Understanding the myth of Israeli superiority.

Many people around the world look in awe towards Israel, a nation only 60 years old, built by a people who were persecuted for centuries and have one of the most advanced militaries in the world. Israel has managed, from its inception, according to many, to defeat its neighbouring nations in four wars, even though its population is that of a small island. Many Muslims across the world have adopted a number of conspiracies that place Israel at the helm of a Masonic plot to achieve world domination going back to the secretive meeting of the elders of Zion. It is such realities that have led to many believing it is Israel that pulls the strings around the world even controlling US foreign policy.


The close relationship between the US and Israel has been one of the most salient features in US foreign policy for nearly four decades. The $3 billion in military and economic aid sent annually to Israel by Washington is rarely questioned in Congress, even by liberals who normally challenge US aid to governments that engage in widespread violations of human rights, or by conservatives who usually oppose foreign aid in general. Virtually all Western countries share the United States' strong support for Israel's right to exist in peace and security. The US often stands alone with Israel at the United Nations and other international forums when objections are raised over ongoing Israeli violations of international law and related concerns.

The Politics of Israel

The US took an interest in the region after WW2 after tasting the benefits of Gulf oil and decided that it could no longer remain isolated and began manoeuvring in the area. In 1944 the State Department described the Arabian Peninsula as constituting "A stupendous source of strategic power and the greatest material prize in the world's history." The United States was aware that control of the region's oil supply was a lever to control the world. As George Kennan, the influential planner of the containment of the Soviet Union put it in 1949: "If the US controlled the oil, it would have veto power over the potential actions in the future of rivals like Germany and Japan." Realising the potential of the Middle East, the US set forward multiple plans and strategies to control the region.

The establishment of a Jewish homeland had been proposed by British Prime Minister Henry Bannerman in 1906: "There are people (the Muslims) who control spacious territories teeming with manifest and hidden resources. They dominate the intersections of world routes. Their lands were the cradles of human civilizations and religions. These people have one faith, one language, one history and the same aspirations. No natural barriers can isolate these people from one another ... if, per chance, this nation were to be unified into one state; it would then take the fate of the world into its hands and would separate Europe from the rest of the world. Taking these considerations seriously, a foreign body should be planted in the heart of this nation to prevent the convergence of its wings in such a way that it could exhaust its powers in never-ending wars. It could also serve as a springboard for the West to gain its coveted objects."

Israel was created on the basis of fulfilling a British interest by being placed in the middle of the Muslim world; however British weakness after WW2 led to the US to organise the region. The US looked towards Israel, within defined and secure boundaries, even though it was established with dreams of Eretz Israel (a greater Israel). This was the first difference between the US and Israel - the position of Israel is very clear since it has refused to define its borders from the very beginning, this exposed the fact that Israel was not a colony of the US and there were conflicting interests between the two.

Theodor Herzl is credited with founding political Zionism, a movement which sought to establish a Jewish state, by elevating the Jewish question onto the international scene. In 1896, Herzl published Der Judenstaat (The Jewish State), offering his vision of a future state; the following year he presided over the first World Zionist Congress. Ever since the establishment of the Zionist movement, the Jews have been aiming to achieve economic and political dominion over the Middle East.

The Myth of world domination

Although British influence in the Middle East has been replaced by American influence, the US is committed to protecting Israel, guaranteeing her security and securing a prosperous standard of living for the Jews living there. However this is not out of any moral obligation but due to strategic interests. It is these interests that have resulted in support of all types to Israel. With the population of the Palestinian territories forecasted to overtake that of Israel's by 2019, Israel needs a strong economy to attract Jewish migration from across the world and then to maintain a high standard of living for them.

A cursory glance at Israel's economy shows it is poor in natural resources; Israel depends on imports of oil, coal, food, production inputs and military equipment. Through a variety of agreements, deals and support from the West Israel has managed to develop the foundation of an industrial economy. With a population the size of Scotland Israel has an economy worth $185 billion. The European Union, US, Turkey, Mexico, Canada, Jordan and Egypt, have signed free trade agreements with Israel which means they all trade without any restrictions, which has helped Israel in procuring raw materials.

Foreign markets are critical for Israel. Due to having a very small domestic market (due to its small population) it is forced to search for foreign markets to generate wealth. Industrialised nations generally focus 10% of their economy towards foreign trade (imports and exports). However 30% of the Israeli economy relies on exports, which is very high. Israel's main exports 10 years ago were Jaffa oranges and other agricultural products. Today's exports are increasingly high-tech, an estimated 80% of the products Israel exports are high-tech and electronics components. However Israel is finding that it's light years behind Japan, China and Germany in this very competitive sector. 40% of Israeli exports end up on US shores even though the US can make the same agricultural goods and computer hardware cheaper and of better quality.

Because of the strategic role Israel plays in the Middle East it has been spoilt with military hardware and technology which would have otherwise taken it decades to develop. Israel is reliant upon foreign nations and people for its survival, without which is simply could not exist due to the geographical challenges it faces

The Middle East Peace Process

America rejects the idea of substituting European influence with Jewish influence, and she also rejects the idea of sharing power with any other country. America is committed to securing Israel, guaranteeing her security and ensuring a prosperous standard of living for the Jews living there. However, she refuses to allow Israel to share the influence with her.

