Israel is at a historical crossroads that will determine the future of the country for good or for ill for generations.
There are situations in the life of a nation in which there is a fortuitous accumulation of independent processes and events that occur at the same time, which have the potential to create fundamental, sweeping change. This is how it was in 1948, following the Holocaust, when the State of Israel was founded by a resolution of the United Nations and established by the national leadership led by David Ben-Gurion. Against all the odds, Israel managed to overcome all the military and economic difficulties.
And so it was in the 1990s when the Israeli hi-tech industry burst into our lives and, within a few years, transformed Israel from a state of shnor to a glorious start-up country where the hi-tech industry became the engine of the Israeli economy. It was the result of the fusion of science and technology into one entity; the Russian immigration that doubled the number of engineers and scientists; and the Oslo Accords that opened the world to Israeli companies. It was a blessed time.
I was the president of the Technion from 1990 to 1998, and I saw up close the revolution, amazing in its power and beauty, in which Technion graduates played a central role.
Today, it is happening for the third time. It is very rare, perhaps unique in history, that a small nation gets three opportunities to exist, to prosper, and to secure its future for generations. As in the 1990s, today there is a concomitance of political and geopolitical events and processes that can bring about a paradigmatic change – by taking advantage of the narrow and fleeting window of opportunity that has opened up for us in this war. These processes can bring peace with most Arab countries and thus ensure the existence of the State of Israel for many generations – and even for all time.
What are the events and processes that create this opportunity? There are four.
First, in the White House sits a president, Joe Biden, who supports and loves Israel and wants to promote peace in our region. He formulated the Biden doctrine. This doctrine stems from American and Israeli interests to prevent a regional flare-up. It also stems from political-personal interests because he needs a proven success that will increase his chances of defeating his opponent, Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate.
Second, Saudi Arabia and other moderate Sunni Arab countries have come to the conclusion that recognition of Israel, along with a defense alliance with it, is necessary for them to stand up to a nuclear Iran.
Third, the brutal attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7. It led to personal and national trauma which caused a loss of trust and existential security.
Fourth, the political, military, and intelligence failure led by the government and its leader at a time of internal war in Israeli society over the future of the state and its democracy..
These processes constitute a turning point in the future of the State of Israel. On the one hand, the continuation of the fatalistic approach in which Israel will live by its sword forever and rule by force over another nation in the West Bank and Gaza. On the other hand, taking advantage of a window of opportunity that has opened to build a new order in the Middle East under the leadership of the United States – a new order which includes peace with most Arab countries and an arrangement with the Palestinians to establish a demilitarized and reformed Palestinian state, with agreed borders, on the basis of two states for two peoples.
The Arab countries, led by Saudi Arabia, are ready to make peace and conclude a military defense alliance with the United States and Israel against Iran’s ambition to become a regional nuclear power and hegemony over the entire region. But they cannot do this without steps to settle with the Palestinians – steps that will lead to a political horizon based on a Palestinian state, under the Biden doctrine.
It is doubtful whether Israel’s current government controlled by the extreme far-right, whose ministers want nothing less than to settle Gaza with Jews, will realize this rare opportunity. That is why it is essential that Netanyahu vacate his seat, preferably following elections, which according to recent polls will lead to the weakening of the Right, the strengthening of the Center, and the establishment of a sane coalition that can promote a policy that will capture this rare and fleeting opportunity fate brings us – perhaps the last such opportunity we have.
To miss this historic opportunity would be a disaster for the State of Israel, which can be compared to the fall of the Second Temple due to the internal fractures caused by zealots.
I hope Israel will know how to make the right choice – for our sake and for the future of our children and grandchildren.■
The writer is Research Professor Emeritus, Technion, former president of the Technion, and chairman of the Samuel Neaman Institute for National Policy Research.
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