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Benjamin Sipzner
Political Advisor and Activist

Choosing Israel’s Path Forward

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu uses a red marker on a map of 'The New Middle East' as he addresses the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Friday, Sept. 22, 2023. (Bryan R. Smith / AFP)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu uses a red marker on a map of 'The New Middle East' as he addresses the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Friday, Sept. 22, 2023. (Bryan R. Smith / AFP)

This past week Israel was centerstage in the world media and at the United Nations. Israel’s possible vision for the future was on display for hundreds of millions to see. Will Israel be a member of the mainstream cancel culture liberal leftism or will they be part of the Joe Rogan, Elon Musk, Tucker Carlson practicality driven trendsetting which is taking over the western and Arab world.

Brothers in Arms

Last Sunday night, Lesley Stahl, the host of 60 Minutes, featured leaders of the Israeli radical left protest organization, Brothers in Arms, which is one of the prominent groups protesting the Judicial Reform and the Israeli government coalition. On the program, Brothers in Arms activists claimed, “the danger (to Israel) now is more from inside than from enemies on the outside, this is an existential threat to Israel.” They also stated, “people are afraid the government will receive full power without judicial review…what happened in Poland and Hungary will not happen here (in Israel).”

They also shockingly said, “if you want pilots to be able to fly and shoot bombs and missiles knowing they might be killing children they must have the strongest confidence in the people making those decisions.”

Of course, the liberal social justice warrior staff of CBS and 60 Minutes would not lose a beat in publishing lies about Israel’s domestic debates and policies, the Israeli government, and Israel’s moral standards of warfare. Everything is fair game for the mainstream media and progressive left which will skew reality and facts on the ground in the name of their narrative.

When the Brothers in Arms group falsely slandered Israel on national television, they spoke for Israel’s radical left proclaiming to the western world, “we are like you, we don’t care about our country’s heritage or identity, we don’t care about the truth, all we want is to be liberal, inclusive and anti-racist.” They checked all the boxes of the woke spreadsheet getting in line with the United States and many European countries who have already adopted the woke agenda.

Taking a stand at the UN

Last Monday, as one of the world’s most notorious dictators, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, took the stage at the UN General Assembly, Israeli Ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, walked towards the podium holding up a sign which read “Iranian women deserve freedom now” with a picture of Mahsa Amini, who died in Iranian police custody after her arrest for an alleged breach of the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code for women.

Erdan was detained and forcefully escorted out of the UN auditorium by security. Erdan’s stand against President Raisi, who is also called “the butcher of Tehran”, was viewed by tens of millions, and he was interviewed by leading networks in the United States and around the world. Iranians and anyone who genuinely stands behind human rights applauded Israel and Ambassador Erdan for standing up to Raisi, a vicious murderer, and voiced their outrage against the hypocrisy of the UN for welcoming him as an honored guest.

This UN hypocrisy is the same hypocrisy of the radical left which is selective to which communities they choose to shove their woke agenda down their throats depending on the cost. For example, Nike, Disney, and others will never have a pride flag associated with their brands or products in the Middle East or in China, but in the United States and Europe- that’s another story.

Netanyahu Dazzles

Also last Monday, Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu met with tech creator and billionaire Elon Musk in the Tesla Headquarters in San Francisco, California. There Netanyahu toured the Tesla factory with Musk, got a ride in Tesla’s soon to be released Cybertruck and the two held a panel discussion about the future of Artificial Intelligence with other leaders in the field. The discussion, which was aired on X, was viewed by tens of millions and the Prime Minister’s tour was covered worldwide. Netanyahu meshed elegantly with Musk in a way no other world leader could.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) and his wife Sara pose with Tesla CEO Elon Musk in front of a Cybertruck at a Tesla plant in Fremont, Calif. on Sept. 18, 2023. Credit: Avi Ohayon/GPO.

Prime Minister Netanyahu then flew to New York to meet with President Biden, a meeting that his detractors hoped would be a trainwreck. The Prime Minister’s meeting with President Biden went smoothly, without headlines. This paved the way for Netanyahu’s speech in the UN, where he shocked the world laying the road for peace with Saudi Arabia and a new world order.

Netanyahu came off as cool, connected, sharp and made Israel look like a regional superpower leading the way into the world’s brighter future. This future is focused on pure pragmatism and peace formed from mutual respect. Respect for culture, tradition, and each other’s country. In this new future, one country will not try to educate the other’s, and business and friendships will be formed based on shared interests, and not based on forcing values on a so called “ally”.

Israel has a Choice

Israel can choose to join the woke army, erasing our heritage and identity in the name of so called “democracy” or we can remember and cherish our traditions while respecting others. We can choose to align with failing progressive wokeism or build shared partnerships and relationships based on shared interests while wearing our national identity as a badge of honor as Saudi Arabia, India, China and others do.

I hope we choose wisely!

About the Author
Benjamin Sipzner is the Director for International Operations at Ad Kan and an Advisor to the Minister of Aliyah and Integration. He was the Anglo Outreach and Events Coordinator for the Religious Zionist Party in Israel’s last two elections. He is an Oleh from New York and completed his service as a lone soldier in the Nachal Brigade of the IDF. He can be found on Facebook and can be reached at sipznerbenjamin@gmail.com.
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