Jerusalem of Gold

"The differences between the Israeli and  European Perspectives on Israel."

Talk given at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,   Jerusalem, May 2015.

"In about 3 hours we're going to have a new government sworn in. They will have three main issues and our order of importance looks different than from the perspective of Brussels. In order of importance:

1) Iran. There is no dispute in terms of their intentions. The Iranian leadership say, "There should be no Israel, the Middle East should be Islamic."  Europe think Iran isn't serious, they think it's only rhetoric. But we pay more attention to what they do, not what they say. So this is not a strategic dilemma but an existential threat.

2) Developments in our region in the Middle East. We believe the so-called Arab Spring looks more and more like an Islamist winter. From the very beginning we were sceptic but we thought we should wait and see. And Europe criticised us and called us negative. But we, as the State of Israel, would be the first to welcome a true move towards democracy in the Arab world, because democratic states do not usually fight with each other. And that's more peaceful for us as neighbours. Exactly four years after, what we see, unfortunately, is a terrible, terrible civil war in Syria, a total collapse in Iraq, a very problematic situation in Lebanon, Egypt is currently a bit more stable. We, as Israelis, do not want to be involved militarily. Our own interest is a small and humble one, and this is stability. To Hezbollah, ISIS, Hamas fighting is everything but stability has become much, much more complicated. At least before we knew who was in charge!

3) Palestinian / Israeli relations. Unfortunately, what we see is a partner that represents a very small part of the Palestinian people, an authority that does not accept Israel as a Jewish state. And does not accept our security. The key issue is the acceptance of the existence of the Jewish state in this part of the world. This is the root issue. Sadly, the vast majority do not accept the Jewish state.

The gap between Israeli and European perception is the Palestinian issue. Europe thinks if we didn't have settlements there would be peace. Whereas, for Israel, the main issue is Iran and then the region. It would be irresponsible to consider the settlements and ignore all that's going on in the region. If we withdrew from "the West Bank" two hours later, from the IDF leaving, we would have Hezbollah, ISIS, and jihadists.

I say this with sorrow because we want peace. But we still don't find this peace partner. We believe the European policy towards Israel is bias. If Europe wants to play a major role in the region, it needs a much, much more balanced approach. Europe says, "Two state solution." We're saying, "Two states for two people." Officially, Europe is not accepting Israel as a Jewish state.  So, in this, Europe is closer to a Palestinian view.

So, how do we secure Israel? When Europeans speak about the Middle East, they speak about splitting Jerusalem, (which are) the Palestinian demands. But when Europe speaks about Israel and our security, they are very, very vague. I hate to say it but we find a lot of hypocrisy in the European approach. You know the social developments in Europe and you can probably guess the reasons. One reason is the post-colonial complex that Europe has. There is a certain tendency to look at us (Israel) as a colonial power. But I don't have to say to you that this is not so, as we came back to our land, as the Bible says. We see in our dialogue with Brussels that Europe has adopted 95% of the Arab narrative."

Mr Ilan Ben-Dov then said that he didn't see it as a religious conflict. "It's a conflict about territory. We believe there is no clash between Jewish faith and Islam; it's a dispute on a territory and in this case problems can be solved."

He concluded: "We cherish your friendship, it's important for us, the job that each and every one of you do is important. We love you and we want you here each and every year!"

Comments: Mr Ben-Dov had a sparkle to his eyes and was a joy to meet.    His  warmth only added to his highly accomplished professional history. He has served on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in their North America Division, Cultural and Scientific Affairs Division, Division for the United Nations and International Organizations and was the Israeli Ambassador to the Republic of Singapore.

If you pray in a group for Israel and the Jewish people, please pray for this lovely man, particularly on his penultimate point; that  he "believes there is no clash between Jewish faith and Islam."  Many Islamic ideologies, and verses from the Koran, state otherwise. There is the strong possibility that  he was being purposefully diplomatic, but on the belief that he was not, please remember him in your prayers.