Israel's Strategy in Syria

Democracy isn't Israel's priority in Syria, reflecting its lack of true democracy in its own state.

So when Israeli fighter jets violated international airspace for the umpteenth time, this time attacking targets across the border into Syria, they were not doing so to help bring democracy to the Middle East.

As most honest people know, Israel is far from a true democracy and more like an apartheid-state that bases its social and political policies on race and religion.

But what is Israel trying to do by bombing what it describes as "military targets" in Syria that in the end seem to always take a lot of civilian lives?

It's a purely selfish Israeli position — is there any other? Israel would rather President Bashar al-Assad remain in power as a dictator than have him replaced by anyone else. The choices come down to two possibilities. One is an Arab democratic front that would promote democracy and freedoms. The other is rule by the al-Qaida-based religious fanatics that have a foothold in nearly every Middle East country.

No one wants the al-Qaida fanatics to expand their foothold in the Middle East. The al-Qaida fanatics are a direct outgrowth of anti-Arab policies pursued by the United States and the West in the Middle East and they reflect the fundamental and deep-seated anger that Western policies have provoked among otherwise good people.

America's double standards and hypocritical policies in the Middle East, specifically with respect to Israel, have fueled the growth of al-Qaida and other extremist religious movements that falsely claim to represent Islam.

But the bigger threat to Israel is the growth of democracy in the Arab world. If the Arab world were ever to become a democracy, it would expose Israel as the democracy fraud that it is.

Israel fears the Arab Spring because the Arab Spring augments the calls for freedom throughout the region, not just in the Arab world, but in Israel, too. And Israel is one of the most oppressive countries in the Middle East. Although most Jewish citizens of Israel enjoy unprecedented freedoms and benefits from the state, non-Jews suffer simply because they are non-Jews. Christian Arabs and Muslim Arabs are victimized by Israel both as so-called "citizens" and as imprisoned victims in the occupied lands.

So why is Israel attacking Syria? Not to hurt the dictator Bashar al-Assad but rather to help him.

Israel's two military assaults in violation of international law — again, what else is new — have undercut the rebels who are seeking to replace the Assad dictatorship with an elected democratic government.

Assad has survived longer than any target of the Arab Spring push for democracy simply because of Israel.

Although Syria does a lot of yelling and screaming about the "Zionist entity" and slamming Israel for its pathetic human rights record and its oppression of the Palestinians, Syria has done absolutely nothing to stop Israel.

In fact, Syria is exactly the kind of Arab confrontation state Israel needs next to its borders. Israel can use the Syrian ruse as a basis to build up its financial graft in the West. Israel screams and yells as much as Syria does, but Israel gets billions of dollars in American tax dollars and military assault systems in exchange.

Without a military threat, Israel would not exist as a nation. It can't survive in peace. Israel can only exist in continued conflict, regional strife and on the brink of war. Without the threats — exaggerated or otherwise — Israel would have no reason to exist. American taxpayers might one day wake up and see Israel for what it really is, a modern day nation that has fine-tuned and systematized oppression, discrimination and brutality.

If Israel did not have an "enemy," it would have no friends. So Israel uses "threats" like Syria to bully Western countries into giving it everything it demands, from money to international policy support for its expansionist brutality against Palestinian civilians.

If Iranian or Syrian warplanes had crossed into Israel and bombed military targets, the United States would have leapt up in Israel defense, fighting its battles.

But because it has created the shroud of a false threat around itself, Israel can, at will, violate international laws and attack any nation for any reason and still be guaranteed the backing of Western powers.

So Israel attacked Syria to help Assad regain his power base in Syria and undermine the rebels who have fought valiantly to oust their oppressor.

It's a good lesson for the Arabs, though. Before they can bring democracy to the Arab world, they have to bring true democracy to Israel, the military engine that fuels all of the region's uncertainty and instability.

Israel knows that. They also know that without Assad, it would be more difficult for them to claim to be the victim when in fact Israel is the greatest oppressor of human rights in the Middle East.

Ray Hanania is an award-winning Palestinian American columnist. To find out more about Ray Hanania and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit www.creators.com.

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