Q: WHAT DO "BREXIT" AND THE "ABRAHAM ACCORDS" HAVE IN COMMON?

A:  BORDER ISSUES, SOVEREIGNTY ISSUES, TRADE ISSUES, CULTURAL ISSUES,  EXISTENTIAL ISSUES... ALL OF THESE ISSUES IN THE CONTEXT OF AN AMERICAN POLITICAL TRANSITION TO A BIDEN/HARRIS ADMINISTRATION AND THEREFORE TO ALL THAT SUCH A TRANSITION MAY MEAN IN TERMS OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE, ALIGNMENTS OF SOVEREIGNTY, CULTURE, POWER, AND EXISTENCE.

 

  

 

Modern American History (that is, the history of the North American and South American Continents commencing with the European Invasions of the Americas) is perhaps defined by the recent period of seven-centuries since the "discovery" of the New World by Non-Native Americans. 

This reality stands in marked contrast to the familiarity of the European, African, Indian, and Asian Continents with each other, having engaged each other for thousands of years in every kind of human relationship possible (e.g. culture, politics, trade, war, etc.).

While Israel (in and out of power and sovereignty) has been at the center of the Middle East for greater than three-thousand years, the North Atlantic Island Nations of England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland (most recently by those names, and with significant variations of culture and nations) have been central to the North Atlantic and therefore to Europe and Scandinavia, also for thousands of years. 

The North Atlantic Island Nations and Israel have in common their central roles in culture and trade as well as war and politics.  The historic Silk Road connecting China and Southeast Asia to Central Asia, India, Africa, the Middle East, and Europe consisted of many river, land, and sea routes; the New Silk Road seeks to modernize the historic Silk Road, representing a return of power from Europe to China.

It should surprise no one that the North Atlantic Island Nations and Israel are both at the stress centers of shifting power alliances.  Peoples with far more in common than naught are caught up in webs of power politics extending far into the past, and those webs of power politics are being fought in the New World today, even as those battles rage in the Old World.

At risk in the present are two distinct possibilities: that the peace existing between Ireland and England may be undone, and that the budding peace between Israel and multiple Arab nations may be undone.

Far more than the COVID-19 Pandemic, it is economic inequality, food inequality, healthcare inequality, racial inequity, and environmental disasters and destruction that will define the Biden/Harris Administration, such that the reputation of the New Administration may depend as precursor upon the foundations and consequences of foreign policy (which is not to say that the domestic issues are trivial; but, that the New Administration's focus, attention, and budgetary concerns dare not be so radicalized or reversed as to rip focus, attention, and budgetary concerns away from the present historical foreign policy achievements and advances of the Trump Administration.

When Joe Biden says, "America's back," chills should race up and down our spines, much like the chills that once again run up and down the spines of the two Irelands and Israel.  The imminent "hard and soft borders" (or, 'spine') dividing Ireland from Northern Ireland and therefore Britain is analogous to the 1967 "hard and soft borders" ('spine') dividing the various Arabias from Israel. 

Perhaps the Abraham Accords have something to teach Britain and Europe about a way forward beyond the stuck politics that the present EU-England negotiations suffer; perhaps Israel can assist the two Irelands and England to create a solution that will work for Ireland, Scotland, England and the EU; and perhaps in doing so, then the Abraham Accords may additionally be strengthened by lessons learned from the two Irelands and Britain.

Given that Joe Biden is himself Irish, there is an opportunity for Israel and the two Irelands to work together through Joe Biden, perhaps according to the working model of the Abraham Accords, to encourage the further growth of peace simultaneously in the North Atlantic and in the Middle East.  Success at these two central geopolitical faults may do much to ripple outwardly and generate equilibrium internationally all the way to the South China Sea.

PRESIDENT-ELECT BIDEN SHOULD SEEK TO SERVE THE U.S.A. IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF GEORGE WASHINGTON.

 

It is urgent and necessary that President-elect Biden speak clearly and forcefully that he will neither weaken, nor roll back, and will in fact strengthen and advance the Middle East peace initiatives set in motion by the Trump Administration. 

 

 

 

Given present equivocations by Sudan, Bahrain, Jordan, and given instability in hardline Iran, the momentum to Middle East peace initiated by the Trump Administration is under threat to collapse, for Arabia may anticipate that a President Biden may intend to kow-tow to the European Union, Iran, and China.

 

A transfer of power is already reality in Iran from father Mullah Khameini to son. Transition politics in Iran may or may not destabilize Iran, for better or for worse.  Meanwhile, Bahrain is feeling pressure from the world of fundamentalist Islamism, as indeed are any and all Muslim and EU nations on the verge of peaceful relations with the USA and Israel, due to the new potential US weakness regarding Iran that may unravel the growing tapestry of peace being woven across the world of Sunni Islam (and even Alawi Islam) with a thread binding the US and Israel (and inevitably the EU).  Shall President Biden be like a cat granted privilege to play with a ball of yarn?  Or, shall President Biden follow the model leadership of a George Washington?

