Isaiah 2:2-3 “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the L-RD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. 3. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the L-RD, to the house of the G-d of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the L-RD from Jerusalem.” 4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”
A Place Among the Nations for Israel and Sir Bibi
Prof. Paul Eidelberg
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may have discovered a way by which Israel, notwithstanding Bilaam’s prophecy, will no longer “stand alone,” indeed, will be “reckoned among the nations” (Numbers 23:9). How? By Israel’s becoming a member of the British Commonwealth! The aspiration of “Bibi’s” book, A Place Among the Nations, would then become a reality.
Before elaborating, let me remind the reader that A Place Among the Nations was written before Mr. Netanyahu became Israel’s Prime Minister. The book documents the insidious “strategy of phases” by which Yasser Arafat and the PLO intend to facilitate Israel’s demise. The book therefore reveals the nefarious truth about the “Peace Process,” the mantra of the Israel-PLO Agreements, otherwise known as the Oslo Accords.
Once Mr. Netanyahu became Israel’s Prime Minister, however, the truth about those deadly agreements was swept beneath the pragmatic rug. No one should be shocked. It requires greater courage and wisdom to affirm the truth as a government’s leader than as a leader of the opposition. In any event, the truth has ceased to be convenient for Mr. Netanyahu. The “Peace Process” is far more important. He only insists that “peace” be accompanied by “security” -- a charming tautology.
Thus, if it be granted that Israel cannot stand alone or obtain peace and security as a sovereign and independent state, perhaps this feeble or quasi-Jewish state should apply for membership in the British Commonwealth?
This enchanting idea actually surfaced in London’s Jewish Chronicle on August 24, 1997. Who initiated the idea is not perfectly clear. It seems to have been proposed in an “unofficial” meeting between Israel’s then Ambassador Moshe Raviv and the British Commonwealth's secretary-general, Chief Emeka Anyaoku. A spokesman for the Commonwealth confirmed that such a meeting had taken place but declined to provide further details.
Now, it must be admitted that Israel’s joining the 53-member British Commonwealth makes a great deal more sense than her joining the Arab League -- the fond dream of that benighted internationalist, Shimon Peres. By joining the British Commonwealth Israel would obtain what modern Israel lacks, an authentic monarch -- a veritable or venerable Queen, no less! Contemplate the benefits: Jewish pride would be restored. Perhaps boorish Israelis would absorb some British manners. Peace would adorn this Jewish enclave in the Arab Middle East. Indeed, Arab anti-Semitism would evaporate, for Israel would be part of the mighty British Commonwealth! If this was Mr. Netanyahu’s brain-child, clearly he ranks with Winston Churchill as a creative statesman.
Come to think of it, however, back in the 1930s, Chaim Weizmann and David Ben-Gurion, discouraged by England’s reneging on the Balfour Declaration, abandoned the Zionist goal of independent Jewish statehood and toyed with the idea of a (nascent) Israel becoming a member of the British Commonwealth. Perhaps Mr. Netanyahu has merely joined the ranks of “post-Zionists.” If so, what prompted him?
Perhaps it was Yasser Arafat? For the meeting between Israel’s ambassador and the Commonwealth’s secretary-general in August 24, 1997 came in the wake of a visit to London earlier that month by the world’s most successful terrorist, who asked Commonwealth officials whether a future Palestinian state could have associate membership in the Commonwealth. Perhaps Arafat was setting Netanyahu up. Perhaps Bibi could the more readily be induced to collaborate in the lethal peace process by the prospect of membership in the British Commonwealth?
Although Ambassador Raviv would not comment on details of his communications with Jerusalem, he did tell the Jewish Chronicle he felt it was "fitting," what with Israel about to celebrate its 50th anniversary, that the country be welcomed into this important organization as a full Commonwealth member. "It would highlight progress made in the Middle East peace process in general, and with the Palestinians since the signing of the Oslo Accords and Israel's growing acceptance in the world." Remarkable how Jewish self-effacement stupefies many Jews.
Notice that the phrase “Israel’s growing acceptance in the world” corresponds with Mr. Netanyahu’s aspiration in A Place Among the Nations. But that book informed the world of Arafat’s and the PLO’s genocidal intentions vis-à-vis Israel. Nevertheless, whereas Arafat and the PLO won the support of the world, including the American administration, the Netanyahu government has been universally condemned merely for building apartments on Jewish-owned land within Jerusalem’s municipal boundaries!
It seems that whenever Israel asserts itself as an independent and sovereign state, the nations utter Bilaam’s silenced curses. Why? Because mankind, steeped in falsehood, dimly discerns and fears that a self-assertive Israel will eventually overawe the world as the truth-bearing nation, as it did during the reign of King Solomon. Hence Israel’s existence is a constant provocation, demonstrated by the hundreds of UN condemnations of this diminutive Jewish State. A resurgent Israel is just not cricket.
But we were contemplating a British-oriented Israel. Surely the world’s hostility toward Israel will subside once Israel becomes an inconspicuous member of the British Commonwealth. Indeed, if Mr. Netanyahu behaves as a loyal British subject and extends the construction freeze, he may jolly well be knighted by the Queen as “Sir Bibi.”
Posts
