Netanyahu’s visit to South America is part of a phenomenon that the Israeli media public may not be aware of, but the rest of the world does: Israel is the most accepted child in the class.
In March 2011, the Defense Minister Ehud Barak coined the term “political tsunami.” Barak warned at that time that if we did not leave the “political freeze,” Israel would be isolated in the world. As in the Oslo Accords threat, the left tried to systematically indoctrinate the public through the political system and the media, and exactly as in the previous case, those who disagreed with this belief were presented as a serious prison. Thus, for example, Barak Ravid, the political commentator for Ha’aretz, wrote in December 2014:
“The layout that has been created is of a political tsunami, but the process is actually similar to the melting glaciers”.
In January 2015, the Foreign Ministry warned in a classified document that “the powerful erosion in Europe will escalate toward the Palestinians position, more parliaments will recognize a Palestinian state and ask for sanctions and marking products, and it is not sure that the United States will use the veto power after the elections.” In the 2015 election campaign, in February 2016, MK Yair Lapid declared embarrassingly, “Our international situation has never been so bad, in the entire history of the country since 1948”.
The international situation of the State of Israel is one of the main issues on the agenda in a constant and fair conduct. Political failure means economic failure and vice versa. Against the background of Netanyahu’s visit to South America and right before his upcoming speech at the UN General Assembly, a speech that will normally pay great attention to him, it is worth examining Israel’s political situation and asking: How far is Yair Lapid really from reality?
The sentence “Israel is a high-tech and cyber power” is repeated in many forums, but this has not been the case in the past. The ability to assume this fact is largely and casually the result of Netanyahu’s policy of developing the foreign relations sector, focusing on security and maintaining economic growth. The ability to maintain stability that enables economic development and expresses Israel’s scientific-economic potential is not a trivial matter in the political reality in Israel.
Record in exports, record in tourism
Europe is a very important continent, but the prime minister understood long before everyone that we should eliminate dependence on one continent or two, and invest efforts in connecting to other continents, branding culturally the State of the Jewish People as never before.
In the coming days, the Prime Minister will hold official visits to Argentina, Colombia and Mexico. He will not meet only with these states leaders, but also with the president of Paraguay. No Israeli prime minister has ever visited the central countries of Latin America.
In January 2015, the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited Israel. The media ignored openly this historic visit. Not only the land of the rising sun is very interested in Israel. The Prime Minister arrived in China for an official visit. He was warmly welcomed in Australia, and earlier in Singapore. Indian Prime Minister Nandrude Moody visited Israel for the first time, and it is clear that there is a warm relationship in this sector as well as long as Israel is considered an ally. Israel has succeeded in establishing successful relationships even on continents and in regions that have turned their back on it in the past, such as Africa. Two extraordinary visits to Africa have also been ignored by the media, which has difficulty recognizing positive achievements, lest they be interpreted as a result of Netanyahu’s policy.
Against the backdrop of the Israeli stand against Iran and the anxiety of the Sunni countries against the Iranian subversion, Israel cooperated with the Arab states in a way that in the past the Arabs denied any contact with Israel. Israel’s ability to influence the international arena in general and US policy in particular is considered a source of power that creates closeness. Ironically, the treacherous states of the Obama administration vis-a-vis the US allies have actually brought about a rapprochement between Israel and the Sunni countries, while the Palestinian issue seems to lose importance in their eyes. As for the Shiite world, the Israeli government has managed to build ties with the Shiite Azerbaijan, which even exaggerates the relation stage, and received Netanyahu for a historic visit.
Before our eyes, we find a historical change that anyone who ignores it suffers from intellectual dishonesty: any establishment or strengthening of relations is translated into strengthening Israel not only politically but also economically. In the past year, Israeli exports have broken record and reached more than $ 100 billion. At the same time, an all-time record was recorded in the number of tourists coming to Israel. A political tsunami? All signs show the opposite process.
Thanks to the gas outline
The Russian entry into Syria posed a difficult challenge for Israel. However, it seems that Israel’s active and robust foreign policy in recent years has gained a few points even against a superpower such as Russia. Despite the differences of opinion between Israel and Russia over Iran and Syria, Putin considers Netanyahu an important strategic partner. Never has an Israeli prime minister been treated so warmly by a Russian president. Yevgeny Stanovsky, a close associate of President Putin and president of the Russian Institute for Middle East Studies, testified on Russian television: “Netanyahu can meet with Putin whenever he wants … There are no such relations with anyone anymore.” At the same time, the relations with the United States remained strong, despite the confrontation with the Obama administration, and the temporary conflict has already turned out, along with the previous president.
In Europe, special efforts are being made. Despite the European criticism of the Palestinian issue, relations seem to have improved. The intensification of terrorism increases the need for cooperation with Israel, and as a result the security ties are being tightened. In September 2016, the first Israeli ambassador to NATO submitted his credentials, and the prime minister was received as guest of honor at the Wyshograd Conference (including Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia.) If that was not enough, it was agreed that the next conference would take place in Jerusalem – More than 100 heads of state from all over the world, large and small, who wish to maintain contact with Israel, have reached it. Needless to say, the Israeli media did not report all these meetings. It prefers to deal with the trays. Even the United Nations, traditionally hostile to Israel, has seen a change in Israel’s favor, with several countries changing the way they voted for Israel with a majority of 109 out of 193 coutries voting in favor of Israel. This fact is also considered an unprecedented achievement.
Around the Mediterranean, Israel strengthens its ties with Cyprus, Greece and Turkey, largely because of the ability to export gas – a capability that the left sought to attack. The aggressive campaign against the gas outline put Netanyahu’s policy to the test of resisting a stubbornness and determination state that was not easy to meet. The export of gas also contributes to the development of relations with Egypt and Jordan in a way that increases their dependence on Israel and is expected to make it difficult for them to act against Israel’s future interests. In 2015, Greece elected the anti-Israeli Sirissa party. The Greek Prime Minister Alexis Cipras was known as an anti-Israeli politician. Once elected, the interest of his country did not allow him to freeze the relations with Israel, on the contrary. The hostile ideology of various countries also ceases to exist when it meets an economic interest and strategic power that establishes cooperation worthwhile.
Seven years after Ehud Barak’s angry prophecy, it seems that it has indeed materialized: a political tsunami is taking place before our eyes, and it is as fluent and stormy as a tsunami is expected to be. But it is not destruction and the ruins that leaves behind it, but an abundance of opportunities, alliances and cooperation.
אתר "ליכודניק" הינו אתר לסיקור פוליטי. האתר עושה את כל המאמצים לאתר זכויות על תמונות וסרטונים. אולם, בהתאם לסעיף 27א' לחוק זכויות היוצרים כל אדם הרואה עצמו נפגע עקב בעלות על זכויות היוצרים של תמונה או סרטון מוזמן לפנות להנהלת האתר