Perspective 144. Israel: An Existential Challenge?
“From the river to the sea.” “Death to Israel.” “Hey hey, ho ho – Israel has got to go.” Some chants heard at recent anti-Israel protests negate the very existence of the state of Israel. Has Israel’s existence become, in fact, a real issue on the world scene?
No. Protesters are easily swept up into extreme rhetoric, but Israel’s existence is a fact of life for governments of the Middle East and elsewhere, even those that profess to deplore this existence.
In perspective, Israel is a stable (if sometimes flawed) democratic state of ten million inhabitants with an advanced economy, a leader in high tech, and ranked among the top two dozen nations on the UN Human Development Index. Not incidentally it also possesses a powerful military, with nuclear weapons in the basement should they ever become relevant (which they fortunately have not so far).
It may be that Hamas leaders saw the massive protests on Israeli streets last year as evidence that the nation was coming apart at the seams. If so, they made a massive miscalculation. The protests were testimony to the vigor of Israeli society, not its weakness. When faced with a plot to weaken judicial authority in public life, masses of ordinary Israelis rallied to pin back the ears of the would-be perpetrators. Few countries have ever witnessed such a surge of civic-mindedness.
And when Hamas launched its murderous onslaught on October 7, the same protesters formed a united front to respond to the atrocities of that day – without surrendering for one minute their fervent opposition to the machinations of Bibi Netanyahu.
In fact, the Hamas attack only deepened distaste for Bibi, given his role in allowing Hamas to flourish (by allowing a flow of cash) and his gullibility in leaving the nation open to attack. Israeli citizens demonstrated their ability to distinguish between the interests of the nation and the misbegotten policies of particular leaders. That is the essence of democracy.
The Hamas fantasy of Israel’s disintegration was evident in its plans, recently publicized, to divide Israel into zones of occupation, seize and redistribute all property, and kill all Israeli soldiers. All of this was openly discussed in a 2021 conference, following the ascendance of elements within Hamas that were clearly delusional (as was the Israeli government that belittled these warning signs).
And the delusions of the current campus protesters? Another chant heard at some rallies is “Death to America.” That should indicate the scope of their hallucinations.