A wake-up call for the West
Netanyahu's speech in Washington marked a significant milestone toward the awakening of vital and positive forces in the United States – and the entire free world – in the face of the looming danger.
Dror Eydar
Israel Hayom
Jul 26, 2024
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses Congress, July 24, 2024.
1.
Washington is a great and enormous city, the capital of the free world. I stood in front of the government buildings on Capitol Hill this week - after three years in Rome, I had forgotten how huge they were, as befits an empire. Now the free world is threatened by tyranny that seeks to subjugate it in the name of a cult of death that appears in various forms. As is often the case in history, many do not recognize the danger before death knocks on their door, and even then, they try to convince the world that things are not as bad as they may seem, that this is an isolated threat and not a clash of civilizations, only a conflict limited to a certain territory. The Atlantic Ocean separates the United States of America from the Old World to the east, and the Pacific Ocean separates it from the west. On previous occasions, Americans believed that they were protected and isolated and that evil would not come to them. In the two great wars, however, despite abstention and isolationism, in the end the United States was forced to join the battle and became the decisive force that swayed the tide for the free world.
It was to this city, the Rome of our time, that the head of the tiny Jewish state came to warn the world and awaken it from its slumber. Will the world hear? Benjamin Netanyahu's speech spoke to us Israelis and his American hosts, but his words were aimed at the entire world. Israel is not just fighting war for its survival, it is fighting the war of the free world, of Western civilization against barbarism as Prime Minister said in his speechs. Judeo-Christian civilization is fighting for its life. Netanyahu illustrated with his speech how the Gaza campaign matter to the United States.
2.
Israel is fighting Hamas in the South, Hezbollah in the North, the Houthis in Yemen and terrorism in the east. Iran is the conductor that synchronizes these terrorist organizations and is in the thick of it wherever instability is encountered. Iran sees itself as an ancient empire, a status from which it draws pride and daring. But in its religious outlook, it sees the West as an enemy contrary to its values. Therefore, its war against Israel does not stop in the Middle East but is aimed at every country in the world that has not yet converted to Islam. And not only Iran, but significant parts of radical Islamic thought are directing their energies at Europe and the United States. Look at the glorious capitals of Europe, they have become unrecognizable.
Remember Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the senior religious and ideological authority of the Muslim Brotherhood: His book "The Lawful and Prohibited in Islam" was the best-selling book in Europe after the Quran. In 2003, he issued a fatwa – a Muslim religious decree – stating, among other things:
"The city of Hirqil [that is, Constantinople (Istanbul)] was conquered by the young 23-year-old Ottoman Muhammad bin Morad, known in history as Muhammad the Conqueror, in 1453. The other city, Romiyya (Rome), remains, and we hope and believe [that it too will be conquered] … This means that Islam will return to Europe as a conqueror and victor, after being expelled from it twice - once from the South, from Andalusia, and a second time from the East, when it knocked several times on the door of Athens… I maintain that the conquest this time will not be by the sword but by [Islamic] preaching and ideology… The conquest of Rome and the spread of Islam until it reaches the regions where night and day come (i.e., the entire world) and until it includes East and West, are the result of a seed planted and mark the beginning of the return of a caliphate that follows the path of righteousness (Islam) and is based on the path of the prophets... The Islamic Caliphate is worthy of leading the nation to the realms of victory..."
Constantinople was the capital of the Byzantine Empire (Eastern Christianity), and Rome the capital of Western Christianity. The Empire of Rome of our time is the United States, while Washington is the city of Rome. The efforts of the radical circles whose representatives I saw marching with keffiyehs in the streets of Washington during Netanyahu's speech, is directed there. The masses in Tehran chant "Death to Israel" and then "Death to America." There is a reason for this order; first Israel, the representative of Jewish civilization, and then the United States, the leader of the free world, which, as far as the ayatollahs are concerned, represents Christian civilization. The war against Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis is a war against Iran. The nuclear weapons Iran is developing are not intended only for Israel but will threaten every American citizen and world peace. This was a crucial theme of Netanyahu's speech: When we fight Iran and its protégés, we are defending not only ourselves but also the citizens of the United States and the free world. "Our enemy is your enemy, our fight is your fight, and our victory is your victory."
3.
After the speech I read several commentaries that analyzed it. People see things from the perspective of their own musings. One wrote: "What does this speech have to with the abandoned north, a drone exploding in Tel Aviv, or the family members of the hostages being violently arrested during protests." But it was for this very purpose that Netanyahu addressed the U.S. House of Representatives – to strengthen bipartisan support for Israel's war, to restore quiet to our northern and southern and to accelerate the supply of weapons to the IDF. We are in a war that has not ended; we need patience and we must be able to resist pressure. For decades, we have sought peace and quiet instead of struggle, and deluded ourselves that our neighbors also seek peace and quiet. Now we are paying the price. What we seek to achieve cannot be done in a short time, and this speech is an essential part of the war effort.
4.
Immediately after October 7, I wrote that we were facing an event of biblical magnitude. When examining such events, our perspective must transcend the usual calculations of party politics and a narrow vision. Standing in the great hall of the House of Representatives was not a Likud spokesperson but the Prime Minister of Israel, speaking in the midst of a war for our existence and the existence of the entire West. We are an eternal people, and the historical prism through which it is appropriate to read the events we are going through, cannot be merely materialistic, but must also take on a metaphysical dimension. We gave the world the Ten Commandments, the Torah and morality, and even the developing nationalism in Europe draws from the Bible and the Kings of Israel. At this time In Washington, Netanyahu sought to awaken the West and teach a chapter in the laws of eradicating evil from the world. Not a war for the sake of an imagined period of peace and quiet that within a few years will explode loudly in our faces.
The International Court of Justice
The West built for itself institutions such as the International Court of Justice that were supposed to preserve world peace. Over time, they have been taken over by hostile forces that now seek to tie the hands of the West and prevent it fighting against global evil. The testing ground is, as always, the Jews, that is, the State of Israel. If, God forbid, they succeed in tying Israel's hands in its war against Iran and its proxies, they will harm the West's ability to defend itself. In this, too, Israel must serve as a pioneer and show the way. When it comes to existential questions, we must not take into account what the nations of the world will say. This lesson has resonated throughout our thousands of years as a nation.
I spoke with several members of Congress and senators, and my impression was that they understand that if the United States does not take up leadership of the struggle for freedom, other forces in the axis of global evil will rise up and claim global leadership. This must not be allowed to happen. Prime Minister Netanyahu's speech on Wednesday in Washington marked a significant milestone toward the awakening of vital and positive forces in the United States – and the entire free world – in the face of the looming danger. From the loud applause and cries of support in the hall, it sounds like that wake-up call was heeded. Was it?
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