Events in Iran and Israel in the past week are reminders that the people of Israel live in a different environment than we do here. They face different threats to their security, and they handle them differently than we do.
I visited Israel for a few days about 40 years ago. My group flew from New York City to Amman, Jordan, and took a bus from there to Jerusalem. After we crossed the Allenby Bridge over the Jordan River, we entered a security checkpoint where Israeli soldiers went through our luggage. It was odd having a female soldier check everything I brought, but that was the price of safety.
One day with some free time I took a public transportation bus to Tel Aviv to look around. òòò½ÊÓƵ we traveled, the bus stopped and a pair of male soldiers carrying large rifles came on board looking for unattended packages, which could be bombs. One pointed his rifle at the small satchel at my feet. I showed him it had a camera and two extra lenses. He nodded, pointed his gun elsewhere and left the bus.
That was before the first intifada and everything that followed, including the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.
One thing I learned from the trip was that no matter how much you read about a place in the media or see on a movie screen, thereòòò½ÊÓƵ™s nothing like being on the ground and meeting people there to begin to know it. I gave up flying commercially nearly 25 years ago. Too much hassle. But if I could fly again, I would go back to Israel and Jordan in times of relative peace.
òòò½ÊÓƵ for the present, it was probably a not coincidence that an activistòòò½ÊÓƵ™s yacht was seized before it entered Israeli waters this week. Israel was planning something big, and it didnòòò½ÊÓƵ™t need a publicity stunt staged by foreigners getting in its way. It took care of that problem quickly and in time for the news cycle to chase the next shiny object.
Before I went to sleep Thursday night, I did my final check of news of the day and read about the attacks on Iran. It was one of those things where I was surprised but not surprised. Israel doesnòòò½ÊÓƵ™t mess around with its security. It canòòò½ÊÓƵ™t afford to. In 1981 it destroyed a nuclear facility in Iraq. It did the same in Syria in 2007. Last year it neutralized Iranian air defense systems. Thatòòò½ÊÓƵ™s why Fridayòòò½ÊÓƵ™s early morning attack wasnòòò½ÊÓƵ™t unexpected.
A few years ago, a national columnist noted that several of Iranòòò½ÊÓƵ™s neighbors have nuclear weapons òòò½ÊÓƵ” India, Pakistan, Israel, Russia and China. Itòòò½ÊÓƵ™s understandable that Iran feels insecure. But when Iran is such an active player in the effort to dismantle the State of Israel, Israelòòò½ÊÓƵ™s response is likewise understandable.
For now, peaceful coexistence is out of the question. One CNN commentator noted that Israel hit Iran when that nation was at its weakest point in years. Israel is playing the long game, and its efforts to weaken Iran and its proxies òòò½ÊÓƵ” the efforts we know about òòò½ÊÓƵ” appear to have worked if this weekòòò½ÊÓƵ™s attacks were the real goal. Or maybe Israel has something bigger in store. Weòòò½ÊÓƵ™ll have to wait and see.
Jim Ross is development and opinion editor of The Herald-Dispatch. His email address is jross@hdmediallc.com.
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