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The Resilience of Israel (VDH)
RCP ^ | Victor Davis Hanson

Posted on 12/29/2016 5:19:08 AM PST by RoosterRedux

The Middle East surrounding democratic Israel is a nightmare. Half a million have died amid the moonscape ruins of Syria. A once-stable Iraq was overrun by the Islamic State.

The Arab Spring, U.S. support for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, the coup of General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to regain control of Egypt, and the bombing of Libya all have left North Africa in turmoil.

Iran has been empowered by the U.S.-brokered deal and will still become nuclear.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's bombers blast civilians not far from Israel's borders.

Democrats are considering Rep. Keith Ellison as the next chairman of the Democratic National Committee despite his past ties to the Nation of Islam and his history of anti-Israel remarks.

Yet in all this mess, somehow Israel is in its best geostrategic position in decades. How?

The answer is a combination of unintended consequences, deft diplomacy, political upheavals in Europe and the United States, and Israel's own democratic traditions.

Huge natural gas and oil finds off Israel's Mediterranean coast and in the Golan Heights have radically changed Israel's energy and financial positions. Israel no longer needs to import costly fossil fuels and may soon be an exporter of gas and oil to needy customers in Europe and the Middle East. (America recently became the world's greatest producer of carbon energy and also no longer is dependent on Middle Eastern oil imports, resulting in less political influence by Arab nations.) Israel is creating its own version of Silicon Valley at Beersheba, which is now a global hub of cybersecurity research.

The Obama administration's estrangement from Israel has had the odd effect of empowering Israel.

(Excerpt) Read more at realclearpolitics.com ...


TOPICS: Israel; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: obamaantiisrael; unisraelresolution; unvote; vdh; victordavishanson

1 posted on 12/29/2016 5:19:08 AM PST by RoosterRedux
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To: dennisw; Cachelot; Nix 2; veronica; Catspaw; knighthawk; Alouette; Optimist; weikel; Lent; GregB; ..
Middle East and terrorism, occasional political and Jewish issues Ping List. High Volume

If you'd like to be on or off, please FR mail me.

..................

2 posted on 12/29/2016 5:23:13 AM PST by SJackson (The Pilgrims—Doing the jobs Native Americans wouldn’t do !)
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To: SJackson

Also, and more importantly, the God of Abraham, Issac and Moses is faithful.

Through Israel, the world has been blessed mightily through Jesus Christ!

The Calling of Abram (Fen 12:2,3)
…2And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; 3And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”


3 posted on 12/29/2016 5:37:08 AM PST by Jay Thomas (If not for my faith in Christ, I would despair.)
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To: RoosterRedux; bestintxas; carolinablonde; COBOL2Java; DuncanWaring; EXCH54FE; ExTexasRedhead; ...

Victor Davis Hanson Column


Please Freepmail me if you want to be added, or removed from the ping list

4 posted on 12/29/2016 7:50:52 AM PST by Kaslin (Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible)
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