Alon Ben-Meir
[Editor’s note: Fascinating anti-Bennett and anti-Putin propaganda, when Bennett wants to be on the side of the winner. Don’t wince when you read about “Israel’s moral standing”!]
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s “neutrality” in the Russian war against Ukraine is outrageous and contemptible. It runs contrary to every moral principle that Israel is supposed to stand and fight for. Bennett must join the Western alliance in opposing Putin — a merciless tyrant who is committing crimes against humanity and must pay for it.
One cannot help but feel outraged by the conduct of Israel’s PM Naftali Bennett.
He, like millions of people around the world, is witnessing the unfolding horror of the Russian invasion of Ukraine but chooses to remain neutral. Neutral in the face of a shattered country that sought nothing but to be free, and neutral in the face of indiscriminate bombing raining death and destruction.
How can a prime minister of Israel remain neutral in the face of cities being reduced to ashes and millions of refugees petrified of what tomorrow will bring? As a father, how can he maintain absurd neutrality when children are dying in the arms of weeping mothers and helpless young girls cower in fear with no place to hide? How can a devout man no less exhibit such sickening aloofness when he sees the wanton destruction of schools, hospitals, and institutions and the ruthless defiance of human rights, when ten million Ukrainians became refugees or internally displaced, and when so many innocents are on the verge of death from thirst and starvation?
One might ask, what does it mean to be neutral? If you are neutral, what does this really translate to in the context of the unspeakable crimes Putin is committing against innocent Ukrainian citizens? In this case it simply means that while these crimes against humanity are happening in broad daylight, Bennett refuses to condemn the Russian butcher because of cold-blooded political calculations, which he justifies in the name of Israel’s national security.
Whether Bennett’s decision to assume neutrality is because he wanted to act as a credible interlocutor between Ukraine and Russia or because he wanted Russia’s continued cooperation in Syria to bomb Iranian military installations or because he wanted to elicit Russian support against a new Iran deal or a combination of all three, Bennet has gravely betrayed Israel’s founding moral principles.
Bennett’s absurd position of neutrality has profoundly disappointed Israel’s allies, especially the US, which is the only credible power that has committed itself to Israel’s national security, be that against Iran or any other foe. In light of what is happening we should examine Bennett’s reprehensible behaviour from two perspectives: Israel’s moral standing, and Israel’s relations with the United States.
Israel’s moral standing
Can Israel, given that its founding is intertwined with the Jews’ long and troubled history, assume a neutral posture when war crimes of such magnitude are occurring for all to see? How can Bennett abandon Israel’s basic moral tenets presumably because of national security concerns over Iran’s nuclear weapons programme?
By maintaining “neutrality”, Bennett is siding with a thug and a ruthless killer, who has become a pariah and war criminal who dishonours everyone who has not condemned him in the strongest terms. When the prime minister of Israel does not rise to the fateful cry for help and do what is morally right by standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Israel’s democratic allies and save the lives of thousands of innocent civilians, he is dangerously compromising the country’s international standing both on moral and political grounds.
With the indiscriminate bombardment, missile strikes, and drones killing thousands of people, the summary execution of civilians, and the flattening of whole cities, the invasion of Ukraine is itself a horrendous crime against a sovereign nation and a gross violation of international law.
Mass graves discovered in Bucha, a suburb of Kyiv, confirm that Russian forces have indeed committed war crimes. Civilians were executed with their hands bound and their bodies placed in shallow graves containing hundreds of bodies. These war crimes are a further trespass against humanity, a compounding of Russia’s transgression of all that we hold dear and sacred – including the dignity of human life and the right to live free from violence, brutality, and cruelty.
With all that unfolding horror, Bennett still refuses to provide air defence systems to stop these atrocities. Indeed, by refusing to offer such systems which can intercept projectiles without killing Russian soldiers, which, understandably he wants to avoid, he has become indirectly complicit in the horrifying death and destruction.
Israel’s detractors rightfully raise the question: has the decades-long Israeli occupation and the harsh way the Palestinians are treated made Bennett so morally numb and apathetic to the growing tragedy of the Ukrainian people?
It is no wonder; Bennett was born only five years after the occupation began; to him and many others, the oppressive and cruel occupation is simply a natural phenomenon. Bennett and his followers should recall what the philosopher and theologian Abraham Heschel once said: “Who is a Jew? A person whose integrity decays when unmoved by the knowledge of wrong done to other people.” Bennett must remember, politically or otherwise, Putin will vanish sooner or later, but Israel’s moral failure under his stewardship will haunt it for decades to come.
Israel’s relations with the United States
For Bennett to openly and repeatedly express total opposition to the US’ efforts to strike a new Iran deal, and by refusing to heed President Joe Biden’s call to aid Ukraine militarily, Bennett has effectively defied the only significant power that is unshakably committed to Israel’s national security.
