Israel

I hope everyone is holding up well.

Flor-Fina wrote:

I guess as well as can be expected. It's very frustrating to be an American, and watch what Biden and Blinken are doing to Israel. I just wish they would get out of the way, and support Israel without meddling.

Thank you, FF, for your support. I hear you. But it is imperative that you and your fellow-compatriots know this: We will always remember that in our darkest time, the US and the American people and your representatives stood by us. American friendly criticism and requests notwithstanding, EACH AND EVERY REAL ISRAELI IS DEEPLY DEEPLY GRATEFUL FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AND AMERICAN NATION SUPPORT. I cannot even begin to explain how much President Biden's speeches and his coming to Israel in early October (under fire) were needed and felt by every Israeli. This, on top of the redeployment of US Navy assets to nearby positions, and ammunition refreshments. So thank you guys! Very much! Very very much! As the war continues, we fully understand that the US as a super-power has some mixed interests in the region. That's fine. We will happily and gratefully do our best to accommodate the Biden Administration's requests, as long as they do not directly contradict our mission goal.

Nevertheless and regardless of any friendly criticism, we are facing a monstrous enemy in Hamas-Isis. There is no higher moral cause than to eliminate them and eliminate the threat from up north, too. We are all determined to achieve this goal whatever it takes. WHATEVER IT TAKES. There is no other choice for us.

About two hours ago, Hamas-Isis broke the week-long cease-fire. We return to fighting, and there will only be one result for all this: the total and full elimination of the so-called-Islamic terrorists and their collaborators. Whatever it takes!

Many of my friends and I are perplexed by the Biden administration's recent and rapid shift in stance regarding Israel and Hamas. As someone generally critical of Prime Minister Netanyahu, I was truly taken aback, one could even say disheartened, by Senator Schumer's latest speech and today's vote at the UN Security Council. I am struggling to understand those recent changes. I'm seeking perspectives from American friends to better comprehend the rationale and strategic considerations behind these moves. Could you shed light on the administration's thinking and the broader geopolitical context informing these decisions? Is it merely calculated politicking to appeal to voters in Michigan and Minnesota ahead of elections, or are there other factors at play here?

Sea Dolphin Lovers wrote:

Many of my friends and I are perplexed by the Biden administration's recent and rapid shift in stance regarding Israel and Hamas. As someone generally critical of Prime Minister Netanyahu, I was truly taken aback, one could even say disheartened, by Senator Schumer's latest speech and today's vote at the UN Security Council. I am struggling to understand those recent changes. I'm seeking perspectives from American friends to better comprehend the rationale and strategic considerations behind these moves. Could you shed light on the administration's thinking and the broader geopolitical context informing these decisions? Is it merely calculated politicking to appeal to voters in Michigan and Minnesota ahead of elections, or are there other factors at play here?

I would pretty much concur with FF's assessment SDL.

"Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help... Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God: Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever." - Psalm 146:3, 5-6

Biden and Schumer's reversal is pretty much what was expected from the beginning. There was absolutely no way that was going to be sustainable in the long-term.

Israel rightfully had near-universal public sympathy in the United States in the immediate aftermath of October 7th. But once the pro-Hamas side began its expected flood of the Information Environment, it was only a matter of time before the opinion of American liberals (especially that of the younger generations) turned against Israel.

Every politician must obviously maintain the support of his constituents. Add to that the fact that the Democratic Party fundamentally represents the party of American liberalism, the party of "progress". Whatever that happens to mean at the time is what the stance of Democratic leaders must match, so the Democratic leader must be ready to change his or her position as quickly and radically as they can stomach, because it is constantly changing (contrast with the Republican Party which, even with the rise of Populism since the last decade or so, is still fundamentally the party of keeping-things-the-way-they-are).
Add to that the fact that the Biden administration is essentially the Democratic Party's old guard that represents the more moderate aspects of the American left. This puts immense pressure on his administration to either perform, or be replaced by someone who is probably more radical.
Add to that the more acute pressures from the elections this year, and you have everything stacked against Biden's initial support of Israel.

