Age of Weakness

As a result of the political leadership’s conduct, reality steadily takes shape: There is a mounting impression of isolation and a reduction in Israel’s international power.

Meteorologists around the world made an error: A hurricane has not swept over the East Coast of the United States. It hit here. And contrary to the tropical storm affecting America, our political tornado does not disappoint the pessimists. As far as Israel is concerned, a number of developments sometimes linked clearly and sometimes invisibly are adding to the uneasy international situation. A series of recent news reports is knocking Jerusalem over like a flock of black crows.

The Turks, faithful to their reputation, are fulfilling all their threats and bringing about a practical severance of their relationship with Israel. The humiliation in Istanbul was intended to let the Israeli government know that even the economic and tourist considerations are no longer standing in Ankara’s way. In parallel, now the Turks are openly speaking of the possibility of physical confrontation between the two countries around the gas drilling by Israeli companies, and they have no problem with threatening a member of the European Union, Cyprus, en route.

This crisis alone, with a senior NATO member and regional power, is certainly enough trouble. However, it adds up to a long line of events, some in terms of disgraceful anecdotes and others likely to be considered strategic changes. All together, they make up a consistent and depressing picture of fragility and erosion of the status of Israel. When quotations are leaked from within the White House, from the then-American Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who told President Obama that Benjamin Netanyahu is “not only ungrateful, but also endangering his country,”* this signal is received in our troubled neighborhood.

The Palestinians gather what it means, and so do the Turks and the Egyptians. When Israel fails to present a clear alternative to the initiative of the Palestinian state, and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra is unable to give a concert in London any longer, the reality is steadily consolidating. There is an impression of growing isolation, a backing off of Israel’s international power: an age of weakness.

Smart Politics of the Turks

There’s no sense to engage with lousy Turkish criticism or the breach that took place with regard to the leaks from the White House. The floor may be crooked and the judge a jerk, but the international system is not a game of jackstraws. It appreciates those who know how to create alliances and transmit power and boos those who are perceived as passive, problematic and unreliable.

On the same day when Turkey announced the downgrading of relations with Israel and sanctions, it also gave an announcement of critical importance about installing radar systems on its territory designated to monitor Iran’s capabilities. That was Ankara’s way of saying to Washington and Europe: We do not disconnect ourselves from the West, only from Israel. It was a smart politics (and saddening, from our vantage point).

Turkey’s ability to bring about the current crisis would be very limited, were Israel and the Palestinians running intensive negotiations. It is also true the other way round: Obama’s United States would more easily restrain the scope of Palestinian activity as the U.N. resolution approaches, were Israel’s relations in the region better and more stable. All the failures, misunderstandings and clashes ultimately accumulate into a critical situation. That began from seating the Turkish ambassador on a low stool in the aftermath of a silly TV show and eventually resulted in a suspension of security ties.

The Palestinians may be guilty of not resuming the negotiations and the Turks of harsh words, but for Israel, the question is no longer about guilt: It’s about responsibility. At the moment, our chieftains are conducting a street fight with the American president, the Turkish prime minister and most of the international community. This is how Israel arrives to the showdown in the U.N. versus the Palestinians: while its friends are tired of its government’s conduct and its adversaries feel strengthened.

On the other hand, you can take a sigh of relief: the Information [and Diaspora] Ministry already informed that it would erect a “dialog tent” in front of the U.N. headquarters at the time of the vote. Although tents are a good thing and recommended this summer, it’s highly doubtful if the Israeli government should start erecting them in New York.

*Editor’s note: This quote cannot be attributed to Robert Gates. It is a paraphrase of Gates’ words found in the following article: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-06/robert-gates-says-israel-is-an-ungrateful-ally-jeffrey-goldberg.html

Translator’s note: The Hebrew text in white on the picture says “diplomatic crisis.”