 

There are only four reasons for a Biden Administration to deliberately fail to uphold and to strengthen the Middle East foreign policy initiatives of the Trump Administration: 

 

(a) if Biden's Administration is deliberately incompetent; 

 

(b) if Biden's foreign policy approach proves to be based on appeasement and conciliation; 

 

(c) if Biden's foreign policy approach proves to be based on financial dealings and obligations to his supporters and donors; or, 

 

(d) any and all of the above.  

 

In less kind words: it may well be that President-elect Biden is in bed with the enemy and is perhaps also in the pocket of the enemy.

 

There are two very good reasons for a Biden Administration to speak out now to reassure the world that he will neither unravel nor fail to continue to weave the Middle East peace tapestry sewn by the Trump Administration: 

 

(1) it is necessary for the stability and progress of the Middle East and therefore of the entire World, as the Middle East is the fulcrum of four major continents (Europe, Africa, India, and Asia); and, 

 

(b) it is necessary for the stability and progress of the USA, as the USA is the fulcrum of the North and South American continents.  

 

Just as the USA faces the domestic crises of pandemic, economic inequality, racial hatred, and climate change, so, too, does the entire World.  

 

Knowing what we now know of history prior to World War Two, could we and would we in the US try Woodrow Wilson for treason, based on the destructive and portentious reality of the Versailles Treaty? And could and would Britain try Lord Chamberlain for treason, due to his appeasement of the Nazis?

 

What will future history say of the yet tentative Biden Administration?  Will President Biden prove to be a Woodrow Wilson/Lord Chamberlain?  Or, will President Biden prove to be a George Washington?

CONSIDER THE ISRAEL-U.A.E. "ABRAHAM ACCORD" IN CONTEXT TO IMPERATIVES OF NATIONAL MANIFEST DESTINY.

 

Every nation believes itself to have a manifest destiny -- even a God-given manifest destiny.

Nowhere in the world as in the Middle East do we see the conflicts and competitions between national manifest destinies as we see in and around Israel, which sits at the fulcrum between the three continents of Europe, Asia, and Africa.  (Although India is itself a unique continent, being contiguous to Asia, India may to some extent be regarded as an extension of Asia and therefore of the third continent.)  In religious terms those conflicts include Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Atheism.

Fundamental to the most extreme visions of each of these manifest destinies is the axiomatic devotion and commitment to imperial class status; therefore any sustainable solution to these conflicts requires the acceptance of a principle that appears anathema to each unique vision of manifest destiny; and, that principle is: respect and recognition of international political equality among nations.  

 Until the creation of the Modern Jewish State of Israel in 1948, Jews have been subjugated internationally, most notably by dominions of Christianity and Islam.  To those given to apocalyptic thinking, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism regard the existence of today's Israel as imminent to the End of Days, according to which is anticipated the Second Coming of Christ, the Appearance of the Mahdi, or the Arrival of Moshiach-Moshichay, respectively.  Correlatively and imminently, the apocalyptic mind makes ready for the onset of Armageddon, that cataclysmic war in which the deserving dead will arise and live once again, flesh growing upon flesh upon bone, jumping out of graves, Armies of Heaven prophecied to defeat Worldly Evil once and for all Eternity.

Never mind that in answer to the question, "When will you return...?",  Jesus replied "Only the Father [God Himself] knows..." (Sermon on the Mount).  Never mind, too, that both Judaism and Islam caution that anyone claiming to be the Moshiach-Moshichay or the Mahdi, respectively, must fulfill certain conditions that have yet to be fulfilled, rendering as false any claims to such Heavenly Messianic Status. 

It may be said that in the USA approximately half of the population perceives President Donald John Trump in messianic terms and that former President Barack Hussein Obama was perceived in messianic terms by the alternate half of the US population.  "Hussein" is a name that indicates the possibility that former President Obama may be a direct descendant of Muhammad.  "John" is a name that stands out in Christianity, not least in the lyric of the gospel song "I Wanna Be Ready" ["... to walk in Jerusalem, just like John"].  On the one hand one must be careful not to read to much into names or to interpret the facts on the ground according to metaphor; on the other hand one ignores such things at one's peril, as they may have cultural, political, and religious significance in the minds of millions of persons.

Only a fool would deny the messianic importance of Vladimir Putin to Russia... only a fool would deny the messianic importance of Tayyip Erdogan to Turkey... only a fool would deny the messianic importance of Kim Jong Un to North Korea... only a fool would deny the messianic importance of Xi Jinping to China... only a fool would deny the messianic importance of Rodrigo Duterte to the Philippines... etc.  (But, we do live in a world of fools, don't?)

