Selected articles concerning Israel, published weekly by Suburban Orthodox Toras Chaim’s (Baltimore) Israel Action Committee Edited by Jerry Appelbaum ( [email protected] ) | Founding editor: Sheldon J. Berman Z”L

Issue 900 Volume 2 1 , Number 3 2 Parshias Ki Seitzei August 21 , 2021

Disaster in Will Follow Us Home By Bret Stephens nyt.com August 15, 2021 What on earth was Joe Biden thinking — if, that is, he consequences. We should begin to anticipate t hem now. was thinking? The killing won’t stop. Watch — if you have the On July 8, the president defended his decision to stomach — videos of the aftermath of an attack in May on withdraw all remaining U.S. forces from Afghanista n. Afghan schoolgirls, which left 90 dead, or the massacre of After assuring Americans that “the drawdown is 22 Afghan commandos in June, gunned down as they were proceeding in a secure and orderly way” and that “U.S. surrendering, or figh ters taunting an Afghan police support for the people of Afghanistan will endure,” he officer, shortly before they kill him for the crime of took some questions. Here are excerpts from the White making comic videos. House transcript. One Taliban official declared that their jihad was Q: Is a Taliban takeover of Afghanistan now directed not against ordinary Afghans but only “against the inevitable? occupiers and those who defend the occ upiers.” Yet the The president: No, it is not. list of Afghans who fill that bill reaches into the thousands, Q: Why? if not higher. The president: Because you — the Afghan troops Women will become chattel. There are roughly 18 have 300,000 well - equipped — as well equipped as any million women and girls in Afghanistan. They will now be army in the world — and an air force against something subject to laws from the seventh century. They will not be like 75,000 Taliban. It is not inevitable. … able to walk about with uncovered faces or be seen in Q: Do you see any parallels between this withdrawal public without a male relative. They will not be able to and what happened in Vietnam, with some people feeling hold the kinds of jobs they’ve fought so hard to get over —— the last 20 years: journalists, teachers, parliamentarians, The president: None whatsoever. Zero … The Taliban entrepreneurs. Their dau ghters will not be allowed to go to is not the South — the North Vietnamese Army. They’re school or play sports or consent to the choice of a not — they’re not remotely comparable in terms of husband. capability. There’s going to be no circumstance where you Afghanistan will become a magnet to jihadists see people being lifted off the roof of an embassy. … everywhere. Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban’s deputy Q: Mr. President, how serious was the corruption leader, is one of the F.B.I.’s most wanted terrorists. Don’t among the Afghanistan government to this mission failing expect him to change his spots, even if he claimed there? otherwise last year in a Times guest essay. The pres ident: Well, first of all, the mission hasn’t “The relationship between the Taliban and Al Qaeda failed, yet. There is in Afghanistan — in all parties, there’s will get stronger,” Saad Mohseni, the head of the Afghan been corruption. The question is, can there be an news and media company Moby, told me on Saturday. agreement on unity of purpose? … That — the jury is still “W hy should the Taliban fear the Americans anymore? out. But the likelihood there’s going t o be the Taliban What’s the worst that could happen? Another invasion? overrunning everything and owning the whole country is “These guys are going to be the most belligerent, highly unlikely. arrogant Islamist movement on the planet,” Mohseni Biden’s heedlessness, on the cusp of a sweeping added. “They are going to be the Mecca for any youn g Taliban blitzkrieg that on Sunday saw them enter , radical of Islamic heritage or convert. It’s going to inspire will define his administration’s first great fiasco. It won’t people. It’s a godsend for