What is the Hatred and Evil which besets Israel at this time

In the real world, not everyone is a liberal democrat. An enemy is “someone who is willing to die in order to kill you. And while it is true that the enemy always hates us for a reason, it is his reason, not ours.” [Rabbi Jonathon Sacks.].

“Throughout history it has been the inaction of those who could have acted; the indifference of those who should have known better – the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most; that has made it possible for evil to triumph. [Haile Selassie]

“No one has the right to be neutral in moral questions”, wrote Alfred Lousy to Pope Benedict XV in the course of the 1st World War.

Koby Bornstein’s “Ring of Fire” [ Largely abbreviated from Mishpacha Magazine Issue 2023 ] was posted on August 6, 2024.
“Developed over decades, Iran’s strategy to arm its proxies to the teeth now threatens Israel with encirclement.”

After the horrid disposal of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Iran was on the brink of revolution. But this was not to be just another change of government, it was to be the birth of a new political order, one that would upend the regional balance of power and send shockwaves around the world.

His replacement Khomeini age 79 returned after 15 years of exile with a hardened expression, he knew that he was facing the dawn of a new era. Within days, the old regime collapsed, and the Ayatollah declared the birth of the Islamic revolution beyond the borders of Iran. But he was not content with domestic reform—he promised to spread the Islamic revolution beyond the borders of Iran; throughout the Muslim world and beyond.

The Iranian axis of evil has developed over decades exploiting regional weaknesses, local conflicts and geopolitical upheavals. The Iranian strategy is to create threats on so many fronts simultaneously that the IDF will be unable to respond. Hamas and Islamic Jihad to the south, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Pakistani militias and Hezbollah in Syria, the Houthis in Yemen, the Iraqi militias, and even Iran itself.

Iran operates a sophisticated network of smuggling routes. Operationally, Hezbollah operates under direct Iranian guidance. Its operational orders come from Quads Force headquarters in Tehran.

Hezbollah –the Lebanese “Party of G-d”—is much more than a terrorist organization or an armed militia. It’s been described as the world’s most powerful non-state military force, with the capability to target any location in Israel. Formed as a small guerrilla organization in the 1980s, it ‘s ballooned into a strategic threat of the highest order.

It holds seats in the Lebanese parliament and the government, as well as operating an extensive social services system. This control on the ground makes it very difficult for Israel to deal with the threat.

Hezbollah disperses its military facilities in densely populated civilian areas, using mosques and schools as army depots. This will pose a difficult dilemma for the IDF in the event of a conflict- How does one degrade Hezbollah’s military capabilities while minimizing civilian causalities?

The capabilities they have did not develop out of thin air. They’re a product of massive Iranian support. Iran provides, not just the weapons, but the technological know-how and training. Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps officers maintain a constant presence in Lebanon to oversee Hezbollah’s activities.

Syria
Another branch of Iran’s axis of evil lies in Syria, Israel’s northeastern neighbor. What began as a strategic alliance between the Assad regime and Iran has led over the past decade to a significant Iranian military presence in Syria—-Kilometers away from the Israeli border.

Yemen Houthis
The Houthi rebels, who seized control of broad swaths of Yemen in 2014, have become a key element in Iran’s arsenal. With Iran’s support, what began as a local as a local rebel movement has grown into a key regional player.

Iran sees the Houthis a strategic asset, providing it with a foothold in the southern Arabian Peninsula, on Saudi Arabia’s doorstep, and access to the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, critical shipping route between the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.

Iraq
Since the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime in 2023, Iran has taken advantage of the resulting vacuum to build up a significant presence in the country, mainly through local Shiite militias.

Shiite countries, Africa and South America.

Besides Hezbollah, the Houthis, and the Iraqi proxy militias, Iran funds a wide variety of terror groups throughout the Middle East and beyond.

In Afghanistan, Iran has cultivated ties with Shiite groups and even some Taliban factions. Iran backs Shiite opposition groups in Bahrain.

The Iranian presence in Pakistan is a long running source of tension with the Pakistan government.

Iran backs Shiite opposition groups in Bahrain. In Latin America, Iran maintains ties with countries such as Venezuela and Nicaragua.
In Africa, Sudan as a transit point and in Nigeria; and other West African countries.

So much for wars and enemies. And now onto anti-Semitism. Acknowledgement. “The nations of Israel and America owe Pierre van Paassen much as he was one of the great champions of freedom in the 20th century and whose name and work need to be read and remembered forever.” His books, “Days of Our Years” [1939] and a repeat of Chapter 8 slightly revised and titled, “The Forgotten Ally” [1943] are masterpieces. Writing a Foreword on June 2005, Carol Gould says, “One can read van Paassen’s descriptions of the fury of the tribes and understand present day Iraq with clarity.”

His introduction, “As the last world war involved man’s fiercest fight for freedom against the darkest horrors of Nazism, so does this century’s global war against Islamism.”

“Why were these bloody outbreaks against the Jews in Palestine occurring at almost regular intervals? Who was the Mufti? Why did England permit this upstart madman, who was a government officeholder, to wreck a scheme that England had promised to bring to a successful issue? Were the Zionists trying to force something down the Arabs throat? Was the Jew pushing the Arab off the land? And if so, was the British overlord permitting that injustice to be perpetrated on the original inhabitants of the country, the people whose civic and religious rights he was pledged to protect under the very terms of the Balfour Declaration?”

“On the same day of the Hebron massacre, the Arabs had rioted I Jerusalem, crying “Death to the Jews! The government is with us.— The same scenes which occurred in Hebron had taken place in the Holy City.—Mr. Luke and Mr. Keith Roach saw the crowd running up and in all haste ordered the mounted police to close all the approaches to the building. The Jews were trapped. In order to return home, they had to break through the lines of the rioters. Many of them perished in the very shadow of the Union Jack.

What occurred in the upper chambers of Slonim’s chambers could be seen when we found the twelve –foot-high ceiling splashed with blood. The rooms looked like a slaughterhouse. —-the blood stood in a huge pool on the slightly sagging stone floor of the house. We stood silently contemplating the scene of slaughter when the door flung open—-in strolled Mr. Keith-Roach, governor of the Jaffa district, followed by a colonel—-.They took a hasty glance around the awful room, and Mr. Roach remarked to his companion, ‘Shall we have lunch now or drive to Jerusalem first.’”

“Why the Jews” book by Dennis Prager and Joseph Telushkin is clear, persuasive, and thought provoking must reading for anyone who seeks to understand the unique role of the Jews in history .

In this seminal study, the authors attempt to uncover and understand roots of anti-Semitism—from the ancient world to the Holocaust to the current crisis in the Middle East. It offers insights unparalleled perspectives including:

[a] The replicating of Nazi anti-Semitism in the Arab world.
[b] The pervasive anti-Zionism/anti-Semitism on University campuses.
[c] The rise of anti-Semitism in Europe.
[d] Why the US and Israel are linked in the minds of anti-Semites.

Evil is no silent partner.