If “Israel” is defined as a Jewish state, then those who deny Israel’s right to exist include Jews as well as Gentiles.
The Jews are leftwing secularists who want to transform Israel into “a state of its citizens.” They control not only the mass media, but also the all-powerful Supreme Court, whose most significant rulings violate the abiding beliefs and values of the Jewish people. This means that the Supreme Court (led by its cunning president, Aharon Barak) denies Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state—appearances to the contrary notwithstanding.
But what about those who assert Israel’s right to exist? Many if not most are confused about the foundational principles of Jewish statehood—and now we must add to the notion of Jewish statehood the Land of Israel or “Palestine.”
First of all, many base the Jewish people’s right to statehood in Palestine on their having long inhabited this land, hence on “history.” But history provides no solid grounds for the statehood of any people, else the American Indians as well as the Mexicans could rightly claim independent statehood on vast tracts of America. International chaos would follow.
Second, others claim that Jews, as an ethnic group, have a “natural” right to statehood. But such a right could be claimed by any ethnic group—the Basques of Spain, the French of Canada, the Muslims of China—again international chaos.
Third, still others base the Jewish claim to statehood on “international law.” They cite the San Remo Convention of 1920, which incorporated the Balfour Declaration and was confirmed by the Mandate of the League of Nations. The latter recognized the Jewish claim to statehood in Palestine, and the United Nations added its own imprimatur in 1947. But just as the UN declared Zionism a form of racism, so it can nullify, if it willed, Israel’s internationally recognized legal existence.
Finally, Orthodox Jews base Israel’s national existence on theological grounds, and claim, on those grounds, Jewish possession of Eretz Israel. But Muslims contend that Judaism is only a religion, that it is not a nationality, hence, that Jews have no right to statehood on land occupied by Arabs.
Let’s get to the bottom of things—and here I go with Machiavelli and other political scientists. History demonstrates that the ultimate foundation of statehood is force, hence human will. Force has been the midwife of every state, and de jure international recognition only followed when the people of that state maintained adequate control over their territory.
The power to control Eretz Israel is the alpha and omega of the Jewish state. All other foundational claims of Israel’s right to statehood may serve pedagogical and rhetorical purposes, but must not obscure the primacy of power in Jewish possession of the Land of Israel. This fact contains vital lessons for future Jewish statesmen.
First, the wise statesman will seek every means of making Israel more powerful. He will try to extend Jewish control over as much land as is logistically possible. He will do everything he can to elevate his people’s morale or national pride—a basic ingredient of national power. At the same time, he will promote Jewish national unity.
To this end a wise statesman will promote, inter alia, (1) a presidential system to replace the divisive and corrupt system of multi-party cabinet government; (2) a judicial system (including a democratic mode of appointment) that makes Supreme Court judges responsive to the heritage of the Jewish people; (3) an immigration policy that avoids the multiculturalism now destroying European civilization; (4) a foreign policy that renders Israel increasingly independent of the United States.
It follows from the preceding that, until the advent of Ehud Olmert, Ariel Sharon was Israel’s worst prime minister. Suffice to mention only the following.
Not only did Sharon implement the policy of unilateral withdrawal from Jewish land, a policy which, more than any other, divided the Jewish people; but he often boasted that his personal relationship or friendship with President George W. Bush was “Israel’s greatest strategic asset.” How much Israel has paid and is paying for this naïve and servile attitude!
A basic principle of statecraft is this: A government must rely for the execution of its plans on itself alone and on such means as it possesses. Hence the Jewish statesman must do everything he can to make Israel more powerful on the one hand, and more independent of foreign powers on the other.
At the same time, to elevate Israel’s dignity and thereby set an example to the nations, a Jewish statesman must not consort with, let alone appease, Arab thugs and despots.
