SIGNS OF THE TIMES [April 2011]

The New Middle East

A brief review published by Israel National News looked at What’s happening with the Arabs and the Jews in the various Middle East and North African states beset by protests and unrest. (Article dated 15/02/11 by Hillel Fendel: this review was published before the unrest in Libya and Syria, so does not include those countries).

Israel’s Friends

The blog of Benedict Brogan,The Daily Telegraph's deputy editor, recently included comments headed: "If we truly are Israel’s friend, now is the time to show it" [9 March 2011]. This was based upon David Cameron’s recent speech to the Community Security Trust (a group that tracks anti-Semitism in Britain) [Full Text of Speech], in which he said, “With me you have a Prime Minister whose belief in Israel is indestructible.  And you have a Prime Minister who wants to build a strong and productive relationship with Israel.  I will always be a strong defender of the Jewish people.  I will always be an advocate for the State of Israel”.  Mr. Brogan called this statement “bombproof support” for Israel.

During the above address, Mr. Cameron revealed that his great-great-grandfather was a German-Jewish banker who came to Britain 150 years ago.

Mr. Brogan also made reference to Gordon Brown’s 2008 speech before the Knesset, in which he said, “Britain is your true friend.  A friend in difficult times as well as in good times. . . And to those who mistakenly and outrageously call for the end of Israel, let the message be: Britain will always stand firmly by Israel’s side”.

Mr. Brogan considered that Britain is, at the present time, dragging its feet with regard to friendliness towards Israel, complaining that “Britain gives the impression of being indifferent to the concerns of a country that is not just the only democracy in the  Middle East, but also one of our paramount allies in the fight against militant Islamism”.

He further complains that the BBC and the Internet “act as an echo chamber for a coalition of religious and political campaign groups and academies of all stripes pumping out a propaganda campaign of explicit and implicit hostility to Israel . . . the overwhelming message that the UK sends around the world is that Israel is the cuckoo in the nest, the obstacle to peace and prosperity in the Arab world”.  He considers that the policy of the Foreign Office centres on the belief that “all problems in the region can be traced back to Israel’s failure to back down over settlements”.

Summarising events in the Middle East, Mr. Brogan said, “With Lebanon taken over by Hizbollah, Gaza in the hands of Hamas, Egypt on the turn, Jordan teetering, and Iranian ships operating in the Med, the existential threat Iran poses to Israel is now more than ever a threat to us all”.  He observed that “the affairs of the Middle East should preoccupy us all”, and he was concerned that there were no plans this year for Mr. Netanyahu to visit Britain, nor for Mr. Cameron to visit Israel.  He concluded that it is “more essential than ever that the relationship between the two countries be strengthened, rather than be allowed to weaken.  The Prime Minister should find a reason to visit his friends and tell them, face to face, why our links are indestructible”.

And Israel’s Enemies

Arab leaders and Islamic figures have started to accuse Israel of being behind the unrest sweeping the Middle East.  Ali Abdullah Saleh, the embattled President of Yemen, has claimed the United States is behind the mounting demonstrations against his regime, but that the “Zionists are actually pulling the strings.  We say that this is a Zionist agenda”, and insisted that the pro-democracy revolutions across the region are part of “a conspiracy that serves Israel and the Zionists”.

These accusations were echoed by the American Muslim leader of the Nation of Islam, at its annual gathering in Chicago.  He publicly urged President Obama to “not allow the Zionists to push you to mount a military offensive against the crumbling regime of Muammar Gaddafi”.  Calling Gaddafi “my brother”, he went on to insist that the only people who benefit from the turmoil in the Middle East “are the Zionists who dominate the government of the United States of America and her banking system”.  He was adamant that he had nothing personal against the Jews, but, addressing President Obama, he said it was his duty to “pull cover off Satan so that he will never deceive you and the people of the world again”.

According to a report published in The New York Times, a serious rift has been opened between Germany and Israel in the last few weeks.  Although having previously shown unswerving support for Israel, Chancellor Angela Merkel recently voted at the United Nations in favour of condemning Israel, calling the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria “illegal”.  Also, over the past few months she has made it clear to the Israeli government that it “cannot expect unqualified support from Berlin if it allows the conflict with the Palestine Authority to drag on”.

After the vote at the United Nations, Mr. Netanyahu phoned Mrs. Merkel to express his disappointment.  In response, Mrs. Merkel said, “How dare you?  You are the one who has disappointed us.  You haven’t made a single step to advance peace”.  A senior Israeli government official told The Times, “We are disappointed with Germany’s decision.  It reflects the frustration that the peace process is not moving forwards and that we are at an impasse.  Somehow in Europe there is an expectation that, if there is an impasse, it is Israel who must take the step to break it”.

There have been several shifts in the relations between Germany and Israel in recent months, which began when the German Parliament unanimously passed a resolution criticising Israel’s naval blockade of the Gaza Strip.

Following the report last month of Iranian ships in the Mediterranean, it has now emerged that an Iranian-Syrian co-operative accord has been signed providing for Iran to build its first Mediterranean naval base at the Syrian port of Latakia.  It will include a large Iranian Revolutionary Guards weapons depot and anchorage for large warships and submarines.  This move gives Iran its first military foothold on a Mediterranean shore and its first military presence on Syrian soil.  Teheran will be setting in place “the logistical infrastructure for accommodating incoming Iranian troops to fight in a potential Middle East war”.  The Syrian navy chief said the move would “cripple Israel”.

News From Russia

Russia recently unveiled the biggest rearmament programme since the fall of the Soviet Union.  It intends to buy 600 planes, 100 ships and 1,000 helicopters within the next decade.  Russia’s deputy defence minister said the rearmament programme “would be sweeping.  The main task is the modernisation of the armed forces”.  It would also “reshape the Russian navy, giving it 35 new corvettes, 15 new frigates and 20 new submarines”.  He estimated that the navy would take delivery of 100 vessels before 2020.

Two of the new vessels will be the French-built Mistral class helicopter carriers, and Russia intends to build a further two of these ships.  These vessels can carry 16 helicopters, giving Russia “the ability to land hundreds of troops quickly on foreign soil”.  Russia’s air force will also be refitted and be given 600 more planes and 1,000 helicopters.

Russia is the world’s biggest exporter of oil, and with prices rising it “feels confident it can afford to upgrade its dilapidated Soviet-era military, and believes it urgently needs to do so to confirm its self-proclaimed status as a leading world power”.

Another report contained a warning from Russia of a new arms race over the proposed US-backed missile defence shield for Europe, in which it is seeking to be made a full partner.  The Kremlin’s top diplomat at Nato announced, “Our Nato partners are refusing to assign Russia an equal role in the general design of a European missile defence system.  We will not tolerate a situation in which we would have to join an already finished system”.  With Russia complaining that the missile shield was a threat to its own nuclear deterrent, it is insisting that Moscow, Washington and Nato design and build such a shield together as equal partners.

It is evident that the Kremlin’s patience is starting to wear thin with the announcement by the Russian Nato diplomat, “We have to come to an understanding whether we are together or we are absolutely not together by June”.  He added that “Russia does not want a new arms race with the West, but it would have no choice but to bolster its own nuclear defences if shut out of the new system”.