Is there any evidence that Livni and Herzog understand the magnitude of the Iranian threat?
Livni: ‘The world listens to me,’ not to Netanyahu
Herzog: Glasses or no glasses?
vs
The only issue that really matters is the
looming existential threat from Iran. The price of cottage cheese and the price
of apartments in Tel Aviv would not matter in a devastated country.
Will Israelis take leave of their senses and elect
these two who have no clue of the magnitude of the Iranian threat?
In contrast, there are two Israeli leaders who are fully aware:
On Bernard Lewis:
On the Mahdi:
“A Western individual observing the fantastic ambitions of the Iranian leadership scoffs: ‘What do they think, that they will Islamize us?’ The surprising answer is: Yes, they think they will Islamize us: The ambition of the present regime in Tehran is for the Western world to become Muslim at the end of a lengthy process. Accordingly, we have to understand that their rationality is completely different from our rationality. Their concepts are different and their considerations are different. They are completely unlike the former Soviet Union. They are not even like Pakistan or North Korea. If Iran enjoys a nuclear umbrella and the feeling of strength of a nuclear power, there is no knowing how it will behave. It will be impossible to accommodate a nuclear Iran and it will be impossible to attain stability. The consequences of a nuclear Iran will be catastrophic.”
In contrast, there are two Israeli leaders who are fully aware:
Netanyahu
On Bernard Lewis:
A few years ago Netanyahu held an in-depth discussion with Middle East expert Bernard Lewis. At the end of the talk he was convinced that if the ayatollahs obtained nuclear weapons, they would use them. Since that day, Netanyahu seems convinced that we are living out a rerun of the 1930s.http://www.madisdead.blogspot.
Netanyahu quoted Bernard Lewis in his speech to the UN General Assembly in 2012:
There’s a great scholar of the Middle East, Prof. Bernard Lewis, who put it best. He said that for the Ayatollahs of Iran, mutually assured destruction is not a deterrent, it’s an inducement.
http://www.madisdead.blogspot.
Netanyahu quoted Bernard Lewis in his speech to the UN General Assembly in 2012:
There’s a great scholar of the Middle East, Prof. Bernard Lewis, who put it best. He said that for the Ayatollahs of Iran, mutually assured destruction is not a deterrent, it’s an inducement.
http://www.madisdead.blogspot.
On the Mahdi:
There are minor differences, to be sure. One wants to impose an Islamic caliphate, the other wants to impose the Mahdi [prophesied redeemer of Islam ]’s return. One wants to return to the 11th century, the other to a 9th-century regime. There are other differences, but they are tactical
Ya’alon
But the Iranians are rational, and the use of nuclear weapons is an irrational act. Like the Soviets, they will never do that.
“A Western individual observing the fantastic ambitions of the Iranian leadership scoffs: ‘What do they think, that they will Islamize us?’ The surprising answer is: Yes, they think they will Islamize us: The ambition of the present regime in Tehran is for the Western world to become Muslim at the end of a lengthy process. Accordingly, we have to understand that their rationality is completely different from our rationality. Their concepts are different and their considerations are different. They are completely unlike the former Soviet Union. They are not even like Pakistan or North Korea. If Iran enjoys a nuclear umbrella and the feeling of strength of a nuclear power, there is no knowing how it will behave. It will be impossible to accommodate a nuclear Iran and it will be impossible to attain stability. The consequences of a nuclear Iran will be catastrophic.”
http://madisdead.blogspot.co.il/2012/07/whos-afraid-of-moshe-yaalon.html
Let’s learn from history and not repeat it