any radical, violent group.” m atter that he is carrying through on the shambolic What happens in Afghanistan won’t stay there. The withdrawal agreement negotiated last year by the Trump country most immediately at risk from an ascendant administration, with the eager support of Trump’s Taliban is neighboring Pakistan. Af ter years of Islamabad isolationist base, and through the diplomatic efforts of giving sanctuary and support for the Afghan Taliban (as Trump’s lickspittle secretary of state, Mik e Pompeo. long as they attacked coalition forces), Pakistan must now This is happening on Biden’s watch, at Biden’s fear that the next regime in Kabul will give sanctuary and insistence, against the advice of his senior military advisers support for the Pakistani Taliban. There may be poetic and with Biden’s firm assurance to the American people just ice in this, but the prospect of fundamentalist forces that what has just come to pass wouldn’t come to pass. destabilizing a regime with an estimated 160 nuclear Past presidents might have had a senior adviser resign in warheads is an unparalleled global nightmare. the wake of such a debacle, as Les Aspin, then the Short of this, the calamity in Afghanistan is a recipe secretary of defense, did after the 1993 Black Hawk Down for another wave of migrants, one that will wash over episode in Somalia. Europe’s shores and provoke a populist backlash. “We’re This time, Biden owns the moment. He also owns the going to see 20 Viktor Orbans emerge,” warned Mohseni, F o c u s o n Is ra el August 21, 2021 Page 2 referring to the Hungarian strongman and Tucker Carlson for 71 years, at far higher cost, and the world is better off B.F.F. for it. America’s geopolitical position will be gravely But wasn’t the Afghan government corrupt and inept? damaged. What kind of ally is the United States? In the last Yes, but at least that government wasn’t massacring its several years, the United States has maintained a relatively own citizens or raising the banner of jihad. small force in Afghanistan, largely devoted to providing But aren’t American casualties unacceptable? They are su rveillance, logistics and air cover for Afghan forces while surely tragic. But so is squandering the sacrifice of so many taking minimal casualties. Any American president could Americans who fought the Taliba n bravely and nobly — have maintained this position almost indefinitely — with and, as it turns out, for nothing. no prospect of defeating the Taliban but none of being But is there any reason we should care more about the routed by them, either. fate of Afghans than we do of desperate people elsewhere? In o ther words, we had achieved a good - enough Yes, because our inability to help everyone, everywhere solution for a nation we could afford to neither save nor doesn’t relieve us of the oblig ation to help someone, lose. We squandered it anyway. Now, in the aftermath of somewhere — and because America’s power and Saigon redux, every enemy will draw the lesson that the reputation in the world is also a function of being a beacon United States is a feckless power, with no l asting appetite of confidence and hope. for defending the Pax Americana that is still the basis for Now these arguments belong to the past. The war in world order. And every ally — Taiwan, Ukraine, the Baltic Afghanistan isn’t just over. It’s lost. A few America ns may states, Israel, Japan — will draw the lesson that it is on its cheer this humiliation, and many more will shrug at it. But own in the face of its enemies. The Biden Doctrine means the consequences of defeat are rarely benign for nations, th e burial of the Truman Doctrine. no matter how powerful they otherwise appear to be. But didn’t we have to leave Afghanistan sometime? So America’s enemies, great and small, will draw conclusions goes a counterargument. Yes, though we’ve been in Korea from our needless sur render, just as they will about the frighteningly oblivious president who brought it about.

