In the New York Times article entitled “Is Ahmadinejad a ‘Gift’ for Israel?,” Robert Mackay examines the statements made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Iran’s President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, and President Obama made in during the 64th Session of UN General Assembly that met between the15th and 30th of September. The article specifically follows a speech made by Benjamin Netanyahu to the Assembly intended to rebut Ahmadinejad repeated claims that the Holocaust did not occur. Netanyahu took to the podium the day after Ahmadinejad addressed the assembly with a racist and intolerant speech. He did not mention the Holocaust, however he had mentioned its legitimacy the week before. Instead of focusing on the domestic issues within Israel, Netanyahu chose to directly rebuke the claims that Ahmadinejad and other holocaust deniers have made. He brought documentation to back up his arguments as well: the minutes of the Wansee conference, the construction plans of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp. Netanyahu also questioned the legitimacy of the U.N and condemned them for allowing Ahmadinejad to have platform. Things reached a boiling point on Friday, when it was discovered that Iran was close to completing a second Nuclear facility, and had been doing so in secrecy. All eyes were focused on Iran and their obvious pursuit of nuclear arms.
I found Mackay to be extremely fair in boiling down the ramifications of the week’s proceedings. I can tell he is balanced and well represented. He looks at the events that unfolded during those three days, and evaluates how it affected Israel and how it also affected Palestine. He begins his article describing how PLO Chairman Mahmud Abbas drew the short end of the stick when he was scheduled to speak Friday, the same day that news of Iran’s nuclear plants became first-page news, and Obama’s stern stance subjugated the headlines. Before this week Abbas truly believed himself to be in a better place; he was coming off the heels a meeting where Obama gave a stringent demands to Netanyahu and the outcome seemed to favor Palestine. Abbas truly believed that talks would center and focus on Israel’s refusal to stop expensing its settlements in the West Bank. Also taking attention away from the settlement issue in Palestinian territories was the fact that Netanyahu forwent speaking about it in his address to the General assembly on Wednesday, and only concentrated on the Holocaust and Iran’s desire to acquire nuclear weapons. While Mackay represents how the Palestinians got shafted, he explains how it is a winning situation for Israel. The issue of settlements is a very contentious one that doesn’t usually favor Israel, and Israel managed to completely avoid the issue during the U.N General Assembly. They definitely lucked out that the news of Iran’s nuclear plant surfaced two days after anti-Ahmadinejad rallies took place, and Obama issued a statement reproachful of Iran.
Haaretz Newspaper reported in an article last year that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, told Time magazine that Israeli hardliners were wrong to say that Iran posed an “existential threat” to Israel. “Iran’s achievement,” the former intelligence official said, “is creating an image of itself as a scary superpower when it’s really a paper tiger.” I don’t know if that would change now that Iran has shown that it has the capability to build Nuclear weapons in the next three years, but hopefully it’s a true statement. I don’t think the week could have gone better for Israel. Not only did they avoid taking heat over the settlements, but they found a uniting spark between its allies. It was absolutely brilliant that Netanyahu presented historical records to back of the Holocaust and invalidate the many claims Ahmadinejad has made. It was a genius move on his part not to mention the settlements, and a large stroke of luck that the news broke of Iran’s Nuclear facility the day after, and really gave ethos to Israel as many have united against Iran. Previous to the week’s events, Israeli and U.S relations were threatening to be derailed over the issue of settlements, and Israel’s non-compliance with U.S demands. The threat of a Nuclear Iran, and the anti-Semitic remarks made by Ahmadinejad has put both Israel and U.S on a united front against the same enemy; priority one is preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear arms and neutralizing any threat. Obama realizes the Iran is the most dangerous issue at hand, and for the time being, all other things are not going to be in such clear focus. Even former intelligence chief, Ephraim Halevy, called Mr. Ahmadinejad a “gift,” since his inflammatory anti-Israel rhetoric “unites the entire world against Iran.”
