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David M. Weinberg

Israel

Insight Israel is Winning

cold strategic assessment leads or Samaria? Palestinian leaders can bellow sectors do lag behind). The country now
to the conclusion that the State away at the UN, but everybody knows has natural gas and desalinated water
A of Israel at 70 is winning. that Palestinians and Israelis (and others) riches, which should make Israel self-
are better off with the current situation in sufficient as well as a strategic player in the
Statehood which Israel controls Judea and Samaria. regional resources market.

Across Arab expanses, countries are
crumbling, borders are being erased, and Diplomacy Aliyah
societies are being torn apart. In contrast, North American public opinion remains There are three million refugees on the
the nation state of Israel is resolute, its staunchly pro-Israel – which means roads and high seas, and another 30
borders unyielding, its society robust. Washington and Ottawa can be expected million could yet follow – all fleeing
to stand by Israel’s side. Moreover, Israel’s Africa and Arabia. Only Israel is attracting
Security diplomatic horizons are expanding to immigration: about 30,000 olim
In the face of Iranian ambitions, Russian include allies beyond North American and (immigrants) a year. Most of them could go
adventurism, and American retrenchment, Europe. Trade and security delegations elsewhere but they are choosing Israel!
Israel stands firm with the strongest are beating a path to Jerusalem seeking
military in the Middle East, and with opportunities to cooperate with Israel, Identity
steady, experienced hands at the helm. not isolate it. Behind the scenes, Israel’s One of the strengths of Israeli society is
Vigilance, patience, and diplomatic relations with Egypt and key Gulf states attenuation of the religious-secular divide,
nimbleness are seeing Israel through the have never been better. and intensification of faith as an anchor in
regional storms. the country’s oeuvre. Israel is increasingly
Strategy a nation of believers, with a mass spiritual
Territory Key global players have come to accept searching underway. This too is ultimately

Israel knows how to defend its borders, Israel’s strategic platform, i.e. that main a source of solidarity and strength.
and hasn’t made any serious withdrawal conflict is no longer Israel versus the
mistakes lately. Can you imagine the Palestinians or Israel versus the Arabs. Overall, Israel is stronger than any of its
suffering Israelis would be experiencing
Instead, the main axis of diplomatic activity
enemies. Neither the perpetual Palestinian
" between Israel and most of the Arabs Israel, nor the unstable regional situation
in the Middle East is an unofficial alliance
had we withdrawn from the Golan Heights
conundrum, nor the Iranian threat to
– dim my optimism. Israel is winning on
(together with Western powers), against
all fronts, even though there are inevitable
the Iranians and the jihadis. The forces
conflicts ahead.
of stability and moderation (with Israel
leading) are arrayed against the forces
Israel is
– adorned by sacrifice, commitment,
an Israeli “grand strategy” of sorts, and
winning on all of radical Islamic revolution. So there is Furthermore, life in Israel is full of meaning
achievement and joy; ingredients that make
it has largely been successful. It involves
fronts, even being both flexible and firm. It involves life satisfying and exciting, particularly
positioning Israel as a regional anchor of
for Jews who have long awaited a national
though there sanity and a global source of ingenuity. return to Zion. And this gives Israel
fortitude for the long haul ahead.
Economy
are inevitable Israeli science and technology is in high David M. Weinberg is the Vice-
conflicts ahead demand. Israel’s foreign currency reserves President of the Jerusalem
Institute for Strategic Studies
are deep, its debt manageable, its banks
solvent, its public educated and productive www.davidmweinberg.com
(although the ultra-Orthodox and Arab www.jiss.org.il

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