Any lasting peace agreement(s) in the Middle East must be based on the fundamental requirement that the religious manifest destiny visions of the conflicting nations be factored into account.  This is necessary in order to transform the present conflicts into healthy competitions.  All too often the word "competition" is misused, where "conflict" ought to be the correct word, as the word "competition" means "to strive together" and "conflict" means "to contend, fight, struggle".  This means that the (ideally) competing nations must respect each other's sense of manifest destiny, and this respect must be defined both within nations and across borders.

No respect of Israel's sense of manifest destiny may include promulgation of "Dhimmitude" status and the repression, oppression, and persecution of Jews that is inimical to Islam or for that matter to Christian equivalents.  Nor can any similar status be promulgated by Jews against Arabs, etc.  It is possible within borders to establish a special status for foreigners so that foreigners may live and thrive within the borders of a dominant culture and not be repressed, oppressed, or persecuted.  And it should be possible for the Arabs and for the entire world of Muslims and Christians and Jews to understand that no human being speaks absolutely for God.  That being so, borders must be recognized and accepted, so that each nation may express it's own sense of manifest destiny and not yet impose any unique vision upon the other similarly unique visions.  For example, Arabs ['Palestinians'] accepting and preferring to live in Israel [inclusive of Golan, Judea-Samaria, and Jerusalem] ought to be able to do so, having a preferred status that is however exclusive of Israeli Citizenship.

As to definitions of borders, reality must be recognized.  The de facto borders of Israel are those areas already under Israel's political and military hegemony, which for the good of everyone should be accepted as de jure, irregardless of propaganda, political posturing, biased and invalid decision-making by the ICJ, and one-sided resolutions against Israel at the UN.

There is absolutely every reason -- religious, philosophical, and political -- for the Muslim world to adopt a religious posture that is protective of the State of Israel as a manifestation of the People of the Book, protection of which People is required by Islam.  As Christians are also regarded by Islam as People of the Book, there must be an end to Muslim persecution of Christians.  And, by extension, there must be a universal end to persecution of any faith group by any other faith group; secular influences not withstanding, it is not incorrect to regard Western Culture as Christian Culture, Eastern Culture as Muslim Culture, and Israeli Culture as Jewish Culture. 

The "Abraham Accord" gives promise to a possible future of Middle East Peace.  Yet, it will succeed, if and only if religious commonality between Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, being Abrahamic Faiths, provides a basis for the respect and recognition of international political equality among nations. 

TO BE FAIR...

To be fair to the various theocracies of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and their secular counterparts... Each has significant humble populations that do not presume to an imminent expectation of the Ultimate Salvation. Judaism anticipates that before the remnant of Israel is redeemed to Zion as the Ultimate Redemption, Jewish exile may extend to the farthest reaches of the universe; yet, this does not necessarily preclude the day to day expansions and contractions of sovereignty over mundane life. Christianity teaches that "Only The Father Knows, when Jesus will return (Sermon on the Mount)." Islam teaches that when the Mahdi will appear, the coming of Jesus will then also be known, as well as the Day of Judgment; and, until then, nobody knows. This common humbleness regarding Ultimate Redemption is the root hope for all humanity, springing as it does from the same tree of life, speaking of God, yet presuming (at least some of the time) not to be God's mouthpiece and not to dictate God's terms, valuing the right to life of all people and all Peoples.

THE CYNIC IN ME SAYS...

EVERYBODY LOVES A FOOD FIGHT... AND SO THE ONLY MOVEMENT WE SHALL SEE SHALL BE SUCH MOVEMENT AS MAKES FOR A GOOD FOOD FIGHT... MEANWHILE, THE VAST MAJORITY WILL CONTINUE TO BE STUNNED AND STUPIFIED... ULTIMATELY THE SURVIVORS WILL PICK UP THE PIECES... SOME WILL BE HAPPY FOR THE WORK... SOME WILL SAY, "WOW... WASN'T THAT A FOOD FIGHT TO BEAT ALL FOOD FIGHTS,"... SOME WILL BE UNHAPPY AND CONDEMN THE FOOD FIGHTERS... AND SOME WILL GET INTO THE NEXT FOOD FIGHT, WHICH REALLY IS THE CONTINUATION OF THE ONE ETERNAL FOOD FIGHT... SO I ASK THE ULTIMATE QUESTION... "PIZZA, ANYONE???"

BEINART'S EQUIVOCAL REVELATION

THERE IS A GLIMMER OF LIGHT THAT SHINES IN THE DARKNESS OF BEINART'S 'REVELATION'.