In order to prevent Israeli expansion and the spread of Israeli influence in the region, American policy has been based on isolating Israel from the rest of the region in an attempt to curtail her and minimise her role in the quest to solve the Palestinian issue and the Middle Eastern issue. US policy is centred around establishing a Palestinian state to act as an instrument of containment; by establishing a host of international guarantees and by bringing multinational forces to be deployed along the borders between Israel and the neighbouring Arab countries - Jordan, Syria, Egypt and the future Palestinian State. The American policy has also been based on working towards the internationalisation of Jerusalem, as America sees this internationalisation as a solution to the sensitive crisis of Jerusalem that would please the Christians and guarantee a strong American presence through the presence of the United Nations.

There are a whole host of factors which has lead to US and Israeli foreign policy to reach the extent it has today:
- Many US citizens share a sentimental attachment with Israel especially many liberals - particularly among the post-war generation in leadership positions in government and the media. Many Americans identify with Israel's historical struggle, internal democracy, relatively high standard of living and its role as a sanctuary for an oppressed minority group that spent centuries in diaspora.
- The Christian Right in the US, with tens of millions of followers and a major base of support for the Republican Party, historically has thrown its immense media and political clout in support of Israel and other right-wing Israeli leaders. Based in part on a theology that sees the ingathering of Jews to the Holy Land as a precursor for the second coming of Christ, the battle between Israelis and Palestinians is, in their eyes, simply a continuation of the battle between the Israelites and the Philistines, with God having deemed that the land belongs to Israel alone.
- Mainstream and conservative Jewish organisations have mobilised considerable lobbying resources, financial contributions from the Jewish community, and citizen pressure on the news media and other forums of public discourse in support of the Israeli government. The role of the pro-Israel lobby is to create a climate in line with Israeli interests and helping in the creation of a climate of intimidation among those who seek to moderate US policy, including growing numbers of progressive Jews.
- The arms industry, contributes five times more money to congressional campaigns and lobbying efforts than AIPAC and other pro-Israel groups combined. The industry however does have a considerable stake in supporting massive arms shipments to Israel and other Middle Eastern allies of the United States. It is far easier for a member of Congress to challenge a $60 million arms deal to Indonesia, for example, than the $2 billion of arms to Israel, particularly when so many congressional districts include factories that produce such military hardware.

US-Israel relations

Israel has successfully managed to build a state and then mobilise its resources to achieve many of its long term aims. However without Western support it is impossible to see how Israel could reach the position it is in today. Israel has however failed in after more than 60 years in its ultimate aim of establishing a state with fixed borders encompassing the lands it was supposedly promised by God and this is due only to one reason - such an aim is not in the interests of the US.

The US plans defined Israeli borders alongside a Palestinian state. The Likud party which has been the party of power for most of Israel's recent history attempted to unilaterally define the borders by building settlements and expelling Muslims, however Israel still needs the US for any final settlement and for these reasons it has organised lobbying in the US and the worlds media in order to achieve a favourable outcome. The endeavour to achieve Eratz Israel is complicated by the fact that the Labour party in Israel believes in giving up land for permanent defined borders, it believes this is a price worth paying for the security it needs.

Hence Israel does not control the US but has been very efficient in influencing US policy. The US is organising the Middle East, it is the one that dictates, and on many issues the US and Israel have the same policy, however this should not been seen as the US abandoning its interests for Israel.

US support for the Israeli government, like US support for its allies elsewhere in the world, is not motivated by objective security needs or a strong moral commitment to the country. Rather, as elsewhere, US foreign policy is motivated primarily to advance its own perceived strategic interests.

Conclusions

The myth of Israeli superiority has historically been spread by the Muslim rulers to hide their own treachery, how can a region that is outnumbers Israel by 10 - 1 and require trade and oil to traverse Muslim lands be superior, the sums just do not add up.

Israel came into existence because King Abdullah 1 of the then British created and rewarded Transjordan had offered to accept the establishment of Israel in return for Jordanian control of the Arab populated parts of Palestine. His brother Faisal king of Iraq even eclipsed Abdullah's treachery in January 1919. Faisal signed the Faisal-Weizmann Agreement, with Dr. Chaim Weizmann, President of the World Zionist organisation where he conditionally accepted the Balfour Declaration based on the fulfillment of British wartime promises of independence to the Arabs. King Farook the British agent at time of Egypt sent a battalion of volunteers rather then the army to take on the onslaught of the Jews in 1948.

The six day war of 1963 was held up by the Muslim rulers as Israel managed to defeat three Arab armies single handedly However in reality the defeatism and conspiracy of Arab rulers is what gave Israel military victory. This is clear in the lack of preparation for war by the Egyptian regime, the withdrawal of the Jordanian regime from the West Bank and its surrender to Israel and the announcement made by the Syrian regime of the fall of Qunaitrah, which was behind the Syrian army lines that were still fighting in the Golan Heights.

Egypt from this defeat began diplomatic relations with Israel and gave up the cause of the Muslims of Palestine. The PLO officially endorsed the two state solution through the numerous occasions they compromise with their call for a Palestinian state, today the PLO calls for a mere 8% of historic Palestine and has accepted the Israeli state in return for a Palestinian state.

The treachery of the Muslim rulers has been the supply line that begins in Washington travels through the region and ends in Israel, without such logistical support Israel just could not have survived.