Frontline Finesse

Israel strives to counter Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran-planted political landmines.

Robert A. Sklar
Editor

0

n the eve of its anniversary as a
politically sovereign Jewish state,
Israel has much to be proud of. It
is on a positive trajectory despite periodic
wars with anti-Zionist neighbors.
So says Barukh Binah, Israel's Chicago-
based consul general to the Midwest.
"Who would have believed from a politi-
cal point of view that 30 years ago there
would be peace with Egypt, peace with
Jordan, and good relations with Mauritania
and other members of the League of Arab
States ... or that we would have relations,
though not full diplomatic relations, with
Gulf states and North Africa," Binah said.
Binah spoke at a gathering of members
of Detroit Jewry's public affairs voice on
April 3 at the Max M. Fisher Federation
Building in Bloomfield Township.
Accompanied by his wife, Shulamit,
Binah addressed the board of the
Jewish Community Relations Council of
Metropolitan Detroit (JCRC). He arrived
after a 21/2-day visit to Ottawa and
Montreal, where he began to acclimate
with Canadian authorities and their poli-
cies toward Israel and the Middle East.
Binah, a member of Israel's Foreign
Service since 1979, is 32 months into a
scheduled four-year term as Midwest
counsel general. He won't finish his term,
however, and is leaving in June to begin
a new job. The Israel Ministry of Foreign
Affairs has named him deputy director
general for North American affairs effec-
tive this summer. He'll be stationed in
Jerusalem. He'll handle Israeli relations
with the U.S. and Canada.

Distinctive Times
In a wide-ranging, 45-minute report to the
JCRC, Binah reminded that Israel's 60-year
history is broken into two distinct halves.
The first 30 years were all about war and
some occasional peace, border and water
agreements. The second half has been
rooted in peacemaking and accords, but
still marred by conflict.
Binah then turned to three political
enemies demanding much of the Israeli
government's time: Hamas, Hezbollah and
Iran.
He made it a point to distinguish
between the Gaza-based Hamas terrorist

organization and the West Bank-based
Palestinian Authority. He said Israel has
good working relations with P.A. President
Mahmoud Abbas even amid Hamas' daily
rocket attacks from Gaza on southern
Israel.
"This is a dilemma for us;' Binah said.
"Many people ask if Abbas can deliver
— if we should continue discussions
and negotiations with him. To which my
answer is definitely yes. We are not exactly
sure what will be delivered by him. But we
are pretty sure that if we do not negotiate

"Negotiation
is the sine
qua non for
the success of
the process in
the Middle East."

- Consul General Barukh Binah

expected to provide security, which is not
quantifiable. One of things that Israel is
expected to do, in contrast, is to lift check-
points, which is very measurable.
"The equation puts us in a situation
where we can be measured and they do
not have to:' Binah said.

A Core Pursuit
Regardless, negotiation must go on, Binah
said. "We insist that they continue with the
Annapolis agreement — that no matter
what, we do not abandon the negotiating

"As much as
we love the
country of
Israel, we must
remember that
the Israelis are the ones
that must decide how
best to deal with their
neighbors."

- JCRC President Todd Mendel

with him, he certainly could not deliver."
Hamas relies on human shields to
accentuate its propaganda that Israel is
an apartheid state, Binah said. The orga-
nization will remain an arch-enemy until
it embraces the criteria set forth by the
Quartet: the U.S., European Union, Russia
and United Nations. The criteria include
stopping terrorist acts, fighting against ter-
ror, recognizing Israel and its right to exist
as a Jewish state, and accepting all agree-
ments between Israel and the P.A.
"Hamas renounces all of this, which is
why it is not accepted by the international
community:' Binah said. "When they pres-
ent such misery on Gazans, there's only
one move that they have: to accept the
international criteria and act on them.
Things would be different:'
Binah also addressed the higher inter-
national standard that Israel is held to in
its dealings with the Abbas-led govern-
ment in Ramallah. The P.A., for example, is

table he said. "We are committed to the
process:'
Terrorism must not deter that process.
"Any terrorist could commit an atrocity
and we would stop negotiating then:' Binah
said. "That is not in our best interests."
He added, "Negotiation is the sine qua
non for the success of the process in the
Middle East"
Hamas is doing its darnedest to draw
Israel and the P.A. into battle and suck
Israel back into Gaza. "We should not allow
llamas to succeed in that. We are very
restrained," Binah said.
That doesn't mean Israel will let llamas
just fire off rockets and missiles and kill
and maim its citizens. "In this conflict
with Hamas, when we feel it's time, we will
respond, we will pre-empt and we even
will retaliate Binah said.

Lebanon Intrigue
Turning his focus to Lebanon-based
Hezbollah, Binah stressed that this terror-

ist organization gets its arms and ammu-
nition from Syria and funding and march-
ing orders from Iran.
But Hezbollah can't act with impunity
in Lebanon. Since the war in Lebanon two
years ago, whenever Shia-led Hezbollah
sends a quarter of a million people into the
streets, so do the Christians, Sunnis and
Druze. "That's because they are fed up with
Lebanon being grabbed and seized as a
hostage Binah said, "and they do not want
Lebanon to become the westernmost flank
of Irani strategic planners. They may not
have the muscle to stand up to Hezbollah
militarily, but they certainly have devel-
oped political muscle'
Meanwhile, France and the U.S. lead the
international diplomatic campaign against
Syria and Lebanon.
Iran is the support base for both Hamas
and Hezbollah. While there's debate when
Iran will acquire weapons of mass destruc-
tion, there's no question they will come.
"The combination of a fundamentalist
regime and a sophisticated ability to use
such weapons is still very warring:' Binah
said.
The U.N. Security Council's most recent
resolution relating to Iran, 1308, calls for
strict vigilance regarding Iran and its
nuclear ambitions. Key to that is not only
the clear backing of the U.S., France and
Great Britain, but also China and Russia,
which did not vote to veto it. The U.S.
Treasury Department has gone so far as to
blacklist banks that launder money for the
Iranian government.
"Divestment from businesses that feed
the Iranian economy is very important:'
Binah said. "It sends a very important
signal to Iran. In Michigan, the divest-
ment process already has begun with Gov.
Granholm a strong advocate'

Iranian Endgame
Iran is a world power. It boasts a strong
culture and civilization. It's a proud
empire. It doesn't want to be a pariah state.
It wants to be part of the international
community.
Says Binah, "The question is, `How do we
impress upon it in a timely manner that its
fate is in its hands?"'
JCRC President Todd Mendel said
Binah's differentiation between Hamas and

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April 10 • 2008

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