Peloni: Treaties are based on national interests, and due to geopolitical shifts and subtle nuances within the political winds of individual nations, such security ties should be understood to be temporary at best. The way for Israel to remain the Jewish state is for her to maintain her military advantage over her regional allies and enemies alike. A strong Israel will survive while a passive Israel makes for an attractive target, even for those she considers friends, in a region beset with a consistent taste for war and Jihad. Quite simply, the best defense is to maintain both the best defense and the best offense, for which there can be no substitute, not in trade, not in normalizations and not in treaties.
FDD | Feb 4, 2025
An Israeli Defense Forces Merkava Mark 4 tank fire 120mm canon shell. Photo by Nehemia Gershuni-Aylho www.ngphoto.biz, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikipedia
Latest Developments
- Aim To Isolate Iran: Benny Gantz, Israel’s former defense minister and the leader of the opposition Blue and White Party, presented his “Israel’s Security Vision 2040” plan to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies on November 3. The plan calls for bolstering Israel’s international alliances, reinvesting in its defense infrastructure, and defanging Iran. “We must maintain a collaboration of intelligence capacity of different countries and international cooperation, international inspection in Iran,” he stated. “It’s very important that we will look at reality as it is and not as we would hope it to be. And if Iran is bluffing, we need to see Iran is bluffing.”
- Maintaining Military Edge: Gantz argued that Israel should increase its local defense manufacturing capabilities while retaining its qualitative military edge over its adversaries. “We are the only democratic outpost of the Western world in the Middle East. So, either we are the strongest, with no doubt, or we don’t exist. And I think Israel’s existence is not just a question of the national interest of the Israeli people but also of the democratic world,” Gantz said.
- Persuading Turkey To Align With the West: Addressing the rising influence of Turkey, Gantz stated that Israel should encourage NATO to persuade Turkey to rebuke “terror and fundamentalism,” including in Syria, where it wields significant influence. Recalling his meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2022, Gantz said that cooperation with Turkey is not a “lost cause” despite Erdogan’s belligerent tone and support for Hamas over the last two years. “I think we should try and influence Turkey to reassess where it wants to be, to rebalance where it wants to be between the West and the extremists of the Muslim Brotherhood. And I think they should choose the West,” Gantz said. “[T]hey can keep supporting the Muslims. That’s fine with me — but stay away from radicals.”
FDD Expert Response
“Minister Gantz is right: Israel must see the world as it is, not as we wish it to be. Despite the punishing U.S. and Israeli strikes on its nuclear facilities and ballistic missile program in June, the Islamic Republic remains relentlessly committed to building a nuclear weapon and the missiles to deliver it. Washington and Jerusalem understand that real regional stability will only come when Tehran abandons its nuclear ambitions, opens every facility to international inspectors for anywhere, anytime inspections, permanently halts all uranium enrichment and plutonium reprocessing, and ends its support for terrorist proxies like Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Iraq’s Shiite militias. Until then, we can expect more rounds in the Iran-Israel war.” — Mark Dubowitz, CEO.
