Israel thrives while its haters flounder

When it comes to Israel, the players are thriving, and the haters are failing. Despite leading a country only the size of Wales, Prime Minister Netanyahu has pointed out that within a decade, Israel’s economy will be worth $1 trillion.

Whilst the Iranian regime has been busy murdering protestors by the thousands, haters of Israel prefer to focus their efforts on trying to introduce a boycott of Israeli avocados.

On this topic, Communities Secretary Steve Reed has rightly warned local councils that they face possible legal action for discrimination and might be ordered to pay damages to companies affected by their unilateral boycotts.

That was good advice. But at the same time, the Government under Sir Keir Starmer, with its usual bovine stupidity, has indefinitely paused a UK trade deal with Israel, thereby doing itself out of business with one of the world’s leading high-tech innovators.

Under Starmer’s premiership, the UK is not a player; it prefers to keep feeding the insatiable appetite of the haters.

Meanwhile, Israel has been negotiating with grown-ups and is thriving politically and economically.

Egypt and Israel have recently signed the biggest natural gas deal in Israel’s history, worth $35 billion. The Israeli “Leviathan” gas field, which contains 23 trillion cubic feet of gas in the Eastern Mediterranean, some 100 miles off Haifa, will soon supply a substantial proportion of Egypt’s energy needs.

In more good news for Israel, the United Arab Emirates, a country which has shown real leadership in the region, has signed a defence contract with Israel worth $2.3 billion for a new highly sophisticated defence system to protect its civilian and military aircraft.

This follows news of a deal between Germany and Israel, with the German parliament approving a $3.5 billion expansion of the Arrow 3 deal with Israel. In total, the Arrow agreement signed between Israel and Germany was valued at some $8 billion, making it the largest-ever Israeli defence export deal.

On the diplomatic front, there are hopes that a summit between Egyptian President al-Sisi and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu may take place this year. So whilst countries like Ireland, Spain and Norway poison hearts and minds with their irrational hatreds and issue absurd threats to “arrest” Netanyahu, sensible Arab leaders are quite willing to talk business with him.

But then some governments persistently show that the only thing they can arrest is their own development.

When the barbaric theocracy of the Ayatollahs eventually falls, the Israelis are looking forward to a new world of cooperation and friendship with the Iranian people. In the meantime, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced last month that his country will open new Embassies in Fiji and Bolivia this year.

This comes after Israel’s dramatic recognition of Somaliland, a pro-Western state also now being courted by the United States. Needless to say, the British Government, rather than recognise its friendly former protectorate, has preferred to side with the anti-Western elements in the Horn of Africa.

Israel’s no-nonsense pragmatism is also clear. They reportedly have plans to close one of their diplomatic missions soon, options are rumoured to include their Embassy in Oslo.

It’s true that Norway’s diplomatic skills have been somewhat lacking of late. President Trump wasn’t far off the mark when he made the point that politics is not entirely absent from the Nobel Prize decisions.

Israel’s military, diplomatic, economic and tech strength is extraordinary. But the nation’s true strength rests on the happiness, positivity and industry of its people in the face of those who hate them.

Israel is one of the world’s players. The future bodes well for them. For the haters – not so much.

Source: Sir Michael Ellis comment - Daily Telegraph]