The Skunks at Israel’s Birthday Party

Israelis are now celebrating 75 years of independence – 75 years of self-determination for the Jewish people in part of their ancient homeland which for centuries was ruled by foreign empires. There are not many nations that, as the late Charles Krauthammer used to point out, are “living in the same land, worshipping the same God, and speaking the same language as did their ancestors 3,000 years ago.” But not everyone is celebrating. Islamic Jihad — a terrorist organization funded, armed, and instructed by the Islamic Republic of Iran — recently fired hundreds of missiles at Israel from Gaza, a territory from which Israelis withdrew in 2005. Israelis retaliated with precision strikes targeting Islamic Jihad leaders. For the moment, a ceasefire is in effect. On May 15, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas delivered a “Nakba Day” speech at the U.N. General Assembly. Nakba is Arabic for “catastrophe” which is how he and other enemies of Israel regard Israel’s birth. Abbas said that the U.S. and Britain are to be “blamed” for creating Israel in order to get rid of their Jews, and he claimed that despite Israel’s efforts to excavate under the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which is also the site of what Jews call the Temple Mount, no historical or archeological evidence has been found proving that Jews were present in Jerusalem in the past. In Washington, Rep. Rashida Tlaib staged her own “Nakba” event with help from Sen. Bernie Sanders. And Foreign Affairs, a prestigious American journal, published a long article that also made no attempt to suggest how peaceful coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians might be achieved. The four authors suggest instead that the root of the conflict is, as Islamic Jihad, Mr. Abbas, and Ms. Tlaib would have it: Israel’s existence. The solution – implied rather than stated – is to rip out that root. The consequences of such a policy – not least for the more than 9 million Israelis – were not explored. Elliott Abrams read the article and responded in Pressure Points, his blog. He joins host Cliff May to discuss. Elliott has served at high levels in several administrations. He is currently a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, which happens to be the publisher of Foreign Affairs.