An insightful piece by Gideon Levy—undoubtedly the best Israeli journalist versed in domestic politics and U.S. support for Israel—is worth reading in its entirety, as it foreshadows the future of this endless conflict with its massacres in Gaza, Lebanon, and elsewhere. Clearly, this rift between the two leaders is bound to have dramatic consequences for Israel, which, without U.S. support, cannot carry out its conquests and wars. This is all the more true given that the Europeans—whose courage is not exactly their strongest virtue—will fall in line, and thus the country’s situation will be dire on every front, including the economic one. Trump’s recent attack on Meloni—and especially her direct, uppercut-like response that left him speechless—will go down in history as the kind of response that curbs the aggressive behavior of the “king” of the U.S. One of the best examples of this situation is that billionaires who have supported Trump and Israel for ages—such as Mrs. Adelson, the widow of a Las Vegas magnate and a fanatically pro-Israel advocate —“our country for 2,000 years and Jerusalem the eternal capital of the Jews”—has published a scathing letter against her (former) friend Trump, signaling the beginning of the end of the unwavering support from U.S. Jewish billionaires (2).
This text is illuminating because it comes from a man who deeply loves his country and, at the same time, possesses a moral compass so sorely lacking in their politicians. He is both glad that this is finally happening—and that Israel will have to wake up from its dreams of conquest and domination—but he knows the price will be heavy, fully aware that no peace in the region is possible as long as U.S. support for Israel remains unwavering.
“This is what a dream fulfilled looks like: Nothing short of a nightmare
Sometimes dreams do come true. For years, I and other dinosaurs dreamed about internation al pressure and sanctions as the last way out of the mess. I knew that Israelis would never wake up one morning and say, let’s put an end to all this to the occupation, to apartheid, to controlling another people -because it’s ugly. I knew it simply wouldn’t hap pen. I thought that what worked wonders against the first apartheid regime, the one in South Africa-sanctions, ostracism and international boycotts that led to its downfall would also work well against the second apartheid regime, the one practiced in Israel. I also knew that the key to any change in the international community’s attitude to Israel lay in Washington. Without it, there could be no effective international pressure on Israel. I thought about an enlightened and courageous American president, such as Barack Obama, who would put an end to the corrupting and distorted relations between his coun-try and Israel. I dreamed about the moment in which Israelis would be forced to recognize that it was im possible to continue thisway, with unbelievable arrogance toward the United States and with blatant dis regard of the entire world, without paying a price. That moment is now dawning. Not a liberal president, but rather the most benighted of all American presidents is preaching morality to Israel as if he were René Cassin, the French Jewish jurist who co-authored the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The vice president, who is more conservative than the commander-in chief, is issuing unprecedented warnings. Their points are self-evident, their logic sound: There’s no need to flatten a whole building because a Hezbollah militant might be inside; it’s not smart to assail the U.S. president, Israel’s last friend in the world; Syria would do a better job in Lebanon than Israel; two-thirds of the arms and ammunition protecting Israel are made in and paid for by the U.S.: the voice of reason from Washington. It’s reasonable to assume that these harsh words will not remain in the realm of rhetoric; they will be followed by actions. An administration that is so focused on itself and its honour will not wipe the
spittle from its face and say it’s raining. Along with the sense of bitterness, justified or not, over Israel having pushed the superpower into a failed war, a new dawn will rise on relations between the two countries – a cold, cloudy morning. Nor will the U.S. elections change things. There will no longer be a “friend of Israel” in the White House, someone who thinks Israel must be given everything, unconditionally.
It’s impossible to rejoice over this. On the one hand, this is the last chance for a correction. On the other hand, it is a severe blow to Israel and Israelis. The greatest danger to the state, greater than any Iranian threat, is taking shape before our astonished eyes. When Washington gives the signal, Europe will join in eagerly as well. They are only waiting for the sign. It’s hard to imagine how Israel can manage without the world. The world will loathe it, as it did other parish states. This is frightening and it will be painful. But this is our last hope.
Therefore, one must be grateful to U.S. President Donald Trump for ex-changing the hollow point less words uttered by all his liberal predecessors and for turning to a revolutionary change of policy. No more insane aid with no conditions, but a condition attached to every dollar and every missile. Behave or pay the price. You can no longer do as you please: assassinate, abuse, violate national sovereignty and international law with impunity. In such an atmosphere, Israel will no longer be able to continue to thumb its nose at the international community, for which there is no more unifying issue than opposition to the occupation.
Whether it wants to or not, Israel will have to take this into consideration. The first cracks have al-ready appeared, and how a deal made with Iran while entirely disregarding Israel, which for years dis-regarded the United States and the entire world. This is only the beginning: A world that was horrified by what Israel did in the Gaza Strip will want a reckoning. A genocidal state can no longer be the darling of the Western world. A state whose citizens carry out pogroms daily, with the cooperation of its military, will not be a part of the family of nations. The dream is a starting to come true. It will be a nightmare.”
Gideon Lévy, Journalist – Haaretz-
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