“Minister Gantz deserves credit for looking long-term and trying to build a 2040 strategy, but the objective assessment of reality that he rightly recommends makes clear that Israel is going to have its hands full in the next few years. Israel’s enemies are seriously degraded but not destroyed. Expect Gaza to consume time, resources, and attention, even as Iran is rebuilding with the help of China in preparation for the next war. Meanwhile, the January 2029 clock in Washington is ticking, and Israel should be sprinting to replenish, expand, and modernize vital stockpiles and capabilities.” — Bradley Bowman, Senior Director of FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power
“As Gantz noted, if the Palestinians and Israel’s neighbors want to avoid Israeli attacks, they must actively neutralize threats to Israel before Israel does it for them. Hamas’s October 7 massacres have taught Israel that it cannot live with genocidal forces along its borders.” — David May, Research Manager and Senior Research Analyst
FDD Background and Analysis
“Israel Rejects Safe Passage To Allow Terrorists To Return to Hamas-Controlled Gaza,” FDD Flash Brief
“Keep US aid and wartime replenishment off Israel’s 2026 base budget,” by Jacob Nagel
“Turkey’s Gulf Tour and Erdogan’s Gaza Ambitions are Dangerous,” by Sinan Ciddi and Ahmad Sharawi
“What must be done — and NOT done — to make sure Gaza cease-fire holds,” by Bradley Bowman
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/article-865188
So how is this any different? Much as i’d love to see Ben-Gvir, Smotrich, or Feiglin as PM, the reality is that the only alternatives to Bibi waiting in the wings are the usual rotating cast of characters, Ganz, Bennet, Lapid, who have already proved themselves to be capitulationist disasters. Israel has a parliamentary system. Likud is the largest party. Likud, unlike the others, which are built around their founders and leaders, has primaries. Bibi won the Likud primary by 90 percent! For Bibi to be replaced, the whole coalition would have to be replaced by a center-left coalition at the ballot box. How likely is that? Out of the frying pan into the fire. The only problem with Bibi is that sovereignty and annexation are off the table. Any of these guys would be worse, as we have seen, rhetoric aside. And unlike these others, Bibi is competent. He put Israel in a much stronger position in all these areas.
Ganz is just spitting in the wind. I guess he has nothing better to do like leading a business to ruin. So, he should run a country, right? Great resume.
“AI Overview
+6
The person in the news often referred to in a business context is Benny Gantz, an Israeli politician and former military chief of staff. His connection to business “failure” stems from his time as the chairman of a cybersecurity company called Fifth Dimension, which went bankrupt in December 2018, three years after its founding.
Key details about the situation:
Company: Fifth Dimension specialized in artificial intelligence solutions for law enforcement agencies.
Bankruptcy: The company folded after burning through millions of dollars in investments, partly because its largest investor, a Russian oligarch, was sanctioned by the U.S. government.
Gantz’s Role: Gantz served as the company’s chairman following his retirement from the military in 2015.
Controversy: The company entered into talks with Israeli police for a multimillion-dollar contract without a public tender, which Israel’s state comptroller found may have violated acquisition laws. The attorney general later ordered a probe into potential criminal aspects, though Gantz himself was not named a suspect in any wrongdoing.
Gantz’s Response: Gantz has acknowledged the company was not a “success story” but noted that many high-tech companies fail. He described the allegations of impropriety as politically motivated.
It is important to note that Benny Gantz is primarily known as a prominent political figure and military general, having served as Minister of Defense and a member of the war cabinet, not solely as a businessman. Another public figure is Yisrael Ganz, who is the head of the Binyamin Regional Council and chairman of the Yesha Council, a role that involves significant regional governance and budget management, but not the type of failed business venture the user is likely referring to. ” 😀
@Sebastien
All that you say here is true. Nonetheless, what he speaks about here is vital to Israel’s survival.
Importantly, Gantz has proven himself as a useful tool of the American Deep State, and was responsible for the kerfuffle which led to the scuttling of the sovereignty deal between Trump and Bibi which was struck back in 2017, something which he has since confessed to being quite proud to have done. His chances of leadership are negligible, for what we discussed here as well as for his role in supporting the Biden regime’s call for Israel to surrender early in the Gaza war.
@Peloni But, Bibi is already doing all these things, as I started with. This is not Ganz’s plan. In his desperate bid to remain relevant and in the public eye, he is committing what amounts to plagiarism.
@Sebastien
You miss the point being made here. This is not about internal Israeli political dynamics, it is about Israel’s influence with America. See the latest post below:
https://www.israpundit.org/selling-f35s-to-ksa/
With whatever influence Bibi has with Trump, this sale must be opposed. This deal will bring a great deal of wealth to America, and it is also claimed to be the price of KSA changing its stand on creating a second Pal state, something which is actually contrary to Saudi interests. So the motivation for Israel and the US to agree to this deal is clear enough, but it must be opposed.
