For Sale?
Would you like to know how dependent the USA is on Arab loans? Who’ll pay those debts? Why is President Obama hinting at Israel’s return to the 1949 borders?
Classically, it starts the same way each time. A man, sitting at his desk, late at night, crunching numbers, looking tired and worn, and very worried. Again, and again, he tries to find a solution to his financial nightmare, and each time, he comes up empty. Finally, exhausted and in desperation, he mutters to himself, "I'd give anything to get out of this mess!"
And then, all of a sudden, from a dark corner, a voice intones: "Anything?" the strange voice intones.
Who is it? It is you-know-who, come to strike a bargain once again, offering a man anything he wants for a small tidy sum: one soul-his soul. In desperation, the man looks at the possibility of salvation more seriously than the thought of losing his soul, and accepts the dark offer. He finally heads home, a mixture of relief and dread, while you-know-who goes away elated, having duped one more human into selling his soul.
Desperate people take desperate measures.
If only life was that simple. As it turns out, you-know-who is really our own yetzer hara, working in partnership with the Sitra Achra, both of whom work incognito to convince us to sin. The decision will ultimately be ours, but there is no question that both play a major role in the selling of our own souls, every time we choose sin over mitzvah.
Indeed, they are such masters of disguises that, more often than not, we believe that we are the ones in control, and that our souls are safe and sound. In fact, all too often, we too are duped into doing the wrong thing, even though we may have the best of intentions, passing up the eternal pleasures of the World-to-Come while indulging in the temporal pleasures of this world, all the while racking up points for an extended stay in Gihenom.
Ouch.
But here's the question: We know that people can, so-to-speak, sell out their souls when they act immorally; can entire countries do the same as well? After all, just like with respect to individuals, desperate situations breed desperate responses for nations as well. Isn't that what happened to pre-World War II Germany, which sold its national soul to get back on its national feet once again, and many other nations before them? Countless are the times that countries have made what can only be called "unholy alliances."
In fact, one need only to recall how in 1990, the 41st President of the United States of America, George H. W. Bush, made a pact with the Arab world in order to fight against Iraq from Arab soil-at the cost of 10 billion dollars in loan guarantees to Israel, not to mention the Oslo Accord in 1993. And that was, even though until that time, the Arab world had referred to the United States as the "Great Satan."
Talk about a pact with the devil.
Indeed, the Jewish people are still paying for that one, and the price gets steeper with each passing year, Gush Katif being just one of the casualties along the way. In fact, the 1990 agreement between the Americans and the Arab world represented a historical turning point for the American Jewish lobby, which has been getting weaker with each passing year, while the Arab lobby has only grown in power and influence since.
Desperate situations bring about desperate solutions.
The question is, will we be watching this happen again, right before our very eyes, at great cost to the Jewish people, again?
Make no mistake about it: America is desperate. I won't burden your with complicated statistics and affidavits, regarding the future of the United States of America, that you can find for yourself on the Internet. Suffice it to say that the USA is a declining superpower, with terrible financial woes, and a bleak outlook that is sure to last for the next couple of years. Furthermore, she is desperate to gain respect in a world that, these days, often loves to hate her. So, we need to ask, will she do just about anything to stay alive, and even more, to stay on top? Will she sell her national soul, the only thing that has kept her linked to Israel over the last couple of decades?
Before continuing, I just want to clarify for the record that I have not said, nor am I saying now, that President-Elect Obama is going to be a bad President, or that he is an evil man, God forbid. For example, he never wrote a Mein Kempf like Hitler, y"s, did, and he has never shown any of the typical megalomaniacal tendencies that evil dictators of the past have openly shown. I believe, like many others, that he sincerely wants to be a good and just President.
Furthermore, clearly, now that he has been elected leader of the country in which the vast majority of Diaspora Jews still live, and the one that remains the friendliest with the Jewish people, we are obligated to treat him accordingly. Unlike many of our brazen cousins, we don't stand in the streets of countries that are hosting us, especially when they are still so accepting of us, and scream out antagonistic slogans against them.
Having said that, it is important, nevertheless, to point out that this does not mean that the situation won't change, and that his policies won't become dangerous for the Jewish people. This is especially so since, it is Obama's fervent desire to restore America's reputation in the Islamic world. And, any Jew knows that such a dream can only become reality at a cost, one usually born by the Jewish people.
