Krauthammer: Those Troublesome Jews BY CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER

 First published June 4, 2010 in The Washington Post.

The world is outraged at Israel's blockade of Gaza. Turkey denounces its illegality, inhumanity, barbarity, etc. The usual U.N. suspects, Third World and European, join in. The Obama administration dithers.

But as Leslie Gelb, former president of the Council on Foreign Relations, writes, the blockade is not just perfectly rational, it is perfectly legal. Gaza under Hamas is a self-declared enemy of Israel -- a declaration backed up by more than 4,000 rockets fired at Israeli civilian territory. Yet having pledged itself to unceasing belligerency, Hamas claims victimhood when Israel imposes a blockade to prevent Hamas from arming itself with still more rockets.

In World War II, with full international legality, the United States blockaded Germany and Japan. And during the October 1962 missile crisis, we blockaded ("quarantined") Cuba. Arms-bearing Russian ships headed to Cuba turned back because the Soviets knew that the U.S. Navy would either board them or sink them. Yet Israel is accused of international criminality for doing precisely what John Kennedy did: impose a naval blockade to prevent a hostile state from acquiring lethal weaponry.

Oh, but weren't the Gaza-bound ships on a mission of humanitarian relief? No. Otherwise they would have accepted Israel's offer to bring their supplies to an Israeli port, be inspected for military materiel and have the rest trucked by Israel into Gaza -- as every week 10,000 tons of food, medicine and other humanitarian supplies are sent by Israel to Gaza.

Why was the offer refused? Because, as organizer Greta Berlin admitted, the flotilla was not about humanitarian relief but about breaking the blockade, i.e., ending Israel's inspection regime, which would mean unlimited shipping into Gaza and thus the unlimited arming of Hamas.

Israel has already twice intercepted ships laden with Iranian arms destined for Hezbollah and Gaza. What country would allow that?

But even more important, why did Israel even have to resort to blockade? Because, blockade is Israel's fallback as the world systematically de-legitimizes its traditional ways of defending itself -- forward and active defense.

(1) Forward defense: As a small, densely populated country surrounded by hostile states, Israel had, for its first half-century, adopted forward defense -- fighting wars on enemy territory (such as the Sinai and Golan Heights) rather than its own.

Where possible (Sinai, for example) Israel has traded territory for peace. But where peace offers were refused, Israel retained the territory as a protective buffer zone. Thus Israel retained a small strip of southern Lebanon to protect the villages of northern Israel. And it took many losses in Gaza, rather than expose Israeli border towns to Palestinian terror attacks. It is for the same reason America wages a grinding war in Afghanistan: You fight them there, so you don't have to fight them here.

But under overwhelming outside pressure, Israel gave it up. The Israelis were told the occupations were not just illegal but at the root of the anti-Israel insurgencies -- and therefore withdrawal, by removing the cause, would bring peace.

Land for peace. Remember? Well, during the past decade, Israel gave the land -- evacuating South Lebanon in 2000 and Gaza in 2005. What did it get? An intensification of belligerency, heavy militarization of the enemy side, multiple kidnappings, cross-border attacks and, from Gaza, years of unrelenting rocket attack.

(2) Active defense: Israel then had to switch to active defense -- military action to disrupt, dismantle and defeat (to borrow President Obama's description of our campaign against the Taliban and al-Qaeda) the newly armed terrorist mini-states established in southern Lebanon and Gaza after Israel withdrew.

The result? The Lebanon war of 2006 and Gaza operation of 2008-09. They were met with yet another avalanche of opprobrium and calumny by the same international community that had demanded the land-for-peace Israeli withdrawals in the first place. Worse, theU.N. Goldstone report, which essentially criminalized Israel's defensive operation in Gaza while whitewashing the casus belli -- the preceding and unprovoked Hamas rocket war -- effectively de-legitimized any active Israeli defense against its self-declared terror enemies.

(3) Passive defense: Without forward or active defense, Israel is left with but the most passive and benign of all defenses -- a blockade to simply prevent enemy rearmament. Yet, as we speak, this too is headed for international de-legitimation. Even the United States is now moving toward having it abolished.

But, if none of these is permissible, what's left?

Ah, but that's the point. It's the point understood by the blockade-busting flotilla of useful idiots and terror sympathizers, by the Turkish front organization that funded it, by the automatic anti-Israel Third World chorus at the United Nations, and by the supine Europeans who've had quite enough of the Jewish problem.

What's left? Nothing. The whole point of this relentless international campaign is to deprive Israel of any legitimate form of self-defense. Why, just last week, the Obama administration joined the jackals, and reversed four decades of U.S. practice, by signing onto a consensus document that singles out Israel's possession of nuclear weapons -- thus de-legitimizing Israel's very last line of defense: deterrence.

