Loose lips may have sunk ships in World War II, but according to Jewish Agency
chairman Natan Sharansky, loose lips in the 21st century delay
flights.
Sharansky told Israel Radio on Sunday that dozens of potential
immigrants to Israel are delaying their arrival over fears of a war with Iran.
The dozens of would-be immigrants have already finalized the details of their
aliya, including where they will live upon arrival in Israel, Sharansky
explained, but many recently informed the Jewish Agency they are delaying their
big move.
Three hundred fifty new immigrants from North America arrived
last week, nearly 130 of whom plan to join the IDF. The vast majority of those
interviewed by The Jerusalem Post, however, did not seem overly concerned by the
specter of war with Iran.
“If [war breaks out], then I’ll be serving and
I’ll do what I have to do,” said Itay Solomon, an 18-year-old American Israeli
about to join the IDF.
Cookbook author Jamie Geller, who made aliya with
her husband and five children, scoffed at the idea of deferring her move to
Israel because hostilities might break out.
“Iran?” she asked. “Give me a
break.”
Most calls to end public discussions of war plans have centered
on the wisdom of revealing internal Israeli security discussions to the
international community, and even to Iran.
Sharanksy’s criticism of the
public discussion of war, however, was not limited to the realm of
immigration.
The discussions “have crossed every red line,” he told
Israel Radio, saying they are harming Israel’s deterrence power.
The
international community views gravely the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran,
Sharansky said, attributing this to the efforts of Prime Minister Binyamin
Netanyahu, who has left no doubt that “if the world doesn’t attack [Iran’s
nuclear sites], Israel will attack.”
Gil Shefler contributed to this
article.