Contrary to some, I do believe Biden and some other Democratic leaders do genuinely support Israel on a personal level, and I was also surprised by how long and how strongly Biden's administration initially supported Israel. But to put it bluntly, their personal sympathy for Israel is simply not as strong as you and others seem to think, and I perceived even their initial support as having at least a partial political motivation (gaining the support of the liberal American Jews, which I honestly think is the only major reason the Democratic Party bothers to try and juggle its support of Israel in the first place rather than turning on it entirely).

The average American conservative is still, by default, pro-Israel. Evangelical Christians will also support Israel as a matter settled forever in Scripture.
But I am honestly more pessimistic about whether or not Republican leaders can be relied on to be there for Israel, having been so tainted by attitudes of non-interventionism and outright isolationism in recent years, which DOES include Israel. In my personal experience, I have noticed a disappointing number of Republicans and other "rank-and-file" Americans (again, especially from younger generations) questioning our support of Israel along these lines.

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“For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” - Esther 4:14

As Purim recently passed, I think now is an appropriate time for this reminder that Israel will be protected even without the help of the United States. If Israel needs help, the Almighty will send it from somewhere. But I as an American so, so hope that it is America that continues to stand with Israel at times "such as this", and will do my little part as much as I am given the ability to do.

Dear friends,

As you probably know, yesterday, Iran fired hundreds of drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles at Israel. By ordering the attack, Iran's leader has effectively signed the Islamic Republic's death certificate. Israel will react on its own terms and schedule, and it would be a decisive response.

While this attack was forceful and unprecedented, 99% of the drones and missiles were successfully intercepted, with most of them being neutralized outside Israel's borders. This was a tremendous success for the USA and Israel in military terms, which was doubled by the most impressive technological success of the Hetz system, the Israeli anti-balistic-missiles system, which intercepts ICBMs outside the atmosphere.

That much you may have read or watched in the media.

However, I want to share with you a somewhat wider perspective that you might not be aware of. In my eyes, yesterday's events were a globally strategic victory of historic proportions for the global West against the axis of evil.

In 1982, Israel launched Operation Mole Cricket 19. This operation was a combined campaign of electronic warfare and airstrikes that completely destroyed all of the Soviet-built surface-to-air missile (SAM) networks in Lebanon. The same network was built by the Soviets around Moscow and was considered impenetrable until then. Israel's decisive victory in Operation Mole Cricket 19 proved to the Soviets and to the West that the Soviet defense system, in which they had invested a substantial portion of their GDP, and which they had hoped would defend the Soviet capital, was ineffective. Nine years later, when the Soviet Union collapsed, a General in the Warsaw Pact attributed its demise to that same operation and the understanding of the Soviets that their defense technology was worthless while the West's defense was robust (See https://web.archive.org/web/20120314212226/http://www.airforce-magazine.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/2002/June%202002/0602bekaa.aspx).

I believe yesterday's success is comparable. The 99% success rate of the Hetz anti-ballistic missile system is a game-changer. The axis of evil now knows they can no longer threaten the West with ballistic missiles. It might take several years, but the axis of evil and their proxies are doomed.

Yesterday was a historic victory for Israel. Yesterday was a historic victory for the West.

Back to the here and now: Iran will pay a high price for that attack. Maybe not tomorrow, maybe not even in a month's time, but it is time for them to fear. Yesterday ihas proven that we can do whatever we want to them, and they can do nothing to us. That lesson will be heard loud and clear throughout the Middle East.

As always, we are grateful for our friends and partners, the USA being the first, of course, but also Jordan and the UK, for their valuable help and support in pushing back on that attack. General Kurilla, the head of CentCom, is an absolutely astonishing person, and the people under his command are amazing. You guys in the US should be proud your nation has produced such extraordinary people. Thank you.