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A. The UN Resolution
1. The Resolution signals a
stunning victory for Hezbollah and its patrons Iran and Syria—hence a
defeat not only for Israel but for the United States.
2. With UNIFIL in southern Lebanon,
it will be impossible for Israel to defend itself in the future from
Hezbollah attacks without incurring UN condemnation.
3. No mechanism is created to
enforce the embargo on arms supplies to Hezbollah from Iran and Syria.
4. In the absence of an effective
UN force, no provision is made for the enforcement of UN Security
Council resolution 1559 to disarm Hezbollah’s terrorist army. (Lebanese
prime minister Fouad Siniora even complained that the resolution “gives
Hezbollah better protection than us.”
5. Israel will be forced to
withdraw from southern Lebanon before full deployment of a beefed up UN
force is in place. The resulting vacuum will allow Hezbollah to regroup
on Israel’s northern border.
6. Israel may lose control of the
Shaba Farms or Mount Dov—a massive area of the Golan Heights that
separates Israel from Syria.
7. The resolution lacks any
operative clause for the released of IDF soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and
Eldad Regev.
B. What has Hezbollah Accomplished?
1. Afflicted heavy casualties on
Israeli soldiers and civilians.
2. Destroyed much of northern
Israel.
3. Humiliated the IDF in the eyes
of the world.
4. Undermined U.S. confidence in
Israel as a strategic asset.
5. United the Muslim world against
Israel.
6. Strengthened its position in
Lebanon.
7. Is positioned to gain control
of the government, in which case Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah will become
Lebanon’s prime minister. Iran will then be on Israel’s northern
border.
C. What Next?
1. Of course the Olmert government
must be toppled as soon as possible. Kadima and Labor as well as Meretz
will lose several seats. Israel Beiteinu, Likud, and National Union
will form the next government together with the religious parties. But
this will not give Israel what is most needed: an in-depth understanding
of why Israel lost the war and will lose the next one unless basic
changes are made in the character of the regime.
a. It’s not sufficient to
emphasize inadequate military intelligence, the failure to launch a
ground invasion, and having an air force man as Chief of Staff.
b. Shavit is right to mention the
cowardly “political correctness” the of Israel’s political and
intellectual elites—meaning their effete desire for peace. He also
disparages the consumerism, self-indulgence, and complacency infecting
much of Israel society; but he doesn’t quite go to the root of the
problem.
2. Although the decadence of
Israel’s ruling elites—Left, Right, and Center—is now more obvious than
ever, what is the basic cause of this decadence?
3. The system of secular education
that produces decadence throughout the West—a system permeated by moral
relativism.
a. Relativism severs Israel’s
political, judicial and military elites from the beliefs and values
the Jewish heritage. It rendered it easier for the Sharon government
to expel 10,000 Jews from their homes and farms, destroy their schools
and synagogues, and yield Jewish land to Islamofascists.
b. Relativism undermines
confidence in the justice of Israel’s cause. I have seen this
relativism in universities and in the statements of Israel’s ruling
elites.
c. Relativism undermines
abhorrence of the enormous evil surrounding Israel—meaning the
genocidal intentions of Israel’s Arab neighbors. Lacking the courage
to face this evil,
(1) prompts Israeli prime
ministers to seek peace with Arab despots whose media propagate
murderous hatred of Israel;
(2) fosters the delusion of
peace, disarms our people, undermines vigilance, diminishes the
military budget—so that the government fails to take the steps
necessary to deter and defeat aggression.
4. A Less Obvious Cause: An
Undemocratic and Unstable System of Governance
a. Since members of the Knesset,
20 whom become cabinet ministers, are not elected by and accountable
to the voters in constituency elections, they can ignore public
opinion with impunity. This is what Sharon did when he implemented
the Labor Party’s “unilateral disengagement” plan, even though it was
rejected by more than 70% of the voters in the 2003 election.
b. The Supreme Court, a
self-perpetuating oligarchy whose decisions often violate the abiding
beliefs and values of the Jewish people, legalized Sharon’s betrayal
of the nation by declaring Judea, Samaria, and Gaza “belligerent
occupied territory.”
c. Multi-party cabinet
government, which produces governments whose average duration is less
than two years, makes long-range planning impossible.
D. What is to be Done?
1. First, a National Commission of
Inquiry, however necessary, is not an expeditious way to deal with the
present crisis. Nor are demonstrations lacking a program for Systemic
change. Demonstrations can be counterproductive when they divert public
attention and resources from the root causes of Israel’s malaise.
2. In 1996 I met with
members of the Executive Committee of Professors for a Strong Israel and
urged them to form a “Congress of National Salvation.” In 2001 I made
the same proposal to various other extra-parliamentary nationalist
groups. The following year I met with a spokesman of Manhigut Yehudit
and urged him to form a “shadow government” in anticipation of a war
that would lead to the collapse of the government. This had to be done,
I said, before the Establishment recovered from defeat and maintain the
institutional status quo.
3. In each case I had prepared a
program or working paper for regime change. The paper embodied a
comprehensive set of national policies, a proposal for professional
committees that parallel government ministries, and a grass roots
movement to galvanize the nation. Apparently, these efforts of mine
were premature.
4. Therefore, I now call upon you
to join me in the formation of a “Movement for Regime Change.” This
Movement will have a two-sided goal.
a. On the negative side, this
Movement will reveal that Israel is not a genuine democracy. This is
a basic cause of Israel’s sickness in general, and of its failure to
deter or defeat Hezbollah aggression in particular.
b. On the positive side, the
Movement for Regime Change will restore Jewish national health by
promoting a unique Jewish form of democracy, one that uses democratic
principles to make Israel more Jewish, and Jewish principles to make
Israel more democratic.
c. I have published a concise,
reader-friendly booklet that articulates these goals. Also, our
Foundation’s website is a virtual library on Israel’s flawed mentality
and institutions and how they may be corrected.
I invite those of you who are
interested to write or call me. Email:
eidelberg@foundation1.org;
Tel. 02-586-1207. By the way, I have an office suite that can accommodate
30 to 40 people for meetings and seminars. |
Capitulation:
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