Operation Gideon’s Chariots, the newest stage in Israel’s engagement in Gaza since the horrific massacre perpetrated by Hamas on October 7, 2023, has not been well received by many leaders around the globe.
While many world leaders will always be quick to condemn Israel regardless of whether Israel’s actions are justified, this time the numbers are staggering.
By now, it is clearly evident that there is a long list of leaders and their countrymen and women who simply despise the Jewish state for what it stands for. It is evident that these leaders believe – mistakenly believe – that the world would be a better place if Israel no longer existed. If it were to be obliterated.
They are wrong. But there is no convincing them otherwise.
Israel haters
Haters of Israel think that everything it does is wrong and evil. They suffer from Israel derangement syndrome – not dissimilar to Trump derangement syndrome. The looming problem now is that other countries, which have long stood by Israel and supported it, are now condemning it.
That group, composed of countries that recognize Israel’s contributions to the world, is now raising its collective voice and condemning Israel because it is their openly expressed opinion that the Jewish state oppresses Palestinians and that it must sacrifice in order to rectify the current injustice. No mention, of course, of the injustice perpetrated upon Israel.
And then there is a third group. A group composed of world leaders who mistakenly believe that Israel can easily solve the Palestinian issue. They falsely think that Israel controls all Palestinian land. That Israel needs only to give Palestinians more land, or even all their land, and everyone will be happy.
Of course, there are still a handful of countries that care about Israel and its well-being. There are a few nations that are carefully balancing their attitudes toward Israel and the Palestinians, and even fewer that steadfastly support Israel. The number of nations in these groups is, however, rapidly declining.
Catch-22
The Catch-22 is that no matter what Israel does, no matter what decisions it makes, or actions it does or does not take, Israel will be condemned on the world stage. Just look at this incomplete list of those countries whose leaders have officially, publicly condemned Israel: The Vatican, Indonesia, Bolivia, Chile, Spain, Algeria, Ireland, Sweden, Norway, Turkey, Pakistan, Yemen, Oman, Malaysia, Iceland, Egypt, the African Union, Belize, Brazil, Columbia, Cuba, Iraq, Iran, Morocco, the Maldives, Qatar, Russia, Syria, South Africa, Venezuela, Luxembourg, and Slovenia. And that’s just a partial list.
I’ve yet to elaborate on the countries Israel has long considered her friends. Here are a few: France, Great Britain, and Canada issued a joint statement chastising and threatening Israel, announcing that: “We will not hesitate to take further action, including targeted sanctions.”
On May 7, a joint European statement reprimanding Israel was also issued. It reads: “We, the Foreign Ministers of Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, Slovenia, and Spain, express our grave concern about the reported Israeli plans to expand its military operations in Gaza and to establish a prolonged Israeli presence in the Strip. This would mean crossing yet another line, marking a dangerous new escalation and jeopardizing any prospects of a viable two-state [solution].”
If Israel takes action against Hamas, it is condemned. But if it does not act against Hamas, the enemy that has sworn to destroy the Jewish state will fester and grow, and another October 7 will inevitably occur. A classic, diplomatic Catch-22.
The obvious decision
Now, there are voices saying that if world condemnation is inevitable, then the decision is obvious. Israel must act. They say there is no Catch-22 – the only question is how decisively Israel should act.
What they do not want to understand is that strong actions against Hamas by Israel will have strong ripple effects and significant consequences. That it will result in more vociferous snubbing of Israel worldwide.
Joseph Heller, in his spectacular 1961 work Catch-22, coined this new expression as a way of describing situations in which there is no right way – that there is a situational paradox where there is no good answer. In his novel, Heller writes that the best example of a Catch-22 is evidenced when insane pilots can be grounded – but if a pilot requests to be grounded, that proves that the pilot is sane and hence, will not be grounded.
Heller calls it Catch-22; I prefer to call these situations a “choiceless choice.” A choice must be made, but no choice is without terrible consequences.
It was best depicted in William Styron’s 1979 book and later his movie, Sophie’s Choice, starring Meryl Streep, for which she won an Academy Award for Best Actress. Sophie Zawistowska, a Holocaust survivor, is tortured by a decision she made in Auschwitz, where she was forced to choose between her two sons – the son who would live and the son who would die.
Israel confronts a similar dilemma. The ripple effect of the IDF’s operation in Gaza is felt around the world. Jew haters are using Israel’s response to Hamas’s massacre as an excuse to spew their evil vitriol. Jews suffer.
Houthis shoot missiles and rockets toward Israel, and one lands close to Ben-Gurion Airport. Flights are being canceled out of fear, and also because the Israeli government has yet to lend insurance guarantees to foreign airline companies. They are falling like dominoes, toppling one after the other.
Bad for tourism
British Air, Ryanair, the Lufthansa Group (which includes Austrian Air and Brussels Air), Discover Air, Eurowings, ITA Air, Swiss Air, International Air, Air France, Transavia Air, Air Canada, Japan’s Nippon Air, and Air Europa from Spain are no longer flying in or out of Israel.
The US airlines United and Delta have suspended their flights after just resuming them. It might be easier to list the very few airlines that are still flying to Israel. But because that list is so short, the money-making tourist industry will suffer badly this summer.
It is not just about the airlines. The summer is traditionally a huge tourist season in Israel. Tourists spend money. Their purchases drive a significant percentage of the economy. That will all be lost.
Attacking Hamas and ripping them out at the root is what needs to be done. It comes with a heavy price tag. But it is the right thing to do.
The writer is a columnist and a social and political commentator. Watch his TV show Thinking Out Loud on JBS.