EFTA02596337.pdf

From: jeffrey E. <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, October 30, 2014 2:51 AM To: Nili Priell Barak Subject: Re: begining edits David Ben Gurion was asked wh= he, after 2000 years , in contrast to the many g=eat leaders in the past was uniquely able to re -established the State of Israel. BG responded that he thought that it must have been true that in ancient times people had been born with a sixth sense. The =AO one enabling individuals to have the ab=lity to recognize and the seize opportunities. Though few of those individuals remain I think I am one of the fortunate few. He didn't mentioned t=e horrors or the sacrifice of the 48' war. I believe Menachem Begin had it,as several years after the bitter 73' war he was able to make a daring peace with Egypt. Als lzhak Rabin,who now 20yrs ago, signed the Peace treaty with Jord=n though in amidst a wave of terror. He faced huge internal rejection but it began the first baby steps towards a settlement with the Palestinians. As we all know he was assassinated =by a Jewish terrorist. These leaders all faced many ri=ks, yet were able to see and seize an opportunity. Statesman=hip and leadership.. During the last three yea=s we have been living through a geo political earthquake. The world order, which existed since the demise of the Ottoman Empire , is collapsing.The Arab Spring appears to have turned into an Islam=st Winter. Borders are erased. Old tribal and sectarian disputes have awakened= In perfect storm like fashion Israel now finds itself surrounded by clashes of civilizations, in addition to <=span>the Islam confrontation between fanatic terror and moderna Suna and Shia, the legacy threats: Iran, Assad in Syri=, Hezbullah in Lebanon,Hamas in Gaza are all still active and worrying. we have to be alert and <=pan style> ready to strongly respond to any threat to our secu=ity.. But I believe new opportunities are there for the taking. This opportunity,=hich might not occur again for generations ,is the potential to reshape our relat=onships with the Arab Moderates based on our common concerns . Extremism, Terror and Iran. This </=pan>could open the gate to a more peaceful Middle East based on cooperation and synergies rather than blood and reveng=. However thers is , in my opnion n o way to achieve but to move forward with=the Palestinians A precondition to seize s=ch an opportunity is a mighty, sober, self confident Israel, in strong alliance with the US. An Israel whi=h can deter or defeat any combination of regional powers, yet, an Israel who =s ready to contemplate and consider a modified Saudi or Arab League Plan as a basis for negotiations. The unique relationship w= have developed with the US over the last 45yrs based on common values ,mutual respect and shared interests =s a cornerstone of our strength, world posture and our =A0remain damaged , I believe is a grave mi=take with potentially far reaching consequences.<=span> EFTA_R1_01781372 EFTA02596337  =s the Minister of Defense of Israel I've met more than once with Presiden= Obama , as well as with President Bush before him„ reiterating with both that the th=ugh the US is clearly our bes= friend and ally, Israel is a Sovereign state and when our security and the future of Israel and the Jewish people are at stake we might need to take tough decisions on=our own. We cannot and will not, I added, delegate the responsibility for such decisions to even our be=t friends ,. We respect the fact that we might have different views. American Presidents have always understood that . We also must have the same respect=when the US decides it is its interest to take decisions we might not fully agree with. this relation is of cours= not fully symmetric. It is the US which will pro=ides Israel with the new F-35s and ensures the Qualitative Edge of the IDF vis a vis any combination of neighbors. It is the US who significantly financed =the IronDome, Arrow and David's Sling missile defense systems. It is the US that has commited to defend Israel in=the event of a missile attack from Iran. We should never forget it= The recent spurt of verbal exchanges is a worrying signal that something has gone wrong.=It needs corrrection.. Netanyahu is not a coward. I've seen him as a young s=ecial forces officer ,under my command= facing fire directly and taking risks to his lif=. A very courageous soldier. That will never charity. cheap words serve little purpose .The same applies to President Obama and Secretary Kerry. they are not enemies of Israel. they are Good Friends. Ker=y has exhibited decades long support for Israel. Since he became Secretary of State he has invested his time energy and prestige trying to help Israel and the Palestinians to bridge disputes and reach a breakthrough. it was a noble effort which should justify thanks rather than accustations. We are of course concerned by the lack of outcome of the P5+1 negotiations =ith Iran and we think that the chemical weapons removal from Syria =C2 could have been handled differently But President Obama strengthens the legacy of Presiden=ial support for Israel.. Israel has a vital interest in resuming the healthy trust, and mutual respect that exist=d until recently. . I believe that the most profound internal debate inside Israel today is in regard to =he relationship between Israel's security needs and the viability of the "t=o states solution". We all agree that we are living in a tough, merciless and highly unpredicta=le neighborhood..So it is clear that our security needs are of the highest priority and we should build certain "safety margins" into =ny future security planning.But the Israeli Right is going too far by arguing that the securit= needs of Israel renders any viable,demilitarized independent, Palestinian State - impossible. In other words, the =80 lesson" of recent years according to our Right is that Israel's Security and the "two states sol=tion" are incompatible. I believe this is a fallacious conclusion, driven by narrow political interests. I've served a lif=time career, fighting and defending my country's security. Most of the time in uniform. Based on this expe=ience ,I confidently conclude,and it is a professional rather than political answer, that if and when a Palestinian demilitarized independent State will be established side by side with Israel behind borders which will consist of a solid Jewish majority for generations to come and will include the major "Settlement Blocks" accompanied by mutually agreed swaps an= an Israeli long term military presence along the River Jordan - the IDF <=span>and the 2 EFTA_R1_01781373 EFTA02596338 SecurityServices will be capable of defending Isra=l. Moreover, I'm confident that if we will bring together all former Israeli Chiefs of Staff, all former Commanders of the Central Command( responsible for Judea and Samaria) and a=I former Heads of Intelligence ,SecServices and Mossad, an extremely vast majority of them will agree with me on this issue. True,it might take time, frustrations and setbacks. It might have to go through prolonged periods of interim arrangements. but the IDF is much superior to any conceivable rival=and will be able to defend Israel under all those circumstances. the Right argument is con=oluted. the opposite is true. The real big threat to the Zionist Project is not the "two state soluti=n" but rather the "one state solution" which will lead inevitably =o either a non Jewish or a non democratic, potentially ever bleeding State. Still,this is =he vision the Israeli extreme Right shares unknowingly with the Hamas (and wit= all due differences with the lunatic, Post Zionist fringes of the Israeli Left). In order to seize the opp=rtunity for regional peace and cooperation arrangements and in order to block the deterioration towards =E2 one state solution" action, tenacity and decisiveness will be essential= politics of survival, anxiety and pessimism will not do. we are facing a moment of=truth. a time for daring decisions.The essence of Zionism, its raison d'être had always=been to take our fate in our hands. make decisions and follow them with actions, rather than being dragged by events and decisions of others and paying the price for it= our legendary Foreign Min=ster Abba Eban famously said that the Palestinians had never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity. Le=s not fall into the same trap. On Wed, Oct=29, 2014 at 7:12 PM, Nili Priell Barak </=pan> wrote: herewith the Op Ed. Please I=t me know your opinion and your remarks. thanks, EB Herewith please note Th= information contained in this communication is confidential, may be at=orney-client privileged, may constitute inside information, and is inte=ded only for the use of the addressee. It is the property of JEE =nauthorized use, 3 EFTA_R1_01781374 EFTA02596339 disclosure or copying of this communication or any par= thereof is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you have receiv=d this communication in error, please notify us immediately by retur= e-mail or by e-mail to [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> , and destroy this communication and a=l copies thereof, including all attachments. copyright -all rights rese=ved 4 EFTA_R1_01781375 EFTA02596340