By Rabbi Dow Marmur
JERUSALEM — A good way of enjoying living in Israel is to avoid the media. Because reports about Israel’s standing in the world tend to be depressing, the English daily TV now brings five items of good news every Sunday, presumably to cheer up viewers and to encourage them to watch the program. Bad news seems also to belie the experience of daily life which for most Israelis is positive and enjoyable. Even walking the streets in the allegedly tense city of Jerusalem usually inspires calm and serenity.
But as hard as we try, it’s impossible to ignore what’s happening in and around this country. Arguably the most ominous reports come from the leaders of Iran who tell us that they’ve enough missiles to annihilate the Jewish state and that they could restart their nuclear program at will.
They thus confirm the fears expressed by Prime Minister Netanyahu a year ago, when the Iran nuclear deal was struck, and often repeated since, that the agreement was a huge mistake for the free world and potentially perilous for Israel.
Not all Israelis agree. Opponents to the official government line that the prime minister articulates include security experts and spy chiefs who no longer hold office and, therefore, can speak freely. Many are quoted to have said that the deal is very good also for Israel. One of them is Uzi Eilam, the former director-general of the Israeli Atomic Agency.
In addition to quoting retired security and intelligence experts Eilam also cites the present Israeli Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot: “The deal has already removed the most serious danger to Israel’s existence for the foreseeable future, and greatly reduced the threat over the longer term.”
So who’s right, Netanyahu and his entourage or Eitam and his colleagues? Not being in a position to check their sources, I speculate about their motives: Why do people say what they say? Do they speak the truth or are they pursuing their own agendas?
Reading Eilam’s letter sent out by J-Street, the pro-peace left-leaning American-Jewish Israel lobby, do I label it as no more than an expression of his opposition to the government? Does the fact that J-Street, Eitam and many other retired security experts are among the fierce critics of the prime minister and his coalition mean that they’re manipulating facts about Iran?
Or is Mr. Netanyahu’s view the result of his bad relations with President Obama, who staked his reputation on the deal, coupled with the prime minister’s self-image as Mr. Security to assure us that only he knows how to keep the country safe, despite the many critics of his government and the bad publicity he and his wife usually receive at home? Either or both Eilam and Netanyahu could be misleading us. But, on the other hand, at least one of them could be telling the truth.
We must also bear in mind the benefits that Israel has reaped from other Muslim states because of Iran’s hostility to them. For example, Saudi Arabia surreptitiously, Turkey reluctantly and Egypt openly have warmed to Israel and strengthened its position in the region. And Iran’s stooge Hezbollah has suffered too many losses in the Syrian war to constitute much of a threat to Israel at present.
So perhaps after all, a year after the Iran deal. Israel is in a better position now than it was then. If that’s the case, following the news may be wholesome and uplifting.
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Rabbi Marmur is spiritual leader emeritus of Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto. Now residing in Israel, he may be contacted via dow.marmur@sdjewishworld.com. Comments intended for publication in the space below MUST be accompanied by the letter writer’s first and last name and by his/ her city and state of residence (city and country for those outside the United States.)