As is typical of the left, the news media divides the world into
victims and victimizers. That is certainly true today. But it was equally
true back then. Before 1967, Israel was perceived to be the victim. The hostile Arab nations surrounding Israel pledging to destroy them were the victimizers.
After it was created in 1948, poor little Israel could do no wrong. ‘Israel made the desert bloom’. Israel was seen as an island of hope and freedom composed of many Holocaust survivors that had no where else to go after the war. Struggling to exist as a free nation among enemies that wanted to destroy them.
When then Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nassar finally decided to act on his promise to destroy Israel, by first shutting off the Gulf of Aqaba the only waterway Israel could use to ship and recieve goods, the world shuddered at what tiny little Israel could do to survive. Arabs outgunned Israel and outnumbered them by a factor of 40 to one.
That Israel survived is probably the greatest understatement of all time. Not only did they defeat all the mighty Arab nations that were prepared to annihilate them, Israel took control of the old city (East Jerusalem) where the Kotel is located; and Judea and Samaria all of which is located on the west of bank of the Jordan River.
Military experts in America were beyond amazed at this accomplishment. They could not say enough about the military genius of the Jewish state. In a matter of 6 days, Israel defeated the mighty armies of Egypt, Syria, and Jordan. And went from being a tiny underdog surrounded and outnumbered by mortal enemies to becoming the virtual superpower of the Middle East! Israel’s 2 military leaders became superheroes. Defense Minister, Moshe Dayan, and IDF Chief of staff,, Yitzhak Rabin became instant heroes. Their names quickly became familiar to just about everyone at the time. Accolades from the media quickly followed as well.
Not too long after that, stories about the new victims started coming out. Israel was no longer the victim. They were slowly being depicted as the victimizer of the poor Arab refugees (now called Palestinians) on the West Bank formerly under Jordanian control,
The media continues to see Israel as victimizers every chance they get. Little thought is given to why things are the way they are. That has been their perspective when reporting about Israel’s conduct during the war on Hamas.
Until last Sunday.
For the first time in 57 years, Leslie Stahl, a knee-jerk liberal, totally surprised me by reporting what Israel has actually accomplished since the war began. It was like 1967 all over
again. She could not get over the genius of the pager and walkie/talkie plot. And the fallout of all that followed. The fear of a prolonged and deadly battle with Hezbollah, a larger and far more heavily armed enemy than Hamas was gone. Hezbollah was now decapitated and no longer a serious threat. Hamas is isolated. They no longer have an ally to their north to help them.
Without the help of a now weakened Hezbollah, Syrian dictator Bashar Assad was unable to maintain the brutal control over his people the way he had after a failed 14 year old uprising. Syria fell to a group of rebels in less than a week. Iran could no lnger protect Assad without the aid of its proxy, Hezbollah. Now all 3 Iranian proxies surrounding Israel are no longer a serious threat.. All because of the genius of the Mossad.
Prime Minister Netanyahu’s leadership in all this cannot be understated. It was he who authorized the Mossad to do it and when to do it. He resisted pressure to make a deal with Hamas that would have revitalized them. He choose to attack Hezbollah against the advice of a lot of so-called experts (some even in his own country) who thought Israel could never survive a two front war. Or that even if it could, it would be too costly in both blood and treasure.
He didn’t listen to them. He followed his gut. And eliminated three of Israel’s most deadly enemies. Iran now realizes that there is nothing they can do against Israel that will not cost them a heavy price. They no longer have proxies in the neighborhood to do their dirty work or them. The ring of fire is gone!
All of this was pointed out by the very liberal Leslie Stahl. To the best of my knowledge this is the first time since 1967 Israel is being praised by the media for its military genius since the Six Day War. Israel has reshaped the political landscape of the Middle East.
I’ll bet Saudi Arabia is watching. And I’ll bet the incoming Trump administration is watching as well and will use this opportunity to forward the Abraham Accords as quickly as possible. Making greater strides towards peace than ever before. It would not surprise me if going forward - Syria will be the first Arab nation to sign a peace treaty with Israel – if the new leadership there is serious about not wanting to be involved in wars anymore. You never know.
