Israel's President, Reuven Rivlin, recently said that this year--2020--"has been a year of peace" (here). On one level, he was correct. But on another level, he was dead wrong.
Rivlin made his "year of peace" comment because of the Abraham Peace Accord. This Accord was announced on August 13, 2020 as a diplomatic and business "normalization" agreement between Israel, the UAE (and then, later, Bahrain). This agreement was historic. It did the supposedly impossible: it brought Jews and Muslims together--in peace.
That alone could qualify 2020 as a 'year of peace'. A "Normalization" between Jew and Muslim? Since Israel's modern founding in 1948, such a 'normalizing' peace had never been attempted. Never.
This agreement was so stunning, it immediately suggested a redefining of the diplomatic and economic maps of the Middle East. If the innovation and high-tech sophistication of Israel could truly be matched up with the money, contacts and energy of wealthy Arab nations, this deal could transform the Middle East. It could bring modernity, prosperity and increased security to a region more commonly known for its backwardness, tribal conflicts and extensive poverty. An Israel-based non-Iranian confederation could potentially create an entirely new Middle East.
This Accord also has the potential to create substantial peace dividends. One of biggest of these dividends was the possible inclusion into this nascent "confederation" the Middle East's biggest player--Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia isn't just the largest country in the Middle East. It's got the largest economy of the Middle East. If the Saudis joined with Israel, UAE and Bahrain, the resulting confederation could change the Middle East from a Russia-leaning Region to a Western-leaning Region. Certainly, with Israel acting as its high-tech hub, the Middle East could become the world's greatest science-driven engine.
The timing of this agreement was extraordinary. At this moment in history, the EU teeters on collapse and the US teeters on either some form of Marxism or outright revolution--or both. If both the EU and the US do sink into some kind of political and/or economic chaos, this Jewish-Muslim "confederation" could replace the US and EU as the world's greatest creator of growth, innovation and prosperity.
But...this prospect for peace and prosperity can only come true if Israel survives its internal wars. Right now, that survival is not guaranteed. There is some evidence to suggest that Israel could drown under a tsunami of Jew vs Jew hatred (here).
You see, the truth is, Israel doesn't have a war problem. It's got a "peace" problem.
Israel has a unique track record fighting wars against external enemies. Israel has always won its wars with external enemies--mostly because it cannot afford to lose. Israel's problem is, it has trouble with peace.
In general, Israelis unify for war. They're good at doing that. But Israelis fracture when they have no external war to fight.
That is, when no enemy threatens an imminent invasion of Israel, Israelis seem to turn on each other. This is what we see (now almost daily) being reported in Israel's news media.
Currently, Israel has experienced an "official peace" for more than 6 years, since the end of the 2014 war with Gaza. How have Israelis chosen to use this time of relative calm? They've gone to war against each other, Jew against Jew.
Leftists gather in coffee shops and salons to plan to undermine and attack everything Zionists and Religious Zionists do in Israel. Meanwhile, other Jews who are not Leftist--but who appear to have problems with Judaism--plot to attack everything they see as "Jewish" in Israel.
We see these two groups work to demonize and verbally attack Israel's Ultra-Religious Jews. Why? I believe many within these two groups believe that Israel's Ultra-Religious (the 'Haredi' sector) are Israel's scapegoat. At least, that's how they act.
Perhaps some Jews in Israel tire of being the world's scapegoat. Since many of these Jews profess to 'want to be like everyone else', perhaps they yearn to have a scapegoat of their own--like everyone else has. Perhaps that's why Israel's Haredi are being treated as a hated scapegoat.
Perhaps.
By the way, this Israeli inability to live in peace with itself isn't new. Read our Tanach. Our Jewish history is scarred by this Jewish tendency for internecine warfare. Israel today is no different than ancient Israel.
Is the Abraham Accord compelling enough to change that? Can it change Israel's penchant for internal warfare?
Once the business and tourism benefits of the Accord begin, will Israelis drop their political hatreds and dream instead of greater prosperity and international respect?
Or, are we looking at something else entirely: do today's divisions reveal that Israel has lost its moral compass? Has the world's only Jewish state lost its Jewish compass?
Is that why we see this Jew-vs-Jew behavior? We don't know--and frankly, I don't think Israelis know.
Reading Israel's news, it looks to me like Israelis aren't ready for peace right now. I don't believe the prospect of a "new Middle East" is a powerful enough motivator for Israelis to be interested in building a better future. Right now, Israelis seem instead more focused on undermining Israel's democracy by attempting to take Israel's democratically-elected Prime Minister out of office through protests--and demanding to do that because, 'democracy' (here).
The Abraham Accord brings with it a potential for a new future. But all Israel can think about right now is the double plague of corona and Netanyahu-hate.
Peace? Forget it. Israel must protect its democracy. Yes, Netanyahu is indeed so bad a Prime Minister, his corona failures endanger all (here). Israel must remove this democratically-elected man before the next election!!
Was Israel president Rivlin correct? Does the Abraham Accord really bring to Israel the stunning opportunity for real Middle East peace?
Or, was Rivlin wrong? Are Israelis so intent on destroying Netanyahu they would overturn Israel's democracy--for our 'greater good'? Have Israelis so blinded themselves with political hatred that they see no reason whatsoever to think about preparing Israel to take its place as the keystone piece in a new Middle East/Western-leaning confederation?
Is this what's going on here in Israel? We don't know. Israelis don't know.
Ready or not, Israel's future lies before us. That future will be either very bright--or very dark.
Yes, Israel has problems, all right. Can Israelis figure out how to solve them?
You tell me.
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