Ha’aretz, Israel
Oct 25 2009
Counterattack is the order of the day
By Yair Sheleg
The calls to bolster Israel’s public-relations efforts concerning the
Goldstone report are not enough. Indeed, the report is just part of
the emerging trend toward isolating Israel as the world’s leper, even
though the "war crimes" of which it is accused do not even come close
to those committed by its loudest critics. This proves once again that
interests are what dictate the international agenda, and if interests
are the name of the game, we need a planned counterattack, one that
will exact a price from the aggressors and compel them to consider
whether such actions coincide with their interests. From this
standpoint, the calls to cancel trips by Israeli vacationers to Turkey
are a step in the right direction, though this is not enough.
Since Israel is a small country, it’s clear that most of these
measures cannot be carried out by Israel alone. Rather, we need a
broad coalition of forces in the West who share our concern about the
tendency to capitulate to the aims of the global jihad, or Iran.
One step we can take by ourselves: We should make it clear that Israel
would be happy to establish a commission of inquiry into Operation
Cast Lead. But since it is inconceivable that Israel would be tried
for actions from which other countries are granted immunity, the
commission would be formed on the day the Americans and British
establish their own inquiries into possible war crimes in Afghanistan.
The same goes for the Russians in Chechnya, the Turks against the
Kurds, and elsewhere.
Other measures can be taken, like encouraging international
recognition of the Turks’ massacre of the Armenians as an act of
genocide; conditioning Turkey’s entry into the European Union on
Ankara’s positions toward the West, including Israel; advocating a
change in international law on war so it reflects the problems of
combating terrorists who use civilians as "human shields"; and
encouraging Western nations to level sanctions against Iran without
waiting for the rest of the international community.
This is by no means an ideal situation, but it is preferable to the
futile waiting game before gaining the consent of the other global
players, particularly Russia and China. In fact, such efforts would
also make clear whether the West is even interested in sanctions, or
whether its representatives are using the Sino-Russian refusal as an
excuse to continue to maintain trade ties between Western companies
and Iran.
There is also the possibility of adopting the proposal by U.S. Senator
John McCain to establish a new international body comprised solely of
democratic states. McCain’s proposed organization would replace the
United Nations, which would in effect mean that those democratic
states would resign from the UN. But perhaps this is too drastic a
step, at least for the time being. Nonetheless, it is important that
the world’s democracies develop a joint policy to contend with the
automatic majority enjoyed by nondemocratic states in UN institutions.
Perhaps the very threat of a mass departure of democratic states from
the UN – countries that account for the bulk of the world body’s
resources and moral standing – could help moderate the positions of
the other countries.
Some of these measures are certainly contrary to the spirit of the
current U.S. administration. They may even arouse Washington’s anger.
This alone is a reason why Israel must drift into the background and
not take the lead in such a process. Nonetheless, historical
circumstances prove that those who show they are not in anyone’s
pocket are the ones who gain a diplomatic advantage, so everyone has
an interest in courting them. If the Obama administration grasps that
Israel and its Jewish and non-Jewish supporters are not in its pocket,
maybe he, too, will be more sensitive to Israel’s needs when pursuing
his policy.
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