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"When I was a child in Ukraine during Christmas, my father would lock our windows to protect us from Cossacks who got drunk and attacked Jews. They beat Jews to death in the street for amusement. My father hid us in the basement in silence, hoping the murderers would pass by. My father's face, Henry, I will never forget that look. All he wanted was to protect his children. I am not that little girl hiding in the basement anymore... you must choose Henry, stand with me or I will create (from the surrounded Third Army) an army of orphans and widows... which side are you on?" (From a phone conversation between Prime Minister Golda Meir and US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in the film "Golda" directed by Guy Nattiv and starring Helen Mirren).
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In the last decade, the UN General Assembly has voted 9 times against Iran, 10 times against North Korea, 12 times against Syria, and 25 times against Russia. China, Qatar, Libya, Turkey, Zimbabwe and other countries that abuse their citizens have not received even one condemnation. During the same period, the UN voted against Israel 170 times.
About 3,300 years ago, a prophet from among the nations, Balaam son of Beor, one of the first antisemites in history, stood at a moment of truth when observing the people of Israel and admitted: "For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him; lo, it is a people that shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations." That ancient prophet saw far into the future, all the way to the UN building in our time.
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Where was Ukraine in this theater of the absurd? In 122 resolutions, it voted in favor – meaning against Israel, in 41 resolutions it abstained, and in the rest it did not participate. Not even once did it stand with us. In the last year and a half, in our time of crisis, the maximum it did was to abstain on certain resolutions, but it voted against our settlements in Samaria and Judea, against our sovereignty in the Golan Heights, and in favor of strengthening UNRWA, whose employees participated in the massacre. It also voted in favor of an unconditional ceasefire in Gaza, a resolution that did not mention Hamas and did not condemn the massacre.
Why, when Ukraine itself is suffering from war? Simple: these were its interests. So what's new? Well, Israel decided to vote according to its own interests. In this case, we voted with the US, which always stands by us, especially at the UN. It may also be that in the near term this will strengthen trust between the US and Russia, distance Russia from Iran, and bring the end of the war with Ukraine closer. Perhaps.
Let's hope this marks a historic trend change, sending a message to our friends around the world: if you seek our support, we expect reciprocal behavior. It's important to maintain a "discourse of reciprocity" with every country with which we have diplomatic relations, meaning we will not accept a situation where Israel gives and gives, and in return receives the cold shoulder in the international arena. From this perspective, even abstention from voting on a despicable resolution against us will be considered a hostile action.
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After Operation Guardian of the Walls (May 2021), the UN Human Rights Council sought to establish a committee to investigate "war crimes" during the operation. The 4,000 rockets that the barbarians fired to kill us were not mentioned in the pages of the resolution. It was clear that the committee's purpose was to harm Israel and the legitimacy of its fight against terrorism.
I contacted senior officials in the Italian government and said that even if Italy does not vote in favor of Israel in UN institutions (a disgrace I have dealt with in the past), this time it must vote against this resolution, as they know the truth (they received comprehensive information about the operation). I said the resolution was intended to tie Israel's hands from fighting against this evil, whose sole purpose is the murder of Jews. The officials said they would do their best. I had no expectations. Indeed, Italy did what it excelled at: it did not decide. It abstained.
I went to the media and announced that the meaning of abstaining from voting against this moral disgrace was that, from Italy's perspective, Israel and Hamas are one and the same. I said that Jews distinguish between light and darkness every Saturday night and connect this with human intelligence. And if Italy does not distinguish between a democratic, life-seeking state and a murderous terrorist organization that uses its subjects as human shields – we have a deep problem with it.
I noted that Italy's position toward Israel was described as early as the 1300s by Dante Alighieri in his great work "The Divine Comedy." The work tells of the poet's journey to the afterworld. In the first part ("Inferno"), he seeks to enter hell but is refused because only the souls of the dead can enter, not living people. Meanwhile, he sees a group of souls that is also refused. Who are these unfortunates, who are not worthy even of hell? He asks his guide, the Roman poet Virgil, who answers: these are souls who lived their lives "without infamy and without praise," who in their lives did not do good deeds worthy of praise nor bad deeds worthy of blame, and therefore there is no point in wasting time on them. In short, I concluded my remarks, they chose to abstain.
The next step should have been for our Foreign Ministry to respond. For example, to summon the Italian ambassador to the country and demand explanations. This did not happen. We have learned to accept the disgrace. In our consciousness, we are still excited by the mere existence of relations with countries, and therefore we concede even when our interests are harmed, just so we don't anger the feudal lord.
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Israel remained silent when Brazil rejected the appointment of Danny Dayan as ambassador, when Turkey rejected the appointment of Ehud Toledano, and when Italy opposed the appointment of Benny Kashriel. Why did we move on? Countries have become accustomed to Israel humbly accepting their opposition and giving in, without any cost on their part. In Kashriel's case, I am convinced that if Israel had insisted, the appointment would have been approved
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Israel needs to think as a regional power that has valuable assets to contribute to its friends, a contribution that should not be taken for granted, certainly in light of hostile behavior. The discourse of reciprocity should encompass all branches of government in a coordinated response. There is a scale of responses, starting with a demand for clarification, continuing with delays in military deals or intelligence cooperation, all the way to recalling an ambassador for consultation in the country, and more. We will tell our friends around the world: you want support, assistance, and good relations? So do we.
The current war is breaking down the rigid thinking not only in security policy but also in foreign policy. The discourse of reciprocity will express a decisive change in the national consciousness, of a confident nation that is a regional power. We no longer hide in the basement out of fear of the feudal lord. Looking at the first 75 years, the historical trend is clear: growth and rise. With God's help, the next 75 years will be even more successful. As Prophet Isaiah (60:3) Prophesized in Jerusalem of the eighth Century BCE: "And nations shall walk by your light, and kings by the brightness of your rising."