The world is tired of these troublesome Jews, 6 million -- that number again -- hard by the Mediterranean, refusing every invitation to national suicide. For which they are relentlessly demonized, ghettoized and constrained from defending themselves, even as the more committed anti-Zionists -- Iranian in particular -- openly prepare a more final solution.

letters@ charleskrauthammer.com

Comments

[anon]

The offense is painful, too, because the Turkish people have for centuries been hospitable to Jews. Unlike many nations, the Ottoman Empire welcomed Jews who escaped the Spanish Inquisition in 1492. Our diplomats risked their lives to save European Jews from the Nazi threat during World War II and brought them to refuge in Turkey. In recent years, Turkey played a critical role as a peace mediator between Syria and Israel, supported Israel's membership in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and worked tirelessly for the release of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier captured by Hamas in 2006.

This history cannot and will not prevent us from expressing outrage when injustice arises, even if it is committed by a friend. We cannot avert our eyes when the lives of our citizens -- innocents -- are lost during an illegal assault in defense of a blockade that is unfair, inhumane and unsustainable. We cannot stand idly by when actions threaten to set back efforts to bring peace to such a volatile region.

It will be up to Israel to decide how it reconstitutes its standing as a good bilateral partner and responsible member of the international community.

Israel can start by bringing an end to its blockade on Gaza; by ending its inappropriate and disproportionate police actions toward the Palestinian civilians of that land; and by allowing a prompt, independent, impartial, credible and transparent international investigation into the incident. Moreover, Israel owes an apology to the Turkish nation.

The United States should encourage Israel to become a genuine partner for peace in the Middle East.

Krauthhammer and AIPAC are losing the confidence of the american jewish community
which supports Israel but does not support
the use of force against civilians and does
not subscribe to the bibilical claim that
radical religous zealots in Israel have
on the west bank and gaza...Israel made a huge mistake in alienating a friend in the
islamic world..friends don't attack friends

[Jack Treacy]

The Turkey you write about is gone,todays Turkey is no longer a secular government.In 2003 the Islamic governed Turkey denied passageway for American forces through Turkey into Iraq.It was the Turks that allowed the leftist radicals flotilla to use Turkish ports.America, Israel and the world better hope the secular military overthrows the present Turkish government.

[anon]

either way turkey was an ally of Israel
they conducted war games together..turkey
was a bridge to syria necessary for a final
and comprehensive peace agreement and to
other more radical islamic nations...Israel
should have used better judgment even if
you beleive she was correct to protect against the shipment of weapons through gaza
there were a multitude of other less drastic
and less lethal ways to attempt to stop the
flotilla...that would not have subjected Israel to the public relations excoriation
she is now taking and deservedly so...
Bush got in trouble listening to the neocons
of which krauthhammer is a leading spokesman
US national security should be the number
one consideration of America in these
perilous times

[GUS]

The ship should have gone to an Israeli port like it was requested to do. It was only there for one reason, to provoke Israel and it worked. Evryone knows Obama is trying to appease everyone but our friends so the world will take advantage. Ask Neville Chamberlain how well appeasement worked?

[grow up]

The fact remains that religion is the cause of all the trouble in the world. Without the differences between so-called 'only true religions' there would naturally be peace. Nothing left to say "we are right and you are wrong". Stop with this childish belief in dogma and rituals. Religion is only a power and money grab.

[anon]

the issue is the ultimate security of
the state of Israel containing about 4 million jews...surrounded by 40 million
hostile arabs...if you offered Israel in
1967 a pan arab peace, recognition and
trade based on those borders they would
have gladly said yes...now because of the
right wing shaas party and hyper orthodox
religious zealots, the prime minister in
order to continue in office has to make
concessions to their demand to continue
settlements...most Israeli's do not agree
with this policy..so its a real connundrum
that the official government is doing what
only a fraction of its citizens want and
in so doing is totally undermining the
chances for peace with the palestinians which is a distinct possibility if settlement expansion is stopped.and remember
the expansion is based on the biblical
interpretation of eretz yisroel not on
current day political realities

[anon]

A brilliant man and truly great writer. I make it a habit to read his columns every week.

But Mike has no idea what he's talking about and he's still a tool.

[anon]

Tool or not I am entitled to my opinion
and name calling won't change it..those
who name call are totally incapable of
rational discussion...you act like a teenager who hasn't got the ability to
articulate a position..just to regurgitate
what he hears or reads from others

[enoughcrap]

IT'S JUST A MATTER OF TIME TILL ISREAL IS NUKED OFF THE MAP, MOST WILL SAY IT WAS THEIR OWN FAULT, THE IDIOT IN CHIEF WILL REQUEST A STRONGLY WORDED STATEMENT FROM THE U.N NOT TO NUKE IT A SECOND TIME AND THE REST WILL BE SAYING,I TOLD YOU SO, BUT THERE WILL BE NO MORE ISREAL.THE IRANIANS WHO DID THIS WILL BE HAPPY TO BE SLEEPING WITH THE VIRGINS...THIS IS D-DAY...IF THE BIG "O" WAS THE PRESIDENT BACK THAN WE WOULD BE SPEAKING GERMAN AND JAPANESE...WE ARE DOOMED

[sanity]

What would have happened during the USA blockade of CUBA if the Russian ships kept on coming? What would we have done? I think Isreal has the same rights as USA had then. It's time Isreal kicked some butt.