I was musing on the fact that I fit in naturally here in Israel, after all I am a Jew and this State was founded by Jews for Jews. Given the terrible history of Jewish persecution and murder, it was concluded reasonably by Zionists that the only solution was to re-establish our own State in our own homeland.
Jack Cohen – National Identity, The Day After and More
National Identity
I was musing on the fact that I fit in naturally here in Israel, after all I am a Jew and this State was founded by Jews for Jews. Given the terrible history of Jewish persecution and murder, it was concluded reasonably by Zionists that the only solution was to re-establish our own State in our own homeland. Even when I was not living here I totally endorsed that historical aim. And this has nothing to do with religion per se, I am not religious and we should remember that this country, Israel, was founded mainly by secular Jews who were tired of waiting for God to protect them from the ravages of other humans.
But, I was born and grew up in the UK, and so it would be natural that I should also fit in there and feel free there. Would that it were so. For all my life growing up in England I met anti-Semitism, some of it blatant and violent, but most of it polite and snide. And from all walks of life, from snot-nosed cockneys on the street, to well-dressed middle class snobs and upper crust fellows at Cambridge. I decided that I did not want my children to grow up there and put up with this constant prejudice and bias. So I moved to the USA.
In the US I found a much higher degree of acceptance, as a member of one minority among many. In fact anti-Semitism was rare and I only had one bad experience in about 30 years living there. But, it was the general sense of violence that worried us. For example, the three houses surrounding ours in quiet suburban Bethesda were burgled; the local post office in the nearby shopping center was held up by two gunmen on motor bikes, they tied everyone up and put guns to their heads, and it closed down; the movie theater across the main road was held up by a gang of gunmen who beat up a few people and stole the day’s takings. It is a fact that when the Metro system extended to our area the incidents of crime by blacks from Washington DC increased significantly. Then there were the shootings, of people in cars, of people just minding their own business, of students in schools and universities. So the USA is a much more violent country, with many more guns than the UK.
Another factor was the feeling that in the US we were in a country that uses Israel, that applies pressure to get Israel to comply with US interests, rather than treating it as a valued and in fact powerful ally. We often felt that we were on the wrong side of a constant fractious relationship. These were some of the negative reasons that decided us to move to Israel, but there were of course many positive reasons.
Last week I went to a clinic in another city to have a medical test. Although I judge my Hebrew to be poor, I managed to converse with the clerks and the nurses and understand the instructions all in Hebrew. Maybe I am integrated here after all.
The Day After:
What happens the day after it is found that Iran is in fact still developing nuclear weapons in breach of the agreement that they accepted in Vienna – when, not if? Let’s say that in three years time, Israel manages to obtain evidence that in fact Iran is carrying out a secret program using advanced centrifuges and has amassed a large amount of highly enriched uranium that is sufficient for three bombs. And Israel provides this information to the USA.
Hopefully the successor to Pres. Obama will not be as pro-Islamic as he is and will listen to the Israeli evidence. But, suppose he or she decides that it would be too difficult and too costly to break the deal and certainly not wanting to go to war over a mere suspicion. Suppose the Pres. then contacts the Iranian regime and they of course deny this evidence. What happens then? Do we sit and wait to see when Iran decides to actually deliver that bomb with the missiles that they are allowed to develop?
Or suppose they abide by the deal until 10 years from now when the stringency will be relaxed and they have been flush with cash and have filled their armouries with the latest Russian and German sophisticated weapons. When they feel confident, will they then strike at Israel? Shall we sit and wait for that while the US abrogates its role as the leader and defender of the West? Shall Israel be forced to take the brunt of the action alone against a far larger enemy? I think the answer to that is yes, which is why this deal is not merely what it seems on the surface, but is the beginning of US retrenchment from its role as the world’s superpower. This is what Obama has managed to accomplish.
It heralds a time when we are all on our own. While the forces of Islamism are gathering strength in the center of the Muslim world and in west and east Africa, and “lone wolf” attacks are on the rise in the USA. What then?
Jack Cohen – National Identity, The Day After and More
No Deal is a Better Deal:
Let us examine Pres. Obama’s main points in defense of the nuclear deal he has agreed between the main powers and Iran.
1. This deal is the best deal that could be reached given Iran’s insistence on maintaining a “peaceful” nuclear program and their reasonable limitations on inspections of their military sites. Instead of “anytime/anywhere” access by the IAEA inspectors, as was initially proclaimed, there will be a request for access, followed by a 24 day waiting period while a joint committee considers the request, and then a decision, that could be “no.” This is a ludicrous climb-down by the US and its allies in trying to impose a limit on Iran’s nuclear capability. Obama said you can’t hide nuclear material, which is a ridiculous claim, since both N. Korea and Pakistan developed nuclear weapons while under intense US and IAEA scrutiny and Iran itself had secret facilities that were revealed by anti-regime Iranian sources and not detected by the USA or IAEA.
2. This deal is good for Israel and the Arab allies of the US and will protect their interests, it will prevent a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. Almost every commentator of the regions disagrees with Obama in this assessment. No-one believes that this deal will prevent Iran from achieving a nuclear weapon within 10 years at the maximum and so this deal will result in a drive by the Arab countries, led by Saudi Arabia, to develop their own nuclear weapons. Israel supposedly has nuclear weapons, and will now more likely be tempted to use them if it felt it would be under attack by Iranian nuclear weapons.
3. In response to Iran’s agreement to the deal the sanctions regime on Iran will be lifted in stages. The fact that the immediate release of frozen assets once the agreement is implemented will give Iran ca. b$100 immediately that it can use to support its terrorist activities and subversion in the region from Lebanon to Yemen is not even mentioned in the deal. In the newspaper that represents the Iranian Government view (according to Prof. Pardo of Tel Aviv University in an interview on IBA News) an editorial was published last Thursday stating that the regime will continue its intention to destroy Israel and kill all “Zionist Jews” despite this agreement and irrespective of the Palestinians. So this agreement will result in greater instability in the region by releasing Iran from its economic limitations, rather than reducing tensions.
4. The US will consult with Israel and the Arab Gulf States to improve their security after the Iranian nuclear deal. No-one expects this to make any difference to the situation. Essentially the US under Pres. Obama has abandoned its role as the major power in the ME, protecting the oil supply, and its allies are now left to fend for themselves against an increasingly powerful Iran. The European countries and Russia and China are lining up to trade with Iran because of its bonanza of new wealth, and they will supply Iran with the latest sophisticated weapons. No amount of US support can fend off this new dangerous situation.
5. Obama claimed that the opponents to this deal, including PM Netanyahu, have not come up with a better alternative. The answer to this is simple, NO deal is a better deal!
Born in London, UK, lived in suburban Washington DC area for 30 years, moved to Israel in 1996. He has a web site: Jack’s Blog
Jack Cohen – National Identity, The Day After and More