Although Biden made it abundantly clear that the US will never allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons, Bennett asserted, like his predecessor, that Israel will act against Iran as it sees fit, as if Israel can take on Iran’s nuclear program entirely on its own, which is an illusion.
This is where Bennett has demonstrated acute shortsightedness. America stood by Israel through thick and thin and never wavered. As the philosopher Cornel West observed, “We have to recognise that there cannot be relationships unless there is commitment, unless there is loyalty…”
It is America, not Russia, that provided massive economic and military aid in the tens of billions of US dollars over the last decade alone. It is America, not Russia, that shielded Israel politically on every international forum and vetoed scores of anti-Israel resolutions at the UNSC and neutralised any threat to its national security.
Ukraine’s hour of need
Bennett seems to forget that the US, not Russia, will come to Israel’s aid on every front when needed, especially if it became necessary to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities, which Israel can never do alone with all that might imply. And finally, it is the US, not Russia, whose strategic alliance with Israel stood the test of time.
Thus, when Israel does not join the US in support of Ukraine in this desperate hour of need, Israel is opening itself to the questioning of its loyalty and strategic relevance to America when nearly all the democracies in the world stood by the US and mobilised their resources against Putin’s evil design. The disaster which is being inflicted on Ukraine by Putin also raises the question as to whether Israel deserves better treatment from the US, especially now that it has rebuffed Biden’s call to aid Ukraine in a meaningful way to save lives.
Although the US continues to support Israel publicly, as Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently expressed while visiting Israel, the Biden administration hopes that Bennett will change his mind by offering to help and coming on board with NATO and the EU. Bennett must answer the desperate plea of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky by providing air defence systems, such as the Iron Dome, to intercept the bombs and missiles that are turning Ukrainian cities into piles of rubble.
Bennett’s betrayal of Israel’s moral foundation because of cold-blooded political calculations will haunt him and leave him morally naked in the eyes of Israel’s friends and foes alike. Bennet must also realise that Israel’s fate is tied to America’s and the closer he ties it, the better it is for Israel. There must be no daylight between them, especially in the way of dealing with Iran’s nuclear threat. That is where Israel’s ultimate security rests while still remaining strong to deter any enemy. This may well be Bennett’s last chance to redeem himself and put Israel on the right side of history.
The whole world is watching.
Russia invaded Afghanistan. Bin Laden and USA kicked them out. Then USA invaded Afghanistan supposedly because Bin Laden did 911. Putin did a false flag against the Chechnyans. 911 was a false flag against the Afghans by the USA. They are al the same?
BillAu (welcome back)..Well, they all answer to the deep state (maybe even Putin…hard to say right now since the propaganda machine is targeting him). More important, how have you been since the jab? And maybe you can give us an eyewitness account of what’s really going on down-under.
The US Army gave Israel some old outdated nuclear weapons. These weapons were later refurbished at Dimona, Israel.
Later Israel transported these weapons to the US via no-inspection Diplomatic cargo.
They were transported to the Twin Tower’s lower basements. Fast forward to 911 day. The Mossad pushed the remote buttons and down came the Towers, killing 3,000 people. Has Israel some grudge against the USA?
File: Dimona nuke plant.
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Don, you may be on to something. Do you have any links that substantiate the movement of those nukes to the WTC…especially some that would include the dates when this occurred? That will help to collaborate Khalezov’s views they were placed upon construction and in a way, mine. I worked for Allied Chemical on Rector St., which was quite close to the WTC construction site. I would go over there at lunch at times ….(when I was not at lunch an Irish pub around the corner from Allied where I would listen to stories from that raconteur/bartender, Malachy McCourt {of “Angela’s Ashes” fame)….. and watch them digging down about 20 stories for the foundation. They had a plywood fence around the site with “fish holes” through which to gaze at the activity. There was a period of time they blocked those “fish holes”. Was that when they placed the nukes? Curious, is it not? At DK’s writing in “9/11-Thology..The Third Truth”, it was his contention these type of nukes were under many skyscrapers nation and possibly world wide. It was/is something insurance companies would require to bring the buildings down without damaging expensive real estate in the proximity. Having not been to his site nor in contact with him for quite a time now, I don’t know if he still feels the same.
You must be kidding. ALL of this info has been removed from the Internet. The Twin Tower nukes were transported to the site by taxi, from the Israeli NYC Consulate to the site. One strong person can easily carry a backpack nuke. The 911 nukes were transported to the site about a week before 911.
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Don…”You must be kidding”….what does that even mean? I asked you a legitimate question with valid reasons for that question and you reply with “you must be kidding”.
