Can Israel survive as a pariah nation?

 our prime minister regularly says that in the last 22 months we have been involved in an existential battle with enemies on seven fronts, referring not only to Hamas in Gaza but also to others on our borders, those more distant, such as Yemen, and, of course, the “head of the snake,” Iran.

No one can argue the fact that his list of our enemies is accurate. However, I believe our government needs to look at these last 22 months as us having fought a battle on just two fronts. The first is the existential battle for survival with enemies near and far. Most analysts would admit that on that front we have been incredibly successful having (a) defanged Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon; (b) facilitated the fall of the Assad regime in Syria; (c) destroyed much of the Houthis’ military capabilities in Yemen as well as (d) having eliminated Iran’s defensive capability while simultaneously killing off much of its military and technology leadership. Score a big win for Israel.

However, the second front, the front that represents Israel’s image in the world, that battle has been an unmitigated failure regardless of which measurements are used to evaluate that effort. An honest assessment leads only to the conclusion that we are well on the road to becoming a pariah nation, similar to how South Africa was seen during the apartheid period. For sure, we are not guilty of apartheid, but once a country becomes a pariah nation, it almost doesn’t matter what the core problem is that made this happen.

After two years of war

In our case, we are smart enough to know how we got here.

First, the events of October 7 popped the cork on the pent-up anti-Israel and antisemitic intentions of NGOs worldwide who have been demeaning our existence for years. Funded primarily by bad actors in some of the same countries who claim to be working on finding an equitable path to peace for us and the Palestinians, their volunteer “troops” were at the ready, the protest signs were printed, the tents for the university encampments were ordered, and the professionally trained leadership was just waiting for the proper catalyst to cause chaos.

October 7 was, for them, the firecracker that set the whole house ablaze. Sadly, even with our sophisticated intelligence network, we are not ready to respond, even today.

Secondly, our political echelon, reflecting the attitude of too many of our leaders, simply does not believe in allocating the same resources for the information battle that we authorize for our defense activity. The budget for influencing the public sphere is minuscule in comparison to the military budget, and the results, or lack thereof, reflect that mentality.

A look at the state’s 2024 budget tells the whole story. In a budget of NIS 513.7 billion, NIS 64.4b. (12.5%) was for defense, while the combined budget of the Prime Minister’s Office (which handles public relations for Israel) and the Foreign Ministry was NIS 4.6b. (8/10 of 1%). Is it any wonder that our hasbara efforts are failing us?

AND FOR those who say it does not matter how much we spend, it will not change the minds of those who hate us; that is probably a true statement. But not funding the effort leaves the playing field to our enemies and supplies the fuel needed by them, and even some of our friends, to make us a pariah nation.

Finally, by dismissing the actions of even our friends who have turned against us as irrelevant, we should not be surprised if they react accordingly. We need to understand that they, too, have constituencies they must answer to, and often doing so is not beneficial to us.

The most recent case of Australia canceling the visa of MK Simcha Rothman as he was preparing to travel there is a case in point. Earlier in the week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commented on X/Twitter that: “History will remember [Anthony] Albanese for what he is: A weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia’s Jews.” Netanyahu was criticizing the Australian prime minister for his decision to recognize a Palestinian state. Given that type of rhetoric coming from us, I am not sure why we are surprised by, or upset at, Australia’s action against Rothman. Diplomacy is, after all, a two-way street.

Unless we are prepared to recognize the fact that the public relations war is every bit as important as our military efforts in Gaza and other places, we will continue to see our worldwide image deteriorate. Our diplomats will find doors closed to them, our citizen tourists will continue to be attacked as they travel the world, Israel will be further vilified in international forums, sovereign wealth funds will withdraw their investments in our companies, institutional investors will give second thought to investing here, and tourism will continue to decrease.

While I do not doubt that, in the long run, Israel will survive. As a believer, I am confident that the good Lord wants us here and will continue to protect us. Nevertheless, I am less confident that we will be able to enjoy the quality of life that was the norm just a few years ago and less sure that some of our best and brightest will not continue to leave for more attractive climes.

We have the stamina, the motivation, and the desire to repel our enemies and prevail. The question is, do we have what it takes to live as a pariah nation in this 21st-century world? Of that, I am less sure.

Washington’s WorldData.Inc maintains a running list of pariah states, and we are already on its current roster of 13 countries: Afghanistan, Belarus, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Israel, Kosovo, Myanmar, North Korea, Russia, Sudan, Syria, Uzbekistan, and Zimbabwe. This is a club of which we need not be a member and from which we can easily resign. We should do so today while we still have the wherewithal to do so.