A minor political drama occurred at the United Nations two months ago. At the request of Canada and the United States, Israel voted to condemn China for its treatment of Muslim Uyghurs and other minorities – although it often seeks not to antagonize Beijing, it's major trading partner.
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The move was led by the Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations Gilad Erdan, also due to the fact that China had shortly before voted in favor of a UN probe of alleged war crimes committed by Israel during Operation Guardian of the Walls.
China vowed revenge and last week, it delivered. Beijing tried to expand the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, which would undermine Israeli interests, a move that Erdan and the UN delegation managed to halt.
In any other normal situation, nobody would have paid too much attention to such a quarrel between Israel and China at the UN. But, unfortunately, these are not normal times. Radical Islamists have taken over a vast area of Asia, starting with Afghanistan and will move on to Iran, Iraq, Syria and then Lebanon.
The Taliban and the ayatollahs will quickly return to cooperation, mostly due to support from Beijing. Its government has already expressed support for the Taliban and promised them an economic partnership. As for Iran, China has long signed a $400 billion investment agreement with the Islamic republic.
To make matters worse, the US administration has not only failed in Afghanistan, but in Iran as well. Eight months after President Joe Biden took office, the prevailing assumption is that Washington's chances of signing a nuclear deal with Iran are slim.
Even before the Taliban took over Afghanistan, Iran set impossible conditions for the renewal. And now that the Taliban will also buy oil from Tehran, it will be even less likely to agree to conditions set by the Biden administration.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett must present Biden with this worrisome outline. There is no doubt that we are on Washington's side, and we always will be. Curbing Iran's regional aspirations is in the interest of both Israel and the US.
It seems that Bennett intends to do this. According to one source involved in the matter, he plans to use the current deadlock in the nuclear negotiations to get the United States to adopt a new approach towards the regime.
Such a goal cannot be achieved with kindness and smiles. Israel's message should be sharp and clear: in the face of the new threat, UN petitions alone with not suffice.
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