What happens when the self-appointed leaders of the Jews
wake up one morning and realize that they messed up so badly, the people they
lead are leaving the fold in droves, and many of these are countering what
they, as leaders, have spent a lifetime putting together?
The answer to that question exists already. It shows that
the Jewish leaders created a fantasy by painting a world that's the exact
opposite of current realities. To do that, they must have reasoned that the
world and their own rank-and-file were turned off because they abused the
antisemitic accusation, and did other similar things. The remedy, they must
have concluded, would be to reverse course. And the way to do that would be to
argue the false assertion that: “Everybody Loves Israel”.
In fact, this is what Arthur Herman of the Hudson Institute
did in an essay he wrote and published under that title on November 7, 2016 in
MOSAIC. He also gave the essay this subtitle: “Formerly neutral or hostile
countries from across the world, including Saudi
Arabia and China , are now eagerly courting the
Jewish state...” To give himself a reason to expand on that theme, he asked the
question: “What's going on?” and got busy answering it.
It is clear from reading his 6,270-word response that he had
a strategy in mind. Because there is soon going to be a new government in the
United States, and because there is bound to be change on the Palestinian
question at the United Nations, Herman wanted the Jewish rank-and-file in
America to believe that no matter what happens as a result of the anticipated
change, things will get better for Israel and will continue to get better. And
so, the Jewish rank-and-file who are leaving the fold should reconsider because
they might be needed to help with the Palestinian question no matter in which
direction the events will unfold.
Yes, Herman admits, Israel continues to have problems with
the Palestinian Authority, Iran, the United Nations and the movement to boycott
Israel in Europe and on American college campuses, but he assures the estranged
rank-and-file that all those negatives are offset because “Israel is fast
becoming the Middle East's golden child.” Israel
is also doing very well with Russia
and such East Asian countries as China ,
Japan and India , he goes
on to say. As to Europe, Israel
is doing well with Latvia ,
Estonian and Lithuania .
And last but not least, it is doing well with most of what constitutes America .
Will this be enough to reassure the foot soldiers who stayed
with their self-appointed leaders through thick and thin? They participated in
letter writing campaigns when asked, lobbied everyone they encountered on
behalf of Israel, badmouthed every enemy that the leaders chose to hate for the
day, and contributed money without question to every cause that the leaders
declared worthy. Will these people rally back around their leaders?
Maybe that will be enough or maybe it will not. And so, to
make sure that it will be at least moderately effective, Herman decided to find
someone who would second his premise. Doing so should soften his essay – which
probably sounds like a lecture. A second voice will give it the feel of an
internal Jewish dialogue; one that beckons every Jew in the land to join the
conversation.
And sure enough, Robert Satloff of the Washington Institute
for Near East Policy responded to the invitation a week later on November 14,
2016. He did so in a 2,100-word essay that came under a title sounding almost
the same as that of Arthur Herman: “Everyone Loves Israel ...” But he added the caveat:
“...Until They Don't,” and published the work on the website of the Washington
Institute.
Worried he might predict something today that will prove
wrong tomorrow, Satloff starts with this warning: “Yes, Israel is
popular now but most of its friendships are based on common interest that can
change overnight.” Feeling covered if something goes wrong, he is now free to
go past Herman's brush, and paint a rosier picture of today's Israel . And so,
he speaks of “Israel 's
exploding relations ... Suitors around the world jockeying for the attention of
Israeli leaders, diplomats, scholars, investors, consultants, and hi-tech
entrepreneurs”.
Can all that change and turn for the worse? Yes, says Robert
Satloff. But the reason will not come from Israel ; it will come from somewhere
else. Perhaps from increasingly authoritarian Egypt
or Turkey 's
megalomaniac leader Erdogan or the dysfunctional Palestinian Authority. After
all, Israel
is perfect and nothing goes wrong with it till something goes wrong with
someone else.
And this is why you should expect that whether or not there
will be drastic change on the Palestinian question at the United Nations, the
self-delusion exhibited by the Jewish leaders foretells a period of future
madness that will complicate the region even more than it already is.