Criticism of Israel

By Walter E. Block

I have long been a supporter of Israel. A fervent one, if I say so myself. It is time, it is past time, that I turn things around and become a critic. If friends cannot tell friends when they are going wrong, when they are making mis-steps, there is no point in having friends in the first place. So, here are some very serious criticisms of Israel.

Mr. Netanyahu, stay put. Do not visit Hungary or any place else for that matter. Yes, yes, I understand, it is only human for a brave man such as yourself to cock a snook at that foolish, depraved and immoral ICC arrest warrant. But you have more important things to do, see below.

Stop with this Hamas business. Enough. Leave ‘em alone. They are all innocent. How do I know this? I read Al Jazeera, and believe everything I read there. Ok, ok, a few bombs here and there, but, please, don’t commit any more IDF ground troops. All too great a number of these soldiers have already been killed in house to house fighting, from booby traps, etc. The Israeli military should pretty much limit itself to the air, where it has a gigantic comparative advantage over those thugs.

Cease and desist from any and all military action in Syria. They have an entirely new government. Maybe they will behave in a civilized manner. Stranger things have happened, but please don’t ask me what they are. In any case, the Golan Heights are now secure with the accretions recently made, thereof.

Fughedaboud Hezbollah. They have righteously have had the crap kicked out of them. Congrats on those exploding cell phones by the way. Yes, from time to time they may launch a missile or a drone or two. Ignore them. Ok, ok, a few bits of return hardware would be warranted, but that is all.

Ditto for the Houthies. The US seems to have them in their targets. Don’t float any Israeli boats down the Red Sea for the next little while. Let sleeping Houthies lie.

What, then, to do? It sounds almost like I am urging pacifism on the only civilized country in the Middle East. Believe me, I am not doing any such thing. What should be done instead of all these by comparison piffling jobs?

Go get those Iranian nuclear facilities. Pulverize them. And after they have been pulverized, pulverize them again. And after that, pulverize them a few more times. Let not a singled blade of grass nor a brick remain intact. Leave not a stone unturned in the elimination of this threat. This scourge must be stopped. Entirely eliminated. I am talking, solely about the nuclear capacity of this country. If there were zero collateral damage to people, that would be ideal.

An Iranian nuclear attack on Israel can ruin the entire day of this nation. All those other challenges, land needed in Syria, the remaining Hezbollah menace, the Houthies blowing ships out of the water, even, dare I say it, those precious hostages still held in Gaza, are as nothing compared to this overwhelming dangerous menace stemming from Iran.

What is the assessment of Israel emanating from Persia? According to former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Israel is a “fake regime” that “must be wiped off the map.” He continues: Israelis are “the most detested people in all humanity.” In the view Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the goal is to of wipe Israel off the pages of history. Opines Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: “The enemies, whether the Zionist regime or the United States of America, will definitely receive a crushing response to what they are doing to Iran and the Iranian nation and to the resistance front.” And what is this “resistance front?” It is the “peace loving” Hamas, Hezbollah and Houthies, among others of that ilk. Here is another gem from this worthy: “[The] Israeli regime, this sinister, unclean rabid dog of the region, says Iran is a threat to the world; No! Israel itself is a threat to the world.”

Should people of this ilk really be trusted with a nuclear bomb? Oy vey to that.

Under the Biden Administration, this course of action advocated herein would have been gravely dangerous for Israel. Military hardware bought and paid for would have been held back even the more. Joe Biden graciously allowed the IDF to return some fire power to Iran, but its nuclear facilities and oil reserves were strictly off limits. Thank goodness this senile old man is no longer in a position to compel Israel to fight with one and three quarter hands held behind its back. The time to eliminate this nuclear threat is now. Correction: it was several weeks ago, but who is counting? Yesterday will do quite nicely.

Why wait any longer? A US president sympathetic, nay, more than sympathetic to the Israeli cause has now been in power for more than two months. An Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear capabilities should have been undertaken not two months after he was sworn in, not two weeks, not two days, not two hours. Two seconds would have been just about right.

Why oh why all this stalling? This is by far the most imperative action Israel can take to protect itself. It is more important than all of the other challenges it faces put together.