by Dan Schueftan
Against the American failure to combat terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan, Israel stands out as the country that not only manages to battle constant threats by terrorist groups but also thrives.
The United States has recently asked Israel for an explanation why it declared six Palestinian organizations that claimed to be human rights groups as terrorist entities. The incident does not seem to have caused a serious clash with the ally, nevertheless, we must make sure that the matter does not exacerbate.
Palestinian organizations that support violence and seek to delegitimize the Jewish state receive political backing and financial support from European governments and foundations under the guise of promoting human rights.
Even those members who do not personally fire rockets or take up guns enable terrorism: they raise funds for such attacks, pay terrorists and their families, recruit new members and spread propaganda in the Palestinian society fueling violence and perpetuating destruction and distress in the community.
They recite ideas that are foreign to their values to deceive Americans, Europeans, and even a handful of Israelis, who are also deceiving themselves.
They have no difficulty behaving so, for extremists and purists with their twisted values have taken over most of these organizations and have also seized control over the international discourse on human rights.
These groups are funded mostly by Europe, however, Israel's terrorism countermeasures can only be endangered by the US administration. Jerusalem relies on Washington in many ways, and must therefore prove to the administration that its move does not undermine legitimate efforts to promote human welfare.
Convincing "progressives" and extreme anti-Israel elements in the media and academia would be a waste of time. However, the administration and mainstream American society are worth convincing. With some of them, we should even share intelligence.
The Biden administration is critical of Israel, but it is not obsessed with the Jewish state as much as former US President Barack Obama was. He caused great damage to the region: he refrained from backing the 2009 Iranian green movement, played a key role in the ouster of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in the country, and gave a cold shoulder to Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, who saved the Middle East from the radicals.
This disastrous approach – that goes back to the presidency of Jimmy Carter – focuses on pressuring pro-US regimes in a way that, ironically, serves anti-Western extremists. It turns a blind eye to the differences between pluralistic societies and the mainstream Arab society and falsely assumes that such pressure will promote pluralistic and democratic values in the Arab public and politics as well.
However, in Arab societies, the choice is between pro-American authoritarian regimes that strive for regional stability and worse yet, radical repressive regimes that threaten to drag the Middle East into a destructive conflict.
The proponents of liberalism and pluralism in the Arab society are a brave minority. The radicals – former Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, or Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei – cannot be turned into moderates.
They can only be confronted by US-backed authoritarian rulers, like el-Sissi, King Hussein of Jordan, and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman. The real choice is between "far from perfect" or "catastrophic."
The Palestinians and Hezbollah's terrorism – spearheaded by Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar – can only be combated by an Israeli approach that combines determination, deterrence, wariness, and firmness along with the restraints of an open society and democratic state.
Against the American failure to combat terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan, which ended in an escape, Israel stands out as the country that managed to live and prosper for generations while battling constant threats from terrorist groups. And it had no option to flee. Stripping the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine of its resources is tantamount to this.
Dan Schueftan
Source: https://www.israelhayom.com/opinions/human-rights-groups-in-service-of-terrorism/
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