Israel needs a national 'time out' to focus on existential threats - opinion

In Europe, the Russia-Ukraine war has now entered its fourth year, with over 1.25 million Russian dead according to data provided by the BBC, along with 200,000 Ukrainian casualties, of whom 55,000 were military. And those numbers could be even higher in both cases. Putin’s desire to control more and more of Europe could eventually have negative repercussions for Israel as well.

On the US side, an armada of naval assets has been assembled in the region with two aircraft carrier strike forces positioned within range of Iran. Diplomatic efforts to avoid a conflict have been abandoned, and we are now embroiled in a war on two fronts in partnership with a country that cannot make up its mind what the endgame will be.

Turkey, which for decades was an active ally of Israel, is now trying to assert its hegemony over the region, willingly trading the benefits of allying with Israel for the presumed power that would come from holding sway over the rest of the Middle East.

In addition, there is no telling what the long-term situation will be in Gaza and how it will affect Israel, or whether the Abraham Accords can be expanded if Gaza is not successfully rehabilitated. That chapter has not yet been closed.

Finally, the rampant antisemitism that was unleashed simultaneously with the Hamas attack on October 7 (in some cases even while Hamas troops were still in southern Israel killing people) has added yet another battle whose intensity has increased exponentially from where we were just two years ago.

In a word, while Israel is clearly in a better strategic position than it was on October 7, it continues to face existential threats as it has since that first Independence Day in 1948.

It should be obvious to all of us living here that, for the immediate future, all of the intelligence, diplomatic, financial, and strategic assets of Israel need to be fully dedicated to ensuring the continued viability of the country in the face of multiple threats from so many quarters of the world.

Yet, how can this be done? After all, one could rightfully say, there are so many other day-to-day challenges that continue even in the face of the existential threat. Nevertheless, I submit it is time for Israel to take a “time out,” to declare a Supplemental Activity Hiatus (SAH) on the government, its ministers, and operational arms, requiring them to cease and desist all activities in the public and private sector that are not specifically tied to ensuring our survival as a nation.

What would that mean? Basically, under this SAH, the incessant arguments and discussions about concepts that are not specifically connected to the survival of the country would be suspended. Some examples follow:

All debate and discussion about who has access to the Western Wall, who can pray there, where they can pray, etc., should be put on hold – with the egalitarian prayer sites made available to those who want them, as agreed upon legislatively so many years ago and now in place but seemingly still under discussion.

All activity related to the controversial judicial reform effort should be suspended for at least a year. Those issues have been with us for some time, and if they are left as is for another year, no harm will come to the state as a result.

Stop the government’s activities involved in the creeping annexation of the West Bank for a year. There are really no available resources to deal with this subject properly.

Take the issue of dropping the cases against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu off the table by granting him a pardon concomitant with having him agree never to run again for public office.

I have no doubt that thoughtful people can come up with additional actions that should be “frozen” during this period in order to open up sufficient time to deal with the multiple threats to our future.

This is a radical step, but we are living in historical times that demand radical but constructive action to permit us to prevail in our desire to remain sovereign and productive.

Former US president Franklin Roosevelt, who guided the free world to victory over fascism in World War II, said: “The point in history at which we stand is full of promise and danger. The world will either move forward toward unity and widely shared prosperity – or it will move apart.”

Those words are as true today as they were 85 years ago when they were first uttered. At the time, they applied to a world at war, but substitute “Israel” for “world,” and our challenge then becomes crystal clear.

We need a “time out” to be able to move forward in unity and thereby secure our future as a country in the face of today’s uncertain world. It is nothing less than a national imperative, and we must not fail in this effort.