Israel and the Twilight of the Terror Masters

The past month has brought news of myriad spectacular triumphs by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), at the expense of Israel’s, America’s, and the West’s mortal enemies in the Mideast: Iran and its putrid proxies. In a few weeks, the IDF has: (1) destroyed the last terrorist brigades of Hamas in Gaza and killed its terror mastermind Yahya Sinwar; (2) is well underway to dismantling Hezbollah’s huge arsenal of rockets and terrorist army; (3) retaliated against the Houthis in Yemen — even as they hold world commercial shipping hostage in the Red Sea; and (4) frustrated Iran’s feeble long-distance efforts to damage Israel.

The relatively timid terror-state/proxy response to Israel’s going on full-bore offense attests to: (1) the effectiveness of Israel’s actions; (2) the fear thereby instilled in terrorist leaders contemplating reprisal; (3) the fecklessness of American efforts — increasingly ignored by Israel — to temper Israel’s response, in the absurd hopes that negotiations will yield a deal that ends the fighting; and (4) the equally absurd hopes that a ceasefire will lead to a durable “just and lasting” peace agreement.

Gilder on Israel

Enter George Gilder in 2024, one of the premier American intellectuals of the past half-century, with the second edition of his 2009 book, The Israel Test. Therein, he provides abundant anecdotes and data to persuade readers that Israel, not America, is now the leader of the free world; and further, that if the West does not wake up and follow Israel’s lead, it, too, will collapse.

Gilder (a colleague of mine at the Seattle-based Discovery Institute), combines historical scholarship, much of it unknown to the American public — by even many actively involved in Mideast issues — with acute analysis of the underlying dynamics and future prospects for change.

Gilder describes the astonishing agricultural contributions Jews emigrating to the Holy Land made on land barren for 1,200 years, beginning with the 7th century Muslim conquest and reaching its nadir during the last 400 years of the Ottoman empire.

The land in question, Britain’s Palestine Mandate, was topographically similar to Southern California, with even more potential for productive growth. Beginning with the first settlement, established in 1878, Jewish immigrants within 50 years made the land fertile, conquering malaria in the process. Notably, Jews purchased tracts of land at above-market prices from absentee Arab owners (effendi), and subsidized relocation for displaced tenant farmers.

Gilder divides the postwar period into three segments. From 1948 to 1967 Jordan ruled Judea and Samaria (a/k/a the West Bank), and Egypt held sway over the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip. Under the socialist superintendence of the United Nations, stagnation in refugee camps was the order of the day. But those in Palestine under Arab governance nonetheless did better than those trapped in UN camps.

The second period, 1967-1990, saw Israeli administration of territories recovered during the Six Day War, albeit Sinai reverted to Egyptian control in 1979. West Bank and Gaza economies boomed. Until the 1987 First Intifada (“shaking off”), Palestinians enjoyed unprecedented prosperity, one of the fastest growth rates worldwide. Save for Arabs living in the U.S., the average Palestinian did better than typical Arabs living in any other country.

The third period, 1991-present, was dominated by the 1993 Oslo Accords that created the risibly named “peace process.” Upon terrorist Yasir Arafat’s return to take over the Palestine Authority (PA), the Palestinian economy cratered. Under terrorist kleptocrats, it has never recovered, embracing what Arab leader Musa Almai told Jewish Agency leader David Ben-Gurion in 1934: “I would prefer that the country remains impoverished and barren for another 100 years, until we ourselves are able to develop it on our own.”

But this period was also marked by Israel’s transformation into “Startup Nation.” It came to pass because Bibi, Ariel Sharon’s finance minister, sought a U.S. sovereign loan guarantee to give Israel access to Western financial markets. President Bush’s treasury secretary, John Snow, conditioned the loan on Israel shrinking the size of its public sector. Within a few years, Israel’s public sector shrank from 60 to 20 percent of its GDP.

The Bottom Line

Gilder recently called Israel “the leader of the Free World.” As America equivocates, Israel acts. If Israel succeeds, Pax Judaica will supplant Pax Americana. If Israel fails, we will see neither Pax Sinica nor Pax Sovietica, but a chaotic era of sauve qui peut (“save oneself who can”).

READ MORE from John C. Wohlstetter:

Fixing Presidential Debates: Lose the Moderators

Will 2024 Bring Doom for the Filibuster and the Court?

John C. Wohlstetter is the author of Presidential Succession: Constitution, Congress and National Security (Gold Institute Press, 2024)

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