@Peloni Apparently, I did miss something. Where is the sale of F-35s to Saudi Arabia mentioned, other than in this additional link? You had just said these other measures were necessary. I agree that such a sale violates the U.S.’s committment to keep Israel’s qualitative military edge. Israel withdrew from Sinai in exchange for this, enabling America’s hegemony over the Soviet Union in 1979 (which I think was a mistake on Israel’s part.) for all the reasons laid out here:
https://afsi.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/SadatsStrategy_Eidelberg1.pdf
and here
https://barbaraginsberg-kahane.blogspot.com/2012/12/israel-us-and-stinking-fish-1976.html
and even on the U.S.’s part in the long run. Americans think short term, America’s adversaries think long term. Weakening Israel hurts the U.S., exchanging the hope of short term gain for long-term risk.
Oh, I see it. But the specific sale isn’t mentioned. Is Bibi ok with that?
I queried that though this is old:
” No, Prime Minister Netanyahu has publicly and consistently opposed the sale of F-35s and other advanced weapons to any country in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. He has stated that maintaining Israel’s “qualitative superiority” is a security doctrine and has formally expressed Israel’s opposition to such sales to US officials.
Public opposition: Netanyahu has explicitly stated Israel’s opposition to F-35 sales to Arab countries, even those with peace agreements.
Security doctrine: His opposition is rooted in Israel’s security doctrine of maintaining “qualitative superiority” in advanced weaponry in the region.
Formal communication with US officials: He has communicated this opposition directly to U.S. officials, including U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. “
@Sebastien
I should have made this clear in my preface. Sorry.
@Peloni I’m reminded of: [Actually, I remember such an ad in the ’60s, which AI overview is unaware of.]
” Overview
A MAD magazine ad for a writing pad would have been a parody of a real product. The vintage MAD magazine style, particularly in the 1960s and 70s when it didn’t run real ads, focused on spoofing common advertisements with absurd humor and exaggerated artwork.
Here is a description of how such an ad might look and read:
Visual Description
The ad would imitate the look of a serious, perhaps overly formal, product ad from the era. It would likely feature:
A “professional” looking image: A drawing or staged photo of an ordinary, bland-looking man or woman sitting at a desk, looking intensely focused on a plain writing pad. The art style would likely be a parody of standard advertising illustrations, possibly drawn by an artist like Bob Clarke or George Woodbridge.
Alfred E. Neuman: His face might be subtly hidden in the background (like on a calendar or framed picture), or perhaps the person in the ad would share his gap-toothed, “What, me worry?” expression.
Generic design: The product itself, the “writing pad,” would be deliberately plain, perhaps a sickly color, contrasting with the extravagant claims in the text.
Ad Copy (Parody Text)
The text would be full of over-the-top, nonsensical claims, using made-up, “Mad-style” words like furshlugginer, potrzebie, or veeblefetzer.
Headline: Something like: “Introducing the ‘BLANK’ Pad! The revolutionary writing surface that has absolutely no effect on your life whatsoever!”
Body Copy: Would go on to describe mundane features as if they were scientific breakthroughs: “Our patented ‘Tear-Off’ technology allows pages to be detached with a simple, deliberate pull! The ‘Cardboard Backing’ ensures the pad remains vaguely stiff, even under extreme pressure (like a gentle breeze)!”
The “Deal”: It might offer an unbelievable “bargain” that is obviously worthless, e.g., “Send $1.00 and three box tops for absolutely nothing in return, guaranteed!”
Small Print: The fine print would be filled with disclaimers and legal jargon that completely contradict the main claims, e.g., “Warning: Use of the ‘BLANK’ Pad may induce profound boredom and mild paper cuts. Not responsible for grammatical errors, poor penmanship, or the general futility of written communication.”
The overall tone would be one of mocking the earnestness of real product ads, making the reader feel superior for being in on the joke.”