real concerns about the nature of a potential Harris administration, especially on the question of Israel. However, we are now after the election, and this question becomes academic.
The initial appointments that relate to national security and foreign relations look hawkish and are certainly filled with politicians known for their stridently positive opinions about Israel. Marco Rubio, the designated secretary of state, has been a powerful advocate for Israel for many years.
The ambassador designated to Israel is Mike Huckabee, a pastor and former Arkansas governor who has also been to Israel many times as a tour guide. Yanir Kozin, in an early interview on the IDF radio station, said he would welcome the annexation of Judea and Samaria, but that policy will be up to the president.
Kozin also interviewed former Efrat mayor Oded Revivi on the same topic, who also sounded a note of caution, having witnessed the prospect of annexation unravel in Washington, D.C., in 2020. Along with Mike Waltz as national security advisor and Pete Hegseth as defense secretary, this is a powerful pro-Israel group.
Pro-Israel, but not the whole story
These appointments will definitely find favor with Israel’s right-wing government and public, and no doubt Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be relieved not to be faced with a Harris administration. Even under Trump, the prospect of isolationist appointments representing the more hard-core America First agenda would have been a poor signal for Israel.
This though, is not the whole story. Opportunities lay ahead, but not without difficult political decisions. Jonathan Rynhold, professor of political science and expert on American-Israel relations, points out factors we should consider when looking at the strategic outlook given the coming change in administration.
The first point he makes is that the thread connecting his appointments thus far is the personal loyalty that he feels from the appointees. Just as in the first Trump administration, they will know as soon as that is not the case, they will be out on their ear.
This need for hyper-loyalty will likely apply to relations with Netanyahu too, who was in hot water with Trump in 2020 after congratulating President Biden on a victory that Trump has never accepted.
The second aspect that Rynhold points out is the transactional nature of Trump’s politics, which will include how he sees the region. If the target for Trump is a grand deal that includes Saudi Arabia, this will challenge some of the more optimistic assumptions being made by the far or hard-right sections of Netanyahu’s coalition.
The most obvious right-wing marker is Finance Minister and leader of the Religious Zionist Party Bezalel Smotrich, who tweeted on November 11, within a week of Trump’s victory, “2025 – The year of sovereignty in Judea and Samaria.”
RYNHOLD ADDS that if Israel is offered a normalization deal with Saudi Arabia – which includes the principle of a two-state solution (even if far across the horizon) and nearer-term commitments on the control of Gaza and the position of the Palestinian Authority – Netanyahu may have a difficult decision to make, choosing between his commitments to Smotrich and their combined right-wing base and the potential diplomatic wrath of a president known for taking things personally.
In a recent interview in Makor Rishon, former Knesset speaker and current chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs Committee, MK Yuli Edelstein expressed a similar concern.
“I spoke about sovereignty long before it was popular.” But he reflected that “there will be two problems: opposition from the Left, but also opposition from our own side.” And why would there be opposition from the right?
“When we extend sovereignty to Ma’aleh Adumim and Gush Etzion as a first step, there will be those who rise up to shout, ‘You have sold the Land of Israel. You have made concessions!’ There is no such reality, wherein a Trump administration or indeed any other constellation that we will receive everything in one go.”
Edelstein knows what he’s talking about. When Trump offered Israel the possibility of annexation under the “Peace to Prosperity” plan in January 2020, it was rejected by the settler movement leadership for exactly those reasons. It was not an immediate and full annexation and opened the real, if distant, possibility of some form of Palestinian sovereignty.
Shalom Lipner is a shrewd commentator with experience working with seven Israeli prime ministers. In Foreign Affairs he describes how the political challenges for Netanyahu are in direct tension with his diplomatic opportunities.
He predicts that “Netanyahu will have to read the tea leaves correctly. He needs to seize the moment and wind down Israel’s wars before they begin to cause more harm than good and – no less fatefully – create a rift with Trump.
If Netanyahu can stand up to his coalition partners, he might still be able to end the conflicts and leave Trump the clean desk he asked for. But time is short.”
This may demand uncharacteristically bold decision-making from Netanyahu.
It has always been my personal view that a one-sided annexation of Judea and Samaria would be a strategic disaster for Israel, taking it down the road of becoming a post-democratic country. This for me would be a betrayal of my Jewish and Zionist values.
A broad Middle Eastern coalition, building on the Abraham Accords, could offer an alternate route, a possibility that Hamas wanted to prevent at the cost of the destruction of much of Gaza following their heinous attack on October 7.
Ironically, Trump’s and perhaps Netanyahu’s desire to secure their places in history books, as well as Netanyahu’s understanding of the positive geopolitical change a deal with Saudi Arabia would bring, might be just the circumstance that ends the fantasy of significant parts of the religious Right.
We may witness major developments in the Middle East under the Trump regime, and we should all hope, no matter our political views, that they lead to a secure future for Israel as a Jewish and democratic country.