Indeed, as history has shown only too often, enemies have a funny way of becoming allies, and allies, an even funnier way of becoming enemies. In the world on international politics and diplomacy, it all depends upon the situation of countries at any given moment in time, and who has what to offer whom. And, certainly, as Arabs gain more influence in Washington, the Israelis will gain less.
What makes an alliance unholy is that it is morally unjustifiable, gain or no gain. But then again, what does morally unjustifiable mean? The Americans made Osama Bin Laden what he is, and supported him while he fought against the Russians. Likewise, Hamas was an Israeli invention, created and supported for the sake of weakening the PLO. Well, they did that, and went one big step further, replacing them as America's and Israeli's worst enemy, respectively.
The question that the future will only answer is, what alliances will be made in the upcoming Obama years, and how will they affect the Jewish people? While his moral compass may tell him that acquiescing to Arab demands is the fair thing to do, and even prudent in today's turbulent times, especially with fanatical Islam a much greater threat to American security than anything Jewish, he may just be setting up the demise of the State of Israel, God forbid.
Not consciously, mind you. Just a mistaken decision. A risk that he and others around him thought was worth taking, for the sake of world peace, for the sake of America's appearance in the eyes of the world. If you get called a "Zionist Puppet" long enough, you can become pretty desperate to show the world that it is not true, even it means taking the Arab world at their word, and it turns out that they don't keep their word, not when it comes to the security of the Jewish state.
Oops.
In the meantime, wouldn't you like to know just how much Arab money is already invested in the United States of America? Wouldn't you like to know just how dependent the Americans already are on Arab favor? Don't you want to know, as a Jew, how much of the America soul has already been sold just to stay afloat? And, that's after finding out how much soul is left to sell after all the increase of immorality and the decrease of God in American society.
For the average American, it may not matter, for the Arab world is only too happy to feed their addiction to materialism, for a controlling piece of the American economic puzzle. It is the average American Jew that has to be concerned, because Arab generosity always comes with a price tag, and its bottom line has never good for the Jewish people.
At this point, it is worthwhile to recall the Talmud's insight into Jewish-Gentile relationships, based upon the following verse: "I have the power to harm you. However, the God of your father spoke to me last night and told me, 'Make sure not to speak to Ya'akov either good or evil.' " (Bereishis 31:29)
From here we learn that even the good that the evil do for tzaddikim is called evil. (Yevamos 103b)
There can be a number of explanations for this, but the main one is that an evil person's perspective is so different from that of the righteous person; his priorities are just not the same. Therefore, what the evil person considers to be good, the righteous person, more than likely, considers bad.
However, this is not just true of evil and righteous people, for the Talmud often goes to extremes like this to make its point. In fact, the statement can be true of a well-intentioned Gentile President, and the Jewish people, as well. This is why, when incoming President Obama makes a statement that, "the Israelis would have to be crazy not to accept a return to the 1949 borders in return for Arab recognition," we can only scratch our heads and ask, "Who's the crazy one here?"
The upshot of all this? Don't be lulled into a false sense of security. Don't assume the old way of doing business will be the new way of doing business. The world is changing fast, and events are happening even faster. Expect new measures. Anticipate new alliances, many of which may not bode well for the Jewish people, in spite of the best intentions of their leaders, regardless of how many Jews are on the White House payroll.
For, the soul they may try and sell, ultimately, may be our own, and the only way to void the transaction is to be aware that it is happening.
***
Pinchas Winston is the author of over 95 books on various topics that deal with current issues from a traditional Jewish perspective. He has also written on the weekly Torah reading since 1993, called “Perceptions,” as well as on current topics and trends affecting Jewish history, past and present. One of his missions is to make the depth and beauty of the more mystical teachings of Torah understandable and accessible to those who can really benefit from them. Visit his website at thirtysix.org.
1/21/2009
reply to chava
here’s the link you are looking for http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article5162537.ece#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=797093
1/21/2009
here’s the link you are looking for http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article5162537.ece#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=797093
12/28/2008
Didn’t Obama deny the statement at the end of the article? “the Israelis would have to be crazy not to accept a return to the 1949 borders in return for Arab recognition” – can you prove he actually said this? I believe he denied it. I don’t doubt for a moment that he thought it, but did he say it? And where? Thanks.