Conditional Friendships
One can always discern when a potential friendship is really a conditional one.
Michael Kuttner
The clue is when the word ‘IF’ is always attached to some kind of substantial condition.
Currently, there is fevered speculation swirling around the possibility of Saudi Arabia coming in from the cold and openly acknowledging something that has been clearly evident for the last seventy-five years. Jewish sovereignty has been re-established, but three-quarters of a century later, there are still some Arab and Islamic nations which refuse to acknowledge this fact. They prefer to deny reality and prefer instead to either work to eliminate Israel or attach so many “ifs” to any recognition, thus making any sort of friendship unattainable.
A true and genuine friendship should be based on mutual respect, free of unilateral demands and not be conditioned by capitulation to lies.
If one listens to the pronouncements currently emanating from the US State Department and other interested parties, it is abundantly clear that what is being envisaged as far as Saudi/Israel relations are concerned will be yet another mirage in the desert.
It is imperative to ask right from the beginning why Israel is the one and only country in the world that is expected to beg for recognition and, in the process, be bullied into accepting humiliating conditions for the privilege.
Why do our politicians and diplomats remain mute while erstwhile so-called friends help peddle the most outrageous demands on behalf of those who ostensibly want to be our friends?
Why is there a cone of silence over the hypocritical stance and blatantly false claims peddled by some countries that have established “cool” relationships with Israel?
It is claimed that achieving recognition by Saudi Arabia will result in an avalanche of similar gestures from Arab and Islamic nations, which presently shun and hate Israel.
Wishful thinking seems more likely, especially as current trends point more in the direction of chaos and knee-jerk rejectionist reactions.
Thanks to the vacillating vacuum that characterizes the Biden Administration’s policies, Saudi Arabia has now jumped into bed with its supposedly arch-enemy, Iran. What this means is that the Mullah regime, which is dedicated to the destruction of the “Zionist entity”, is now a partner with Saudi Arabia. Taking this fact into consideration and the malign influence other doubtful allies such as China and Russia may have on the Gulf area, the frenetic euphoria generated by all and sundry concerning recognition of Israel would seem to be a hallucination of the highest order.
There is no way that Saudi Arabia will ditch 75 years of hostility and non-recognition of Jewish sovereignty while it is clasped in the embrace of a regime that sponsors terror and exports violence to surrogate agents in other countries. The only way that this could change is in the unlikely assertion of a US-led challenge to Iranian hegemony and regime change.
Taking these realities into account, it is delusional to believe that a Saudi embrace of Israel is imminent or even remotely feasible.
From the heavy-handed hints emanating via the media and State Department, Israel, as part of any so-called deal will be expected to make major gestures to the corrupt PA/PLO/Hamas kleptocracies waiting in the wings to proclaim a Palestinian State.
In the words of Mr. Blinken, “a Saudi deal will require major Israeli concessions.”
To put this into perspective and plain language, what Israel’s so-called existing friends are demanding is that in order for Israel to be recognized and accepted as a legitimate country, it must first of all reward those who, for more than seven decades, have failed to destroy it. This is eerily reminiscent of the disastrous Oslo Accords, whereby Arafat and his murderous gangsters were allowed to return and establish a terrorist entity in Judea and Samaria. At that time, all our hallucinatory leftists and international “experts” predicted the dawn of an age of peace and fraternal love. Well, we all know now what a calamity this series of concessions brought in its wake.
A perfect example of conditional friendship can be seen in the relationship between Israel and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. It has produced a “cold” peace, just short of freezing, where acceptance of Israel has not percolated down to citizens because of officially sanctioned condemnations of almost everything that Israel does. As a condition for continued “recognition”, Jordan demands that Israel sanctifies the Kingdom as the eternal guardian of Islamic and Christian holy sites. In addition, it propagates each and every outrageous claim about Jerusalem trotted out by the fake Palestinians.
Friendship with Egypt is on a slightly warmer level, but here also, the concept of accepting Israel as a legitimate part of the international community has not seeped down to the masses.
In contrast, the relationship between Israel and the Gulf States and Morocco is much more normal because the leaders of those nations openly and demonstrably set an example of openness and tolerance.
Herein lies the reason why there is still a long way to go for others in the Arab and Islamic world to make a move towards normalizing relationships with Israel.
As long as there is a dread of being “outed” for even having a dialogue, there can be no chance of progress. Just look at the uproar that has ensued as a result of Libya’s Foreign Minister actually speaking to Israel’s Foreign Minister. It is this sort of irrational insanity that characterizes Islamic jihadist behaviour.
This is what drives Iranian rejection of Israel’s right to exist.
If Saudi Arabia genuinely wants to establish friendly relationships with the Jewish State, it needs to unshackle itself from the malignant stranglehold exerted by the world’s leading abuser of human rights and sponsor of terror.
It also needs to come out of the closet and openly declare that friendship and recognition cannot be held hostage to the fanatical fantasies of the PLO, PA, Hamas and other assorted groups.
Nobody expects complete agreement on each and every aspect of political policy, but the least one should strive for is a relationship that is honest and open to truthful dialogue.
It also means that others butt out and refrain from inserting demands which will only doom any sort of rapprochement.
Demanding that Israel accede to measures that will harm its security and reward those who murder its citizens is totally unacceptable. Our politicians and diplomats should make this crystal clear at every opportunity. Remaining mute in the hope that Washington and the UN won’t be upset is a stance that has failed more than once in the past.
Why must the world’s only Jewish State beg for recognition and then be forced to humiliate itself in the process?
Finally, anyone who thinks that if Saudi Arabia was ever to recognize Israel, all the other rejectionist Islamic nations would follow, needs to take a reality check.
Many people who hate Jews try to excuse their prejudices by claiming that some of their best friends are Jews.
When it comes to Israel, there are some who say they would love us, but only if we conform to their preconceived prejudices.
Our response should be clear and unambiguous – thanks but no thanks.
Michael Kuttner is a Jewish New Zealander who for many years was actively involved with various communal organisations connected to Judaism and Israel. He now lives in Israel and is J-Wire’s correspondent in the region.
Another brilliant, hard-headed piece by Michael Kuttner, who sees through the tendentious, the irrational, the hypocritical and the phoney of so much of mid-east politics.