The guts of the Jewish Left Wing are so twisted and so contorted that the Left Wing does not know one end from the other, only that a purging and purification is required and inevitable. There is nothing new in Beinart's ideal of a democratic Israel-Palestine, as it harkens back to the competitive days contemporary to the early formation of the modern State of Israel and of the differing concepts of Zionism, when the Left Wing sought to create a combined Arab-Jewish Palestinian State along Marxist ideals. Events such as numerous wars and terrorism, bent on the annihilation of Jews and Israel, have made a reductio-as-absurdum of such an ideal. In Beinart's article one perceives the writhing and perhaps even the last throes of a Left Wing recognition and acceptance of the death of their ideal. The death of any ideal and an awakening to reality is always preceded by denial and by great intellectual and emotional angst. The glimmer of light in Beinart's 'revelation' is in the acceptance, however terrifyingly equivocal, of the inevitability of One State.

Beinart gives a Left Wing interpretation of what that State might look like, based on early Left Wing ideals... '"back to the future", if you will. But, that ship sailed, foundered, and sank. In today's world, as Daniel Gordis and Alan Dershowitz articulated so eloquently, so strongly, so intelligently, and so passionately, Beinart's idealistic plan would bring suicide to the Jewish State of Israel and would re-subjugate Jews to foreign domination... [that is, those Jews remaining alive after such a cataclysm, as would be the inevitable consequence of any realization of Beinart's Plan].

One remembers that the brilliant antisemitic British philosopher Bertrand Russell equated the ideal of a Marxist State as being a secular realization of the Catholic Church. It would be so easy to engage here in a discussion of the historical Western conflict between the Anglican Church, as well as other Protestant forms of Christianity, and the Catholic Church. However, keeping on topic, the majority of Christian religious fundamentals have their common denominator in antisemitism... after all, according to Christianity, the only "Real Jew" was Jesus. As for the rest of us, according to Christianity, we are all impostors, to be validated only by our sacrifice (hence the Christian word "Holocaust", not SHOAH). Our sacrifice is necessary to Christianity for it is Israel's sacrifice, come the "End of Days", that makes the "Second Coming of Jesus" possible and which is why from the Christian perspective a "stump of a stump" of Jews have been kept alive in ghettoes with and without walls, including the ghetto in the Middle East that we know today as the modern State of Israel.

Israel's existence today is a conundrum for both the vociferous Left and the vociferous Right, just as it is a conundrum for the Haredim (may one think of the Naturei Karta as being the Haredi Left and the Lubavitch as the Haredi Right?). Both the Secular Left and the Religious Left respond to the problem of Western [Christian Religious and Christian Secular] domination by tortuous contortions of 'justifications' and 'obligations' found within and without the Torah. The Naturei-Karta would have us do exactly as Beinart would do (would he realy?). Both Beinart and the Naturei Karta offer us what may only be understood in both Christian Religious and Christian Secular terms as The Christian Solution. That consequence would be an Holocaust. Given that the Pope travels the world kissing the feet of Muslims, one must perceive that the Beinart and Naturei Karta Solution does not pass the smell test for a real Jewish person. For the good of both the Christian world and the Muslim world, it is imperative that Israel not succumb to the temptation to enable another Second Holocaust in our time. Just imagine the pain and suffering of the Muslim and Christian worlds, when after such a 'Second Holocaust' there will have appeared no "Mahdi" (the Muslim Messiah) nor the "Second Coming of Jesus". At least the Lubavitch give us another 220-years before the "Arrival of the Moshiach-Moshichay" in the form of Rebbe Menachem Schneerson [Of Blessed Memory].

So one must give credit to Peter Beinart for his expressed awareness, which is that a "Two-State Solution" is not possible and that a "One State" is inevitable. For one who is Orthodox and utters the Shema on a daily basis, the concepts of ERETZ ECHAD and YERUSHALAYIM ECHAD should not be so hard to grasp. Only HaShem knows, whether or not such words, conceived and spoken as is the Shema, would be spoken as last words.

The challenge facing Israel in our time is to continue the establishing of a Jewish State that is democratic in the context of Torah as the foundation of Law and Life, disallowing cultural 'imprisonment' by Theocratic Politics, while also not vying to fulfill a conception that would make Israel into a 51st State of the USA. Israel is unique. It would be madness to continue efforts towards either a Two-State Solution or an "Israel-Palestine" solution. It would be madness to enable Israeli Citizenship for the Arabs presently living in Judea-Samaria and Gaza. It may be madness to continue Israeli Citizenship for those Arabs and Jews already having citizenship, who are hostile to Israel; and, Arab devotion to "Al-Nakba" is anathema to the existence of the State of Israel. Sanity demands that hostiles be expelled (may they be granted golden parachutes). Sanity demands that such Arabs of Judea-Samaria and Gaza, who are happy to reside in the hegemony of Israel, be granted "Blue Cards" allowing special status and special privilege, but, not citizenship. Sanity demands One Israel and One Jerusalem flying the Israeli Flag from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.