Israel: The World's Heroic Scapegoat

Why is Israel never allowed to convincingly win wars waged against it? Why is it that Israel should bleed in self-defense while aggressors can walk away claiming victory? Why is it that Israel is frequently used by Western nations as a mere tool for their geo-political ambitions? And, why is it that Israel is blamed when plans set in motion by allies go awry?

The answer of course is that Israel is a convenient scapegoat – one that is in no position to complain or to sever ties with those claimed allies who constantly abandon it in pursuit of their own ambitions. Israel is obviously seen by major Western powers as a rather insignificant nation, one which can be bullied and manipulated into compliance.

Israel is indeed small, in land area, population, and economic power. It does not have major natural resources except gas. In the scheme of things, it is not viewed as a major player in world events nor of having much political influence. For the sake of its future, it is seen as desperate to make allies and friends in an alien world – one that largely despises it for succeeding. Israel is thus a nation in a world hostile to its existence, and to Jews in general.

Israel is continually falsely accused -- often by countries committing enormous war crimes -- of being a colonial-settler nation, of apartheid policies, of genocide against Palestinian civilians. It is excoriated in the United Nations, on mass media, and European parliaments. The United Nations and in so-called human rights groups. None of the allegations against it is true. They cannot even be substantiated with fact. Not that this matters much to those determined to express their Jew-hate, even if under the guise of social justice or other fatuous constructs.

History provides the context for this unfair perception. In 1948, as a start-up nation in a desert region with nothing much going for it but sand and malaria swamps; with no known oil reserves, materiel, or military forces; low on finances and a broad lack of supportive nations keen to see the Jewish people re-established once again in their ancestral homeland, Israel did not have much to bargain with.

Yet, despite all odds – political, military, financial, economic – and with a handful of people, the tiny nation survived, albeit facing countless critical moments. Betrayed from the start by the British who, at the 1921 Cairo Conference, divided the historic Jewish homeland into two nations – some for Israel but more for the Hashemite kingdom of King Abdullah, now Jordan.

Shortly thereafter, and despite provisions of the Balfour Declaration, the British restricted migration to Israel by European Jews even after the horrific events of the Nazi-era, thereby denying them freedom and safety in their own land.

When Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser ordered nationalization of the Suez Canal in 1956, the British and French persuaded Israel to attack Egypt in order to open the restricted Canal, the Straits of Tiran, and Gulf of Aqaba. Israel successfully carried out its mandate and in five days occupied the Sinai. Under pressure, however, from the US and USSR the British, without notifying Israel, declared a cease-fire just as Israel and allied forces were to achieve total control of all of the Suez and Sinai regions.

Israel had to withdraw without meeting all their objectives -- solely due to political pressures outside their sphere of control. Egypt's Nasser therefore emerged victorious. This was the last time Israel joined Western powers in battle until 70 years later when Israel partnered the US in the still-unfinished Iran campaign.

Upon suspension of the hostilities with Iran, Israel immediately bore the false blame in the legacy media for allegedly "dragging'' the US into a war with Iran. US President Donald J. Trump and Vice-President J. D. Vance were quick to criticize Israel, notwithstanding its crucial involvement in the success of the operation. Vance reportedly even had the temerity to warn Israel that they "had no recourse but to accept whatever Trump did." It is a blessing that we have all had a chance to see who he is now, along with his disastrous Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding with Iran, rather than just before a possible run for president in 2028.

The reason is that Trump is desperate to present a successfully concluded agreement to the world, thereby displaying his mastery of the "art of the deal" – in reality, as the Iranian regime never comply with their deals, any deal with the current leaders of Islamic Republic, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, will be very bad deal for the US, Israel, and the region. Even President Trump has been calling them "scum."Perhaps he hopes for that elusive Nobel Peace prize to which he believes he is entitled – or perhaps he is genuinely trying to work out his next moves so that Iran, as he repeats, "cannot have a nuclear weapon."

Now that Iran's negotiators seem to believe they hold the upper hand, given their attempt control shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, it has become clear that Iran intends to cause as much chaos as possible.

While Israel was not officially consulted over the terms of the non-binding MOU or invited to participate in negotiations for Trump's vaunted peace deal with Iran – the United States, under the superb leadership of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, quietly concluded an exceptional, binding, deal between Israel and Lebanon, restoring the sovereignty of Lebanon's leadership by ridding the country of Iran's most powerful terrorist proxy, Hezbollah.

Israel, after all, is a sovereign nation, entitled to defend its borders and people without permission from anyone.

Any stalemate that ensues between the US and Iran will be nevertheless likely be blamed on Israel, especially if there is a failure in any US peace "deal" with Iran.

The question of what may happen to Israel in the future does not seem to be of major concern to anyone else. After all, Jews have had to fight their own battles. This is their destiny for the people of Israel are to be, "a nation dwelling alone, not reckoned among the nations" (Numbers 23:9).

This week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is meeting with President Trump. It will be interesting see what these two undauntable leaders are cooking up.

"Israel," political commentator Isaiah Yolkut points out, "is often treated as something that must be continually defined, justified, or defended before it is allowed to exist in the mind as a country among others."

In its short history, Israel has shown itself to be beyond heroic in defending civilization and the West. Similarly, Prime Minister Netanyahu is duly acknowledged as "The Churchill of the Middle East." Israel's cowardly detractors, who refused even to let the US use their airbases to deter an enemy whose ballistic missiles could reach them, should take the back seat they deserve and wrap up. It is time for the disparagement to stop.

Nils A. Haug is a lawyer, author and columnist. He is member of the International Bar Association, the National Association of Scholars, the Academy of Philosophy and Letters. Among degrees in Law, Philosophy, and English Literature, Dr. Haug holds a M.A.in Jewish Studies (cum laude) and Ph.D. in Apologetical Theology. He is author of 'Politics, Law, and Disorder in the Garden of Eden – the Quest for Identity'; and 'Enemies of the Innocent – Life, Truth, and Meaning in a Dark Age.' His work has been published by First Things Journal, The American Mind, Quadrant, Minding the Campus, Gatestone Institute, National Association of Scholars, Jewish Journal, James Wilson Institute (Anchoring Truths), Jewish News Syndicate, Tribune Juive, Document Danmark, Zwiedzaj Polske, Schlaglicht Israel, and others.