Earlier this month, after the announcement of Vladimir Putin’s planned trip to Israel, Jonathan wrote that the visit made a point about Israel’s legitimacy among the nations of the world. It may be surprising—or at the very least ironic—that an authoritarian leader struggling with his own crisis of legitimacy back home could confer any legitimacy on a free, democratic country like Israel. But it was true, and confirmed this week when Putin finally made that trip. The Jerusalem Post reports:
Labor MKs expressed outrage on Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin did not make time during his short visit to Israel to meet with their party chairwoman, opposition leader Shelly Yachimovich….
“It is outrageous that he did not meet with her,” a Labor MK said. “It presents a message that there is a lack of legitimacy for her job if leaders ignore her when they come here. It harms Israeli democracy.”
I don’t think many would agree that it harms Israeli democracy—nor could Putin possibly care less about anyone’s democracy. But the legitimacy argument is one that has followed, taunted, tempted, and usually disappointed Israel throughout her modern existence as a state. There is a reason it is at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations—whether or not the Palestinians will recognize Israel, and whether the Arab states will normalize relations with Israel. Those Arab states are generally no better than Putin when it comes to their support for rogue regimes and terrorist groups (and in some cases are actual rogue regimes themselves).
But removing Israel’s isolation on the world stage is an essential goal both for Israel and for the international community, which quite often asks Israel to do its dirty work, like taking care of budding nuclear reactors, or to accept Jewish, Arab, and African refugees that others won’t.
Jonathan also discussed the call in some quarters for Israel to rescind its invitation to Putin. Jonathan disagreed, and had the better of the argument. There is no doubt that this isn’t the most comfortable photo-op as Syria descends deeper into civil war next door. But these same voices did not call for the United States to rescind its invitations to Putin, though Putin declined to accept those invitations. (Putin had no interest in attending a NATO summit at which the Obama administration was planning to advocate for Russia’s interests anyway, by ensuring no progress was even hinted at with regard to NATO enlargement. And why would Putin attend a G-8 conference at which nothing would be asked of him?)
Additionally, Putin has been in power now for a dozen years, and he has been a corrupt, repressive thug for exactly that amount of time. Asking the international community to shun him because liberal journalists see the Russian protests as some kind of adjunct to the Arab Spring or Occupy protests (though significantly less violent than Occupy) is a bit inconsistent if those same calls hadn’t been made as Putin’s critics turned up dead or in Siberian prisons during his time in power. Those upset–and rightly so–about Russia’s unwillingness to help the Syrian opposition were far too quiet as the documented ethnic cleansing of Georgians was carried out by pro-Russian militias in 2008.
They are not simply holding Israel to a higher standard than the United States; they are holding Israel to a higher standard than they believe they should be held to. Nonetheless, their sudden interest in Putin’s behavior is surely welcome, and this is a line Israel must tread carefully.
But Israel has something to offer here. American diplomacy with Russia has been, at best, ineffective. And its diplomacy with Eastern European states–a critical hinge connecting Russia and the West–has been an abysmal, irresponsible, spectacular failure. While the Obama administration was busy eroding our relationship with Poland, for example, Israel’s foreign ministry was signing mutual cooperation agreements with their Polish allies. Other Eastern and Central European states have built similar relationships with Israel. (The Czech ambassador to the United Nations once insisted to me, on the record, that Israel belongs in NATO and that his fellow countrymen felt the same way.)
Leading a country with a sizable Eastern European/Russian population and a Moldovan foreign minister, the Israeli government has a much better understanding of the region than the current American administration (which couldn’t even get the translation of one, single Russian word correct). And with more at stake in both Syria and Iran than Washington, Jerusalem is indispensable to those outside the region trying to make sense of it.
So what does Putin get out of all this? A boost in the one thing he wants more than anything else: prestige. Ironically, Yachimovich’s complaint that Putin snubbed her and the Labor party provided more of this than Putin might otherwise have expected.
