The last issue of The Jewish Link (March 8, 2018) had a number of articles on the AIPAC conference and depicted a virtual love-fest between the United States and Israel. Also in his AIPAC speech, Netanyahu called Iran the greatest existential threat to Israel, and America seems to have Israel’s back on this. This is certainly a welcome change from the acrimonious relationship during the Obama Administration. However, Jews should not be lulled into a false sense of security under this seemingly sanguine picture. Israel is still ringed on all sides by hostile neighbors and is under constant threat.
On the south is Egypt, which still has a peace treaty with Israel, but is now having considerable troubles of its own in the Sinai with Islamist radicals. On the east is the West Bank and Jordan. The West Bank is a perennial terrorist tinderbox, and Jordan, while also having a peace treaty with Israel, now has a very unstable government. To the west is Gaza, which is again rebuilding its tunnels and missile arsenal. To the north are Syria and Lebanon, both considerable threats to Israel, and with Iran heavily engaged in both. Iran, thanks to the Obama-Kerry “deal,” has an open path to producing nuclear weapons and is flush with American cash to carry out its terrorist-sponsored activities. Syria is a geo-political as well as a military quagmire, where even the belligerents themselves don’t often know what to do. And Israel doesn’t seem to be too sure what to do either.
And then there is Lebanon, which may be the most immediate threat of all. Hezbollah, as a proxy for Iran, has amassed an estimated 100,000 to 150,000 missiles and rockets capable of reaching deep into Israel, and which can easily overwhelm Israel’s Iron Dome and Arrow 3 missile defense systems. By all accounts, this is an untenable situation that Israel will sooner or later (probably sooner) have to deal with. This will likely necessitate a full-scale military action, not just a quick sweep. It can get ugly very quickly, and will also encounter the full wrath of the world’s Jew and Israel haters, unfortunately including some Jews themselves.
What newspapers like The Jewish Link can do is emphasize the imminent danger that Lebanon poses to Israel, so that the Jewish public is forewarned and prepared to support Israel to the max, if and when this action occurs, and also withstand the expected onslaught by its legions of haters.
Max Wisotsky, PhD
Highland Park
