I am old enough to be alarmed at the ominous similarities of today’s events with those in the 1930s. At that time, at the end of the First World War, much of the world was in chaos. By the 1930s a bloc was formed called the Axis. The major powers were Nazi Germany in Europe, militaristic Japan in the Pacific, and fascist Italy in the Mediterranean and North Africa. Against these was a bloc called the Allies, whose major players were Communist Russia, the empire of Great Britain and eventually democratic America, which was at first isolationist, but then joined the Allies after it was attacked at Pearl Harbor in 1941.
The Second World War formally began on September 1, 1939 when Germany invaded Poland. However, there were many major military and diplomatic events that occurred before then.
Now, compare that scenario with the eerily similar situation today. A new “axis of evil” has come into being whose major players are three totalitarian regimes: communist China in the Pacific, communist Russia in Europe, and Muslim Iran in the Middle East. Against these are a loose coalition of Western democracies including NATO in Europe, together with Japan, Australia and India in the Pacific and Israel in the Middle East—and the United States’ nuclear umbrella covering all of them.
While no formal world war has been proclaimed, there is serious fighting and maneuvering going on in many parts of the world. China is flexing its muscle and carving out a sphere of influence in the Pacific region. This is making Japan, India and Australia very nervous and they are increasing their military capabilities accordingly. In Europe, Russia has invaded Ukraine twice and has already annexed two sections of that country. Brutal fighting is still ongoing and North Korea started sending in troops to support Russia. In the Middle East, Iran, through its proxies, continues to wage a continuous war against Israel and Western powers.
This brings us to the Jewish people. Throughout all of history the Jews have always been a tiny community in the world. However they have always played an outsized role in world attention, almost always to their detriment. A litany of horrors has been and continues to be perpetrated against them.
After what was, at the time, the most horrific catastrophe, the Holocaust, the world generally showed sympathy to the Jews for a while, as in “Never Again.” However, this honeymoon period lasted for only a short time. The events of October 7, 2023 resulted in a worldwide explosion of latent antisemitism which was still simmering just below the surface, even in America. which had previously been known as “The Golden Medina.”The world now also has a new target, Israel, to act as the universal scapegoat for all the ills of the world and its inhabitants.
The reason why this is important is because today Iran, together with its Muslim allies and proxies, is myopically fixated on destroying Israel, “The Little Satan,” first, and America, “The Big Satan,” later. While the other members of the axis of evil have little connection with Israel or the Jews, for them the destruction of America is the big prize, so they are allied with Iran.
Iran, mostly through its proxies, has been continuously fighting against Israel. With any miscalculation, this could spark the outbreak of a wider war around the world. However, because Israel’s military has inflicted serious harm to Iran and its proxies, it may save the Western powers from having to join the fray.
Tiny Israel is once again in the world’s limelight.