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-831522
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What The Maccabees Can Teach Us Regarding The Israel-Hamas War
By Jonathan Lieberman
December 1, 2024
This coming Monday, we will begin the new month of Kislev, which means it’s Hanukkah time once again.
The story of Hanukkah is well known to every Jew from kindergarten onward, the story of the miraculous crucible of oil that lasted for eight days. However, our prayers commemorating Hanukkah place much more emphasis on the military victory of the Maccabees over the mighty Greeks, the success of the few against the many, the pure against the impure, the wicked delivered into the hands of the righteous.
It is a fabled Jewish story of heroism.
There have been recent attempts by Palestinian activists to hijack this most Jewish of stories and to paint their own battles against Israel in the same terms.
The narrative has been turned on its head with the “poor Palestinians” battling against the mighty Israel.
This misappropriation of Jewish history is as grotesque as it is absurd.
While comparisons can sometimes be illuminating in highlighting themes of resistance and survival, it is critical to approach these analogies with care to avoid drawing false moral equivalences. The stark realities of modern terrorism demand clear distinctions.
The Maccabees rose up against the Seleucid Empire in a battle for religious and cultural survival. Under Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the Seleucid Greeks attempted to forcibly impose Hellenistic practices on the Jewish population of Judea, outlawing key aspects of Jewish worship and desecrating the Second Temple.
The revolt, led by Judas Maccabeus and his family, was a fight to reclaim not just their land but their identity and freedom to worship.
The Maccabean victory was marked by the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem, an event commemorated during Hanukkah. Their resistance, though violent, was directed against an empire that had infringed upon the fundamental rights of a people to live in accordance with their faith and traditions.
The modern conflict between Israel and Gaza reflects a distinct set of dynamics. On October 7, 2023, the violent and extremist group Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist organization by multiple countries, including the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom, launched a large-scale attack against Israel.
This attack included the deliberate targeting of civilians, mass killings, sexual violence, kidnappings, burning alive of babies, and other acts that constitute violations of international law.
The actions of Hamas bear no resemblance to the resistance of the Maccabees. The Maccabean revolt was a fight for the survival of a community under direct imperial oppression.
In contrast, Hamas’s actions – including the indiscriminate firing of rockets into civilian areas and the use of human shields – are (or should be) internationally recognized as acts of terrorism. These tactics are not justifiable under any moral or legal framework, and their deliberate targeting of non-combatants is an affront to universal human rights and international conventions.
Israel’s response to the October 7 attacks has been characterized as a fight for national survival and the protection of its citizens. The IDF has undertaken military operations aimed at dismantling Hamas’s infrastructure in Gaza, including its extensive network of tunnels and weapons storage facilities.
While these operations have resulted in civilian casualties – a tragic and often unavoidable consequence of modern warfare in densely populated areas – their intent is fundamentally different from the deliberate targeting of civilians.
The comparison to the Maccabees resonates with some Israelis, symbolizing resilience and the defence of a homeland under threat. However, the modern context requires a recognition of the asymmetry in ethical considerations.
The Maccabees fought a defensive war for religious freedom, while Hamas’s actions are rooted in an ideology that seeks the destruction of Israel and employs tactics condemned by international law.
The Maccabean revolt was deeply tied to preserving Jewish identity, much like the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict is often framed in terms of national and religious identities. For Jews, the memory of the Maccabees strengthens the importance of self-determination and the right to exist in the face of existential threats. It must also be accepted that for Palestinians, narratives of resistance also play a powerful role in identity formation.
However, it is crucial to distinguish legitimate aspirations for statehood and rights from the actions of groups like Hamas, which undermine those aspirations through violence, hatred, and behavior that no human being should ever contemplate.
The importance of moral clarity
While historical comparisons can offer valuable insights, they must be drawn with moral clarity. The Maccabees fought for the freedom to worship and live as Jews under oppressive rule.
Hamas, by contrast, operates as a terrorist organization that prioritizes destruction and violence over the welfare of the people it claims to represent. Its actions, including the use of civilian populations as shields and the rejection of ceasefires, have exacerbated suffering in Gaza and deepened the region’s cycle of violence.
The Maccabean revolt ultimately led to the establishment of the Hasmonean dynasty and a brief period of Jewish sovereignty, demonstrating the potential of determined resistance to oppressive forces. However, the modern conflict between Israel and Gaza requires a different resolution – one rooted in adherence to international law.
The ongoing violence underscores the need for the international community to differentiate between the legitimate rights of people and the unacceptable actions of terrorist organizations. Only through a commitment to justice, security, and the rejection of extremism can a pathway to peace emerge.
The lessons of history remind us that while resistance to oppression is a fundamental right, the methods and moral frameworks underpinning such struggles define their legacy.
And one more sobering thought: After the stunning victory of the Maccabees, it all came crashing down less than 130 years later. And why? Civil war – disunity among the Jewish people.
As Churchill is reputed to have said: “Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-831218
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