Peace with the Palestinians is the key prerequisite for a transition to an assertive security policy.
Israel should also continue its efforts to establish diplomatic and economic contacts with
moderate Islamic states.
1. There is a paradoxical situation in the world. On the one hand, history has never seen so
many politicians among the major national leaders who would be friendly towards Israel and the
Jewish diaspora. On the other hand, anti-Israeli sentiments and the number of acts of anti-
Semitism keep steadily growing. This can be explained by a fundamentally new phenomenon, a
coordinated and well-financed campaign to discredit Israel and the Jews within civil societies
with the help of NGOs.
The Jews of the Diaspora, strewn around the world, can play an important role in the present
situation. Jewish public organizations have the task of disseminating the ideas of tolerance,
human rights and freedoms as far as possible. This presupposes a free and broad mind that
would not be focused exclusively on Jewish problems. When combating extremism, not only
anti-Semitism should be in focus but also more general threats, such as xenophobia, racism and
human rights abuse. Sodom and Gomorrah burned in biblical fire and brimstone precisely for
manifestations of xenophobia. The Jews of the Diaspora are obliged to fight these dangerous
The world we live in is going
through more than one crisis
simultaneously.
Terrorism threat >
The demographic crisis >
The demographic crisis >
International terrorism >
The environmental crisis >
phenomena wherever they appear and whomever they target.
Jewish NGOs could spearhead the international campaign in defence of human rights and do
their utmost to depoliticize the UN Human Rights Council. To this end it is important that Jewish
organizations seek contacts with non-Jewish NGOs and governments and develop cooperation
and partnerships with them. Joint actions would have much more impact than working
singlehandedly.
Under these alarming circumstances the Jewish community of Europe and America faces the
pressing task of activating and consolidating efforts in every country and on the international
level, initiating laws to control migration, restrict the activities of closed Islamic communities
that undermine state stability and require that the immigrants obey the laws and respect the
norms and customs of their countries of residence. The limits of tolerance cannot be vague in
these matters.
As for the nuclear, including terrorist, threat, Jewish organizations should convince their
governments and public opinion of the gravity of this threat and the need for immediate actions
on their part. Representatives of the Jewish diaspora should constantly meet political leaders
and prominent public figures and make their voice heard through the media. The message
should be clear: this is a threat to global security and not to one country alone. Raising a strong
consolidated barrier to Iran’s military nuclear programme should become a priority for the
Diaspora.
2. Just as the economic crisis forced even the most conservative world players to recognize the
need for urgent measures to coordinate interstate efforts and adjust the entire architecture of
the world financial and economic system, so the crisis of the non-proliferation system brought
about by the actions of the Iranian leaders requires that a rapid response system be formed.
An agreement between the US and Russia on countering nuclear terrorism would be effective
only provided there is an executive body in the form of a rapid response headquarters under the
direct supervision of the US and Russia as the countries which have contributed the most to
nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation (they have reduced their arsenals by 85 percent
over the past twenty years). Such a structure is needed to take urgent measures against the
spread of nuclear materials, critical technologies and nuclear weapons.
3. Along with the proposed non-proliferation operating headquarters, it is expedient to found a
centre to counter humanitarian threats with the participation of the EU, the USA and Russia. A
centre like that could promote secure tolerance norms in society as a continuous programme of
practical actions. The programme should include law-making, the activities of national and
supranational executive authorities and organizations, educational and information efforts,
science, migration policy, international cooperation, the development of social security and civil
society, and, of course, cultural projects.
An interpenetrating synthesis of the notions of security and tolerance is the order of the day.
Society should realize that the tree of security and tolerance can be cultivated only with lasting
and purposeful efforts in the spirit of solidarity, as distinct from wild-growing racism,
xenophobia, anti-Semitism and extremism.
4. The establishment of a pan-European University for Secure Tolerance might serve as a
research and educational platform for the new policy of international security. The governments
and public organizations of different countries could use the conclusions and recommendations
of this university to ensure equal security in light of new threats and challenges.
5. In the face of nuclear weapons proliferation, the main threat of the twenty-first century, the
memory of the Holocaust should be immortalized not only in history textbooks but also in a
code of laws banning any denial of the Holocaust or the results of World War Two in every
European country and the world over.
All these projects and proposals within the framework of the humanitarian concept of “soft
power” must be tackled within a single package of measures towards nuclear disarmament and
non-proliferation, conventional armed forces and arms reduction and control, together with
control over arms supplies and the solution of territorial and other problems of regional security.
***
Just as their predecessors who believed that personally they had nothing to do with what was
going on seventy years ago, many people may be sceptical today of the proposed action
programme. In the late 1920s and the 1930s they did not understand that the bell was tolling
for them when the artist Adolf Schickelgruber was still writing his opus titled Mein Kampf. The
true aims of Hitler’s followers in the early twenty-first century are absolutely clear. The threat of
global catastrophe, posed by nuclear terrorism coming from extremist states and organizations,
is again hanging over the world. Vigilance and readiness for resolute joint action are the chief
resource and only chance for the salvation of modern civilization.
