The Russian incursion of Ukraine reminds us of the horrifying possibility of a superpower awakening one morning and attacking its innocent neighboring country, claiming it has no right to exist. The question is whether the systems put in place after World War II to prevent precisely such attacks will manage to quickly brings this conflict to an end.
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The Ukrainian people are on their own. Since the country is not part of NATO, the alliance will not come to its aid. Nor will any other nation endanger its people to save Ukraine. The "breadbasket of Europe" now stands alone against a global superpower, whose leaders act with paranoia in a quest to restore the Soviet Union.
Can the nonviolent sanctions imposed on Russia by the West cause President Vladimir Putin to change course? Imposing sanctions is not easy, because, given the level of dependence in modern times of one country on another, every punishment will inevitably include some sort of self-punishment. The level of coordination between the United States and the European Union, and within the entire democratic-liberal bloc, will show whether the ingenious tool created in the late 1940s is still effective today.
The war will end one way or another, but what it has already done is reminded the international community of the importance of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Most Eastern European countries joined the military alliance as part of conclusions made after WWII. When rumors surfaced of a possibility of Ukraine joining NATO too, Putin interpreted it as a threat to his country.
As for Israel, the incursion is a possibility to upgrade our position in NATO. The 30 member countries are obligated to protect if one of theirs is attacked. Israel is not a member of NATO, and when it officially applied to become one in 1957, it was unanimously rejected.
Since the 1993 Oslo Accords, however, the ties between Israel and the alliance have been improving institutionally: in 1995, Jerusalem was invited to join the Mediterranean Dialogue, a forum of cooperation between NATO and seven countries of the Mediterranean; in 2002, the Israel Defense Forces was for the first time for a joint exercise with NATO; in 2016, NATO allowed Israel to open diplomatic missions to its headquarters in Brussels; and two years later, in 2018, the IDF participated for the first time in NATO's large-scale international drill in Eastern Europe.
It was Turkey that delayed further rapprochement, after the Mavi Marmara affair. It prevented Israel from having a permanent naval presence in the Mediterranean and participating as an observer in the discussions of NATO's broader forum. It was only after the matter was settled vis-à-vis Turkey that Ankara lifted its veto.
Being a NATO member carries a series of advantages in security coordination, intelligence, and arms sales. On its way to seeking full NATO membership, Israel should also negotiate to become an enhanced opportunities partner. Given that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has recently begun courting Israel, he is unlikely to veto the move. Israel must hurry.
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