You write: n"They are not simply holding Israel to a higher standard than the United States; they are holding Israel to a higher standard than they believe they should be held to. " n nIt would be just as true if you had omitted the modifier "higher." In this, as in so many other instances, Israel is held to a standard no other nation is held to and then condemned because it fails to meet this never met standard. n nYour observation here is great: n"But Israel has something to offer here. American diplomacy with Russia has been, at best, ineffective. And its diplomacy with Eastern European states–a critical hinge connecting Russia and the West–has been an abysmal, irresponsible, spectacular failure. While the Obama administration was busy eroding our relationship with Poland, for example, Israel’s foreign ministry was signing mutual cooperation agreements with their Polish allies. Other Eastern and Central European states have built similar relationships with Israel. (The Czech ambassador to the United Nations once insisted to me, on the record, that Israel belongs in NATO and that his fellow countrymen felt the same way.)" n nSo now we can look forward to the New York Times and Thomas Friedman lauding Israel's deft diplomacy, just like last year they were lamenting Israel's "isolation. " Not! n
Israel's influence in the world continues to grow, but remains disproportionately low given its technological, cultural, and military strengths. n nPutin's visit is an acknowledgement of Israel's growing importance, just as much as it is a calculation on Putin's part to further humiliate Obama, whose failure to visit Israel is based no doubt mostly on fear of the (far) less than adulatory reception he would receive. n nThe rest of the world is going to pot, including and perhaps especially Israel's enemies. Iran is actually in a demographic and economic death spiral. This makes it a very dangerous time for Israel – dying or threatened animals lash out. n nProvided the Iranian bomb is dealt with, Israel in 10 or 20 years will be not only a regional power, but a world power. n nIsrael successfully dealing with the Iranian threat is an opportunity to seize the initiative away from a bumbling America, would mark the end of her vassal status, and accelerate her rise as a world power to be reckoned with. n nNothing succeeds like success, and acceptance by the world would come with an overwhelming demonstration of strength, just as her status fell over the last 20 years the more she placed herself in the position of a supplicant begging for acceptance and legitimacy from the genocidal savages she lives amongst.
Cyprus is getting loans and other assistance from Russia not the EU. Russia will need Cyprus as a warm water port. Already Cyprus is a favored tourist destination for Russians. Cyprus has gas. And Israel and Cyprus have new and important bilateral relations. In the meantime, Russia's former satellite, Syria is faltering and may soon be the site of multinational war that involves Turkey, Syria, Iran and Hezbollah. It makes perfect sense for Putin to survey Israel to see what the future may hold. After all, Obama has made a very public withdrawal from the Mideast while at the same time the Arab Spring hasn't resulted in successful stable nations. So it wouldn't make any sense for Russia to simply walk away and leave the entire region to Iran and company.
Apart from what Israel can learn from Russia and Russia from Israel at this narrow impasse in the Israel/Arab conflict, one cannot resist enjoying the moment. Perhaps, the enemy of my enemy is (indeed) my friend. At least until the sabers start rattling again over Israel. I think both Putin, the individual, and Netanyahu, the individual, enjoyed excluding Obama from their little get together. As did so many of us.
This is shocking? There's still a Labor Party?
She is a sad caricature, a relic from the Socialist run Voice of Israel, tax payer funded National Radio, (like NPR) from where Mme. Yachimovich was doing 30 years of nasty propaganda for the Labor movements. She has no journalistic ethics and is a political light weight. Putin saved himself valuable time otherwise lost on another "useful idiot" and Moscow bred these fools like rabbits.
In anti-semitic Russia Putin is the striking example of the objectivity in this question,though he can use the native feelings to his political benefit.The author`s rabbinical discussion of the moral +and_ of the invitation are rediculouse.Many Russian Jewish veterans are the proud lefties and are happy to demonstrate their pro-Russian filings.Leftist Jews must remember their guru Amos Oz with his "burned by Russia".