Israel will always stand alone

In my previous blog post, on the subject of international multilateralism, I asked “Should Israel respond stating her needs in clear actionable language?”. 

My thought, at the time, was “I think perhaps - thought only barely. We are approaching the end and Israel needs US and Arab support.”

I was wrong.

I forgot the one immutable truth when it comes to Israel: Israel will always stand alone.

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The lessons of the Yom Kippur war

During the Yom Kippur War of 1973, Israel was attacked by Egypt and Syria, along with a coalition of various other Arab nations. 

In just the opening weeks of the war, the Israeli air force and ground forces were being overwhelmed by Egyptian military. Israel could fight back against the Syrian front, but Egyptian modernisation (with anti-air missiles and guided anti-tank missiles) were very effective against Israel. Egypt had modernised its military re-armaments following the Six-Day war defeat (off the earlier decade). The war quickly began to taken an extremely alarming toll on Israel. They lost almost all of their tanks and planes.

Then, America announced Operation Nickel Grass to replace the entirety of Israeli military hardware. Israel’s Centurion tanks had turned into M60 tanks; and they were being flown from Missouri to replace Israeli forces. But how would America transport all these supplies across vast distances? They need a point to refuel. 

There was only one European power willing to help Israel by allowing US supply flights across Europe: Portugal. The other European nations refused out of fear of upsetting the Arab OAPEC countries and disturbing Europe’s oil supplies, and ultimately money. According to the NYT: 

However, the Governments of Greece, Turkey, Spain and Italy publicly forbade their territory to American aircraft. Other Governments, including that of Britain, made their positions clear privately. Portugal was under pressure from the United States, the sources asserted, and agreed to use of the Azores base.

What does this teach us?

Israel can never rely on other nations for it’s protection, even when it most needs help.

Israel stands alone, and always will. 

So, it should ignore the feelings of the “international community”, the United Nations, and all these high-sounding institutions and focus on their own security.