Would it not be more gracious and in the spirit of this blog on which we have both been frequent contributors for many years to simply say I no longer have that information or it’s no longer on the Internet. Why diminish the question? And why post something for which you can present no evidence? You have done that very frequently. That, my friend is not research. Without proof or some kind of back-up, it’s opinion. And I respect your opinion, but please do not present it as fact.
Maybe someone else on the blog can provide information to that regard without deprecating the question.
Will2, let me say this. Basically I have a problem in life. That problem is that I’m too agreeable, gracious, kind and understanding of people….especially concerning you and many others similar to you.
I’ll leave it at that….no Will2 style, tedious ‘lecture’ is required of me.
That’s unfortunate, Don. It may serve you well to engage in a debate once-in-a-while. That’s a good part of what a blog is all about. Could it be you mistake my desire for a debate as a need to lecture you? “You and many others similar to you”. Does that mean others interested in facts when they are not presented? I was genuinely looking for a fact about the placement of nukes I did not know and you see that as something to be tolerated?
I talked about information being deleted on the Internet in my Comment of 4:15. Of course people don’t fully read my comments. They go off on a rant and ignore what I have already said. Has happened many times.
I don’t debate people on this blog, its not worth my effort. I post things without links because, as I have stated “things on the internet are constantly deleted”, I rely on my still intact memory.
BTW, Trump is still using ChloraPrep on his face. ChloraPrep is a sterile antiseptic solution containing a combination of 2% Chlorhexidine gluconate in 70% Isopropyl alcohol. LAUGH if want but his use of this product has been DELETED from the Internet.
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I just love propaganda pieces. One never has to be concerned with facts fogging up the page.
.here we have……..”outrageous and contemptible, contrary to every moral principle, Putin — a merciless tyrant who is committing crimes against humanity, but feel outraged by the conduct, unfolding horror, indiscriminate bombing raining death and destruction, cities being reduced to ashes, children are dying in the arms of weeping mothers, wanton destruction of schools, hospitals, and institutions”…. and that’s just in the first few paragraphs….not a fact, not a link….just words of incitement minus anything solid enough to mean anything. All this from a guy who at 85 has had more plastic surgery than Biden with a face tighter than a nuns…wait for it….. chastity belt (ha, thought I was going to say something else, didn’t you?) Don’t believe me…take a look….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-L5U8ly4Mw
What’s he hiding, eh? Does he have a portrait in his attic?
And this: “How can Bennett abandon Israel’s basic moral tenets presumably because of national security concerns over Iran’s nuclear weapons programme?”….You’re right, Jim…it did bring some bile into my mouth.
Or this: “How can a prime minister of Israel remain neutral in the face of cities being reduced to ashes and millions of refugees petrified of what tomorrow will bring? Hey, ask the Palestinians…they’ll have an answer for you.
More: “With the indiscriminate bombardment, missile strikes, and drones killing thousands of people, the summary execution of civilians, and the flattening of whole cities”
Whoops…I thought he was talking about Palestine for a moment. But that would have included stealing and occupying Palestinian homes…
And on: ” Bennett has effectively defied the only significant power (the US, INC.) that is unshakably committed to Israel’s national security.”
“America stood by Israel through thick and thin and never wavered. As the philosopher Cornel West observed, “We have to recognise that there cannot be relationships unless there is commitment, unless there is loyalty…”….Yeah, sure…loyalty based on what?…Honey traps, money traps, blackmail and bribery….
This piece goes beyond the realm of propaganda, easily sliding into fantasy and delusion; but at least those have some basis in reality. The only basis this has is “the check is in the mail”.
Pass the barf bag.
A country “that sought nothing but to be free, and neutral”? Surely he’s not talking about Ukraine. “Putin’s evil design”?? With all due respect to your posture, Alon, you are talking propaganda. Smack on Russia’s doorstep, Ukraine has invited retaliation ever since the coup in 2014, orchestrated by the U.S.’s CIA and State Department, which signaled an intention of further stealthy encroachment by NATO against Russia (else why bother?). In waiting for his – legitimate – national security concerns to be addressed, Putin’s patience obviously wore thin. And with the covid-19 (false, totalitarian excuse-providing) pandemic signaling an activation of the NWO-WEF’s Grand Plan, and knowing of the bioweapons labs in Ukraine, together with the neo-Nazi, Russian-hating element on said doorstep, he obviously felt that he had to act. Become responsible for your homeland’s security And then throw your stones.
We can all wish that citizens could be shielded from such mayhem. The carnage is terrible. (And some of it self-inflicted, for propagandic purposes.) But for the West’s propagandists to self-righteously thunder about Putin’s “unprovoked attack on Ukraine” is to be just that: Propaganda. War is hell in and of itself. It doesn’t need to be compounded by deceit.