I don’t know whether it’s “my age” or “The Age,” but the pace of change and chain of significant events seems to have increased so much that sometimes it feels like the world is spinning out of control. I’ve stopped asking myself, “What next?” and have begun asking, “Whatever next?”
The first 25 years of the millennium have been full of surprises, many of them a shock to the system, including: 9/11 and the rise of al-Qaeda; the financial crash of 2008; the Arab Spring and migrant crisis; the spread of jihadist terrorists movements, including ISIS and Boko Haram; SARS and COVID-19; major hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, and the Fukushima nuclear disaster; Russia’s invasion(s) of Ukraine; political polarization; and the rise (and sometimes fall and even return) of various leaders. And that’s only a partial list.
As an Israeli and a Jew, there is the overriding trauma of the Iranian-funded, Hamas-led invasion and mega-atrocity of October 7, 2023, in which 1,200 were murdered, thousands wounded, and 251 abducted to Gaza – an act of such savagery that its horrors will be remembered throughout the generations.
Having learned the word “tsunami” in terms of a natural disaster around Christmas 2008, we have come to use it to describe non-natural phenomena – including the waves of global antisemitism.
Antisemitism morphed this century into anti-Zionism or anti-Israelism, evident from the UN-sponsored anti-Israel fest at the Durban Conference in September 2001, and on to the mass demonstrations, campus conquests, and appalling acts of terrorism, such as the Bondi Beach massacre last month.
The impact of these events has been intensified by the rise of social media, and more recently, the extraordinary influence of Artificial Intelligence, which has made it hard to distinguish between the truth and fake news.
Fascinating footage of Venezuelans
Last Saturday night, when I turned on the radio and my phone after a 25-hour abstinence from news (as an Orthodox Jew, I avoid electronic devices on Shabbat), I learned of the bold US operation to arrest Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife and bring them to New York for trial. My first instinct was to check whether the story and photos were real.
It was fascinating to see footage of Venezuelans celebrating the Trump administration’s operation, including the huge number of people forced into exile under the regimes of Hugo Chavez and Maduro, and compare it to the indignant uproar of those upset that Trump had actually taken action.
As always in the case of a radical regime head change, my advice is to reserve judgment until you know who the replacement is. Last year, the news that the House of Assad had fallen in Syria, after a tyrannical father-and-son reign of more than five decades, was cause for celebration. But the rise of al-Qaeda breakaway jihadist Ahmed a-Sharaa as the new president – taking over the country in a matter of days – was and remains cause for concern.
Israel, in the meantime, decided to take control of strategic areas on the Hermon mountain range and areas on the Syrian side of the Golan border, to ensure that jihadist forces didn’t gain a military advantage (and get hold of advanced conventional and non-conventional weapons). This week, talks took place to try to reach an agreement that would ensure Israel’s security along the Syrian border.
'Who will be next?'
The question, “Who’s next?” is being asked all over the world; some ask with trepidation, others in anticipation.
Over the years, I have frequently wondered who would take over Iran if and when the ayatollahs fall. Before breaking into a round of “Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead,” it’s prudent to make sure that there isn’t a Wicked Witch of the West who is even worse than her proverbial sister.
There is no doubt that Maduro’s arrest and extraction for trial in the US sent a powerful message to other dictatorial regimes – including Russian President Vladimir Putin, still engaged in war against Ukraine, and Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, wherever he is hiding and watching the protests on the streets of the Islamic Republic of Iran. It would be dangerously naive to ignore Venezuelan-Iranian ties.
Iranians are protesting both the dire economic situation and the strictures and restraints of the Shi’ite Islamist regime. The proverbial Man on the Street – and in this case, the courageous women openly flouting the mandatory hijab law – must be asking themselves why the ayatollahs spend so much money arming and rearming terrorist regimes, including the Houthis in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Hamas in Gaza, when there are severe domestic shortages of water and fuel; staggering levels of inflation; and the currency exchange rate at the time I’m writing this is a mind-blowing 1.47 million rials to the dollar.
Israel’s 12-Day War with Iran in June (Operation Rising Lion), in which the Israel Air Force knocked out most of Iran’s ballistic missile capability, maintained air superiority over the skies of Tehran (some 2,000 km. from Jerusalem), and with US help, severely damaged or eliminated its nuclear facilities, also sent a message: Don’t mess with us.
Israel does not have a grudge with the Iranian people, but rather with the ayatollahs who have caused so much suffering around the world. Last week, Trump wrote on his Truth Social account that the US would defend the protesters if they were attacked by the Iranian regime, declaring: “We are locked and loaded and ready to go.”
Just what this means remains to be seen. Possibly, Trump himself doesn’t know yet, but it’s likely the Iranian leadership’s interpretation of the threat changed with the Maduro arrest. It’s easy to ridicule Trump’s bombastic social media messages, but in Iran’s 2009 Green Revolution, then-president Barack Obama wasn’t prepared to lift a finger, even to fire off a Tweet, to support the democracy movement. It was one of the first serious mistakes in Obama’s foreign policy.
Meanwhile, Israel and Morocco this week signed a joint military work plan, under the framework of the Abraham Accords, and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar visited Somaliland, which Israel recognized two weeks ago, demonstrating yet again that there is hope for ties between the Jewish state and the moderate Arab and Muslim world.
Mamdani: celebration or consternation?
New York City was in the news last week, not just for the unexpected arrival of the Maduros. The inauguration of Mayor Zohran Mamdani was cause for celebration for some, and consternation for others. The new resident of Gracie Mansion immediately revoked 15 months’ worth of executive orders of his predecessor, Eric Adams, including New York City’s adoption of the IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) working definition of antisemitism, and other executive orders aimed at confronting antisemitism in it various guises.
It will be interesting to see how Mamdani, whose identity is a red-green mix of radical socialism and Muslim faith, handles New York’s 25th anniversary commemorations of 9/11.
Russia-Ukraine repercussions
Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine has had economic, demographic, and military repercussions that reach far beyond those two countries. If you ever doubted the interconnectivity of the global village, note Russia’s use of Iranian drones and North Korean soldiers. European and NATO countries are watching and beginning to internalize the implications, particularly as Russian drones and cyberattacks affect places from Poland and the Baltic states, to Belgium, Denmark, and Germany.
Germany’s increased threat perception has led to a stunning “What next?” moment. Last month, Germany began deploying an Israeli Arrow 3 missile defense system, purchased in a whopping $3.6 billion deal, and announced it was expanding the agreement to buy an additional $3.1 billion worth of Arrow 3 interceptors and launchers.
Although Berlin imposed a partial arms boycott on Israel during the war in Gaza, Germany is arming itself with advanced Israeli defense systems. As The Jerusalem Post’s Herb Keinon put it: “Eighty years after the Holocaust, the Jewish state is now defending Germany.”
Even more incredibly, the Arrow 3 is no longer Israel’s most advanced defensive system.
Last week, the Defense Ministry reported the operational deployment of the Iron Beam. Adding a new level of protection to the existing Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and Arrow systems, the Iron Beam (officially called Or Eitan or “Eitan’s Light”) can potentially neutralize threats literally at the speed of light, with greatly reduced risk of collateral damage, and minimal cost per interception (unlike the missile-based systems).
Laser beams against missiles; talk about cutting-edge technology. Perhaps, the question should be: Whatever will they think of next?