Betrayal?

I took a very much needed three days off to celebrate the Shavuot holiday, that went directly into Shabbat. Two days with no internet, no newspaper, no news bulletins. When I left on Thursday, President Trump had been declaring that he had been ready to attack Iran, but pulled back at the behest of the Gulf States (or his good friends in Pakistan?). So, I really even thought that it was a bit reckless for me to leave home, and wondered if I would wind up in the shelter of the hotel escaping sirens and bombings. I even considered canceling.

Surprise (not!) nothing happened. Instead, I returned to the news of the wonderful “breakthrough” which President Trump can now declare as a bloodless victory over Iran. What, wait? They still control the Strait. They still have nuclear material and centrifuges to enrich uranium. They are still producing ballistic missiles.

Israel, our news sources here are telling us, was not a party to these “negotiations” with Turkey, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, etc. concerning Iran. We were America’s only ally in the war, but were not part of these negotiations. We were the ones that took out Khamenei and the rest of them, and by G-d, we could have finished this war six months ago if the U.S. hadn’t joined and started running the show which has been delay, after delay, after delay. President Trump says it’s going to be a good deal, because he has never made a bad deal. But as I recall, he did go bankrupt a few times over his deals with the casinos in New Jersey….

But this deal is more than a bankruptcy. This deal is dangerous for the continued existence of the State of Israel. 

Since we are not being told everything, it is of course hard to judge. But some of our closest American friends – who are also some of Trump’s closest friends and allies – are also alarmed.

Senator Ted Cruz:

“I am deeply concerned about what we are hearing about an Iran “deal” being pushed by some voices in the administration. President Trump’s decision to strike Iran was the most consequential decision of his second term. He was right to do so, and we achieved extraordinary military results – including destroying all of their missiles and drones and sinking their entire navy.

If the result of all that is to be an Iranian regime – still run by Islamists who chant “death to America” – now receiving billions of dollars, being able to enrich uranium and develop nuclear weapons, and having effective control over the Strait of Hormuz, then that outcome would be a disastrous mistake. The details are still coming out – and I pray the early reports are wrong – but the fact that Biden’s Rob Malley is praising the deal is not encouraging.”

And from our friend Marco Rubio:

“Some progress has been made. Significant progress, but not final progress. I don’t want to downplay it, but it’s important for me to clarify that there is still work to be done.

It is possible that in the coming hours the world will receive good news, at least regarding the Strait of Hormuz, and about a process that will ultimately lead us to the place where the president wants us to be.

“The idea that this president would agree to an agreement that would ultimately strengthen Iran in terms of its nuclear ambitions is absurd. It simply will not happen.

The Iranians do not own the Strait of Hormuz. It is an international shipping lane.

What they are doing now is threatening to destroy commercial vessels using an international shipping lane. If we allow this to become the norm, we will set a dangerous precedent that could be applied in many other places around the world.”

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham:

“If it is perceived in the region that a deal with Iran allows the regime to survive and become more powerful over time, we will have poured gasoline on the conflicts in Lebanon and Iraq. A deal that is perceived to allow Iran to survive and possess the ability to control the Strait in the future will put Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Shia militias in Iran on steroids.”

Israel Today’s Yossi Aloni put it this way:

“At the start of the war, the impression was that Washington and Jerusalem were acting almost as one toward Tehran. Now, however, a deep strategic rift seems to be opening between the two allies –  a rift that could reshape the balance of power in the Middle East.”

Netanyahu, who is also going to be facing a furious electorate if this happens, is either privy to information we of the lowly public don’t have access to, or he is trying to calm things down even though reportedly “his head was on fire” only last week when he came off a phone call with President Trump. News programs quoted Trump as saying: “Netanyahu will do whatever I tell him to.”

A senior Israeli official, no doubt acting as a Netanyahu mouthpiece, said the following today.

“In a conversation last night with President Trump, the Prime Minister emphasized that Israel will maintain freedom of action against threats in all arenas, including Lebanon, and President Trump reiterated his support for this principle.

President Trump clarified that he will stand firm in the negotiations on his consistent demand for the dismantling of the Iranian nuclear program and the removal of all enriched uranium from its territory, and that he will not sign a final agreement without these conditions being met. The Prime Minister again expressed his appreciation to President Trump for his longstanding and exceptional commitment to Israel’s security.” 

Blah, blah. We’ve hear all this before, right before Trump declared ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon and sent American soldiers to supervise the IDF (a close relative of mine is serving on the joint IDF-American base and is disgusted).

Read between the lines. Trump won’t sign a “final agreement without these conditions being met.” But an interim agreement that puts our soldiers fighting Hezbollah in danger in Lebanon, suffering daily deaths in IDF ranks? That he didn’t promise not to do.

From Iran’s point of view, it is negotiating with the Pakistani mediator, not the Americans, and certainly not Israel. As quoted in Al Jazeerah:

“We have reached a memorandum of understanding with the Pakistani mediator, and are now awaiting the American response.

The memorandum of understanding includes ending the war, lifting the blockade, opening the Strait of Hormuz, and the withdrawal of American forces from the combat zone.

The memorandum of understanding does not include the nuclear issues, because they are complex and require sufficient time for negotiations.

Thirty days after the agreement, it will be possible to open a channel for negotiations on the nuclear issue.”

Thirty days! After the Americans have packed up and left!

I would like to say that from the perspective of an Israeli, President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu can have as many conversations as they like, but the people of Israel will not cooperate with our own dismantling. We have suffered bombings, sleepless nights with our babies in shelters, endless funerals of our finest. If after all we have sacrificed, America doesn’t have the guts to finish this war and meet its objectives, then I say this: We started it alone, and we can finish it alone, because for all its fire-power, the Americans seem deeply confused about their objectives, and inconsistent in the way they are pursuing their goals in Iran.

Americans think they are smart. But they are not used to negotiating with psychopathic Islamic fanatics who lie and change the price in the suk every five minutes. It is my belief that without American interference, Israel would have destroyed Hamas, debilitated Hezbollah, and destroyed the Iranian ability to pursue its murderous goals last January. All these ceasefires have done is given them a chance to rebuild, reposition, and gather their murderous forces. Just the fact that Trump is negotiating with them is their victory.

I hope I’m wrong about Trump’s Iranian deal. And if I am, I’ll be the first to acknowledge that and apologize. But if I’m not, it will be the greatest betrayal we’ve ever experienced.

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