Analysis: The ‘Hard Truths’ Palestinians Must Hear

The following analysis was authored by Tablet Magazine columnist and CAM editorial advisor Lee Smith: 

Do the Palestinians have “friends”? They have financial backers, including Qatar, Turkey, and Iran. They have a global network of supporters ready at a moment’s notice to take to the streets in cities across North America and Europe. The Palestinian cause is heralded everywhere from Ivy League university faculty lounges and the editorial boards of major Western newspapers to the Iranian Parliament and ISIS caves. But do the Palestinians have the kind of “friends” Israel does who aren’t afraid to relay “hard truths”?

Being a true “friend” to Israel by “speaking truth” to Jerusalem is a timeless conceit of American foreign policy across the political spectrum. This week, it was a Democrat who went to Israel as that type of friend — 2028 presidential hopeful and former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. He wasn’t really talking to Israelis, but was rather performing for Democratic voters back home, auditioning for the top spot on the ticket as a pro-Israel politician, but one who is not, in the rhetoric of the anti-Israel activists who have come to shape his party, “controlled” by the Jewish state.

What were the “hard truths” he delivered to Israelis? Democrats don’t like you any longer, and a growing number of Republicans are also starting to feel the same way. And we’re going to cut off military aid. If you want to buy American arms going forward, you’re going to have pay, like everyone else.

And the one-time Clinton and Obama aide had strong words for the Israeli prime minister his former bosses disdained, Benjamin Netanyahu. “Unconditional support has produced a prime minister who has presumed that his strategic interest would incur no political costs if he ignored America’s concerns about settlements and sparked a regional war,” Emanuel said. “We need, fundamentally, a new and different approach to this alliance.”

In truth, Emanuel didn’t sound very amiable at all. His words seemed more like what you would say to someone who you no longer wanted in your life. Thus, the establishment Democrat accomplished what he set out to do and fell in line with virtually every Democratic leader terrified of being outflanked by a runaway radical faction likely to dominate the party for the foreseeable future.

Indeed, polls show that a majority of Democratic voters sympathize with the Palestinians. Does that mean Democrats are going to tell the Palestinians the kind of “hard truths” friends tell friends? If so, it might sound something like this:

You should know that if we do cut off military aid to Israel, we’d have considerably less leverage — almost none — over Israeli policy, especially regarding you.

Sure, if you start another war you can’t win and, as you always do, call for our help, we can say we’ll sanction Israel. But let’s be honest, Israel isn’t Iran. Israel is a key player in the global economy, and no one is going to cut off their nose to spite their face, no matter what New York Times columnists say about bringing a country led by Netanyahu, or the next prime minister, to its knees.

The reality is that there’s so much Israeli technology in so many things the world requires — missile defense systems, autonomous cars, medical devices, and avionics, among other examples — that sanctions are likely to be as painful to us as it will be to the Israelis. That is, the next time you take up arms against Israel, there is likely to be very little standing between you and a far superior military force.

And don’t expect any American president to demand Israel cease operations against you as they have for decades, Republicans as well as Democrats, because they know they’ll look foolish since the Israelis are unlikely to listen. They wouldn’t have to. You should consider the possibility that the next war you lose to Israel could be the last.

Instead of initiating violence and expecting us to rescue you from disaster, you should negotiate with the Israelis. You should’ve taken Clinton’s offer in 2000 at Camp David. Heck, for that matter you should have accepted the UN Partition Plan in 1947 — but that’s all water under the bridge. You should do it now.

For millions of Israelis, the October 7th massacre permanently nixed the idea of a diplomatic solution. So, you’re going to have to show you’re serious about making peace. Start by improving yourselves, for your own sake. Instead of diverting all the foreign aid you receive to build terrorist infrastructure, use it develop your society. Start businesses that grow your economy. Open real schools and teach your children productive things. I’m sure many of your kids would love to grow up to be something other than a “martyr” who kills as many Jews as possible in a suicide bombing..

You don’t care about negotiating now because you get money for waging wars and have never had to pay the price that everyone else does for losing them. But who knows that the money won’t run out? All the Middle Eastern regimes that back you now are unstable — it’s a volatile part of the world. You can’t keep counting on handouts.

The Europeans love you, but that mood could change. The endless migration waves have left many in Europe asking why they’re paying for millions of third-world foreigners who refuse to earn their keep. Someday they may start to ask why they’re paying for you too, especially since many of the newcomers rioting in their cities wave your flag.

And as for United States, sure you have strong support on the Left and among the Muslim population, but those are both small segments of a very large population. Normal Americans don’t like you, not even mainstream Democrats, who are my core constituents. Sure, they don’t like seeing images of children suffering in Gaza but they also don’t like seeing videos of Palestinian kids praising the slaughter of Jews. Yes, lots of young college students rallied to defend your atrocities after October 7th, but normal Americans don’t like them either.

Things change and the world moves quickly. Speaking as a friend, you’re in danger of being left behind — or worse, losing everything. Take your own fate in your hands, stop making war lest it becomes your last. Aim for peace, and first fix yourselves.