It is beneficial that Arab and Israeli leaders agree for once. Or is it just once?
As The New York Times and other media report, the release of state secrets from WikiLeaks reveal how Iran’s nuclear preparations have terrified Arab leaders, and some have been urging strong action, including a military strike. Israel has been more than open about these possibilities.
Arab leaders repeated their concerns in private, and they wanted someone else to do it - such as Israel or the United States.
No wonder we consistently fail to make progress on any Middle East issues. Arabs who might agree with Israeli positions nonetheless keep silent. As the Times explains it, “Publicly, these Arab states held their tongues, for fear of a domestic uproar and the retributions of a powerful neighbor. Privately, they clamored for strong action, by someone else.”
God forbid that an Arab publicly concede that Israel is right about something. Arab leaders have left sufficient hints about their real feelings about Iran, but it is no surprise that they would say one thing publicly and the complete opposite privately. If they concur with Israel on how to respond to Iran, what is the possibility that they agree with Israel on other crucial issues?
Many Arabs probably are not obsessed with Israel’s destruction; support Israel’s treatment of Gaza and its positions on a peace deal; and believe that Hamas should release captured Israeli Sgt. Gilad Shalit. Because violent extremists control the situation, they are simply too frightened to say so publicly.
To be sure, there are nonetheless plenty of Arabs who are virulently against Israel.
Though Arab fears are understandable, their approach undermines any prospect of resolving the many obstacles that already exist. Their silence, or their opposing positions, drains Israel of credibility when its representatives try to justify Israeli actions.
Israel is either left alone out there, or Arab criticisms challenge its positions. People who might otherwise back Israel’s actions will be turned off to it because of deceptive Arab responses.
When the truth comes out, Israel’s position is strengthened, as Israeli officials have emphasized. Now the world knows that Arab leaders were drawing the same conclusions about Iran’s plans as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials.
Besides bin Zayed’s “Ahmadinejad is Hitler” statement, King Hamad of Bahrain said, “That program must be stopped. The danger of letting it go on is greater than the danger of stopping it.” A Saudi Arabian ambassador relayed this message from King Abdullah: “He told you to cut off the head of the snake.” Maj. Gen. Mohammad al-Assar, assistant to the Egyptian minister of defense, reportedly “stated that Egypt views Iran as a threat to the region.”
In reality, bin Zayed, Hamad, Abdullah and al-Assar were united with Israel privately, but not openly. After all, how could they lend credibility to a people who oppress the poor Palestinians, seek to dominate the Middle East and are the cause - with no exceptions - of all the problems plaguing the Arab world?
Israel and its Arab neighbors must operate in unison to resolve the Middle East’s challenges. Many of these issues reached crisis level long ago. Israel and the United States cannot be expected to save this corner of the world themselves, especially when weighted down by those who should be their allies.
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