Taliban triumphant: America may pay dearly for defeat in Afghanistan By The Economist economist.com August 15, 2021 Joe Biden’s decision to pull forces from Afgha nistan overrunning everything and o wning the whole country is could haunt his presidency. highly unlikely”. By August 14th Mr Biden was reduced to Joe Biden may have more foreign - policy experience trying to shift some blame to Donald Trump. “When I than any American president in 30 years, but he is haunted came to office, I inherited a deal cut by my predecessor,” by the brutal assessment of his judgment by Bob Gates, he said in a statement. He argued the deal “left the Taliban who was secretary of defence under the president both in the strongest position militarily since 2001” and noted it men served, . Mr Gates called Mr Biden “a imposed a May 1st, 2021 deadline for American man of integrity” whom it was impossible not to like. Yet, withdrawal. writing in “Duty”, his memoir, he added: “I think he has Yet Mr Biden also stood behind his own decision, been wrong on nearly every major foreign - policy and saying that America’s mission of eliminating the terrorist national - security issue over the past four decades.” threat from Afghanistan was accomplished years ago. His It is too soon to know whether history will add Mr alternative to withdrawal, he said, would have been to Biden’s decision to withdraw from Afghanistan to a list of commit more troops “to fight once again in another calls that includes support for the war in Iraq and country’s civil war.” He said he was the fourth president to opposition to the raid to kill Osama bin Laden. But in the preside over an American troop presence in Afghanistan short term the aband onment of Afghanistan to Taliban and wo uld not “pass this war on to a fifth.” rule after 20 years of American commitment — the images Mike Pompeo, Mr Trump’s secretary of state, rejected of panicked retreat and the pleas of terrified Afghan allies, Mr Biden’s remark about Mr Trump’s deal as “pathetic the stench of great - power humiliation that inevitably blame - shifting” and insisted the Biden administration had recalled the evacuation of Saigon in 1975 — mocks Mr failed to create conditions for an orderly withdrawal . Yet, Bi den’s claims that “America is back”; that conviction in appearing on August 15th on “Fox News Sunday with democracy and compassion for the oppressed have a place Chris Wallace,” Mr Pompeo also apportioned blame to the beside self - interest at the centre of his foreign policy; and Afghan president, , calling him more that at least, after four years of buffoonery, American interested in accumulating American money than in talking leadership is once again c ompetent. to his own people, and he said the A merican armed forces As recently as on July 8th Mr Biden dismissed any had failed across two decades to train Afghan forces. chance that American diplomats might wind up scrambling Reporting by the Washington Post two years ago showed for an exit as they did in Vietnam. “None whatsoever,” he the armed forces and civilian leaders misled the public said. “Zero.” He said the possibility of “the Taliban throughout the war, insisting on progress that did not Page 3 August 21, 2021 Focus on Israe l exist, including in training Afghan soldiers. In fact, by sending tens of thousands of forces back to Afghanistan to supplying so much combat experience, America appears to restart a war we needed to end.” have been more effective in training Taliban fighters. Mr Blinken noted the Americans had expended a Veterans are stepping forward to say they now feel their trillion dollars and more than 2,300 lives in Afghanistan. sacrifices were for nothing, a conclusion that should help He said they had stayed longer than the British in the 19th force a reckoning within the armed forces, as after century and twice as long as the Soviets in the 20th Vietnam. century. “There is nothing that our strategic competitors Polling as recently as on August 9th has shown that, if would like more than to see us bogged down and mired in asked to express a view, Americans said they supported Mr Afghanistan for another five to ten to 20 years,” said Mr Biden’s withdrawal. The left within the Democratic party Blinken, appearing weary and pained. “That is not in the wanted Amer ica out long ago, and his establishment national interest.” Pressed on whether the administration Democratic critics have no other political home. Mr was closing its embassy, Mr Blinken said it would m aintain Trump’s own disdain for America’s involvement in Iraq a core presence of diplomats and “in effect, an embassy, at has blunted attacks by Republicans, leaving them to a location at the airport”. complain about the manner of the withdrawal rather than Mr Biden has said he will be judged in the end on th e fact it happened. Further, the overnight evaporation of whether a terrorist threat to America emerges again from the Afghan security forces, after the commitment of more Afghanistan. His aides insist that advances in milita ry than $80bn from America, may lead many Americans to intelligence, tactics and capabilities since the 9/11 attacks conclude the Afghan leadership failed the Americans, mean that American forces will be able to pre - empt any rather than the other way around. Th at said, images of danger. Along with the probable resistance of Pakistan to Taliban brutality may shift the politics against the future counter - terrorism operations, the evident failure of administration. American intellige nce to anticipate the Taliban’s onslaught From the left and right, critics of Mr Biden’s calls that assurance into question. withdrawal insist that America could have indefinitely So does Mr Biden’s own inconsistent advocacy over sustained the recent, uneasy status quo in Afghanistan by the years for the use of force. He supported NATO air maintain ing a small support presence of perhaps 2,500 strikes in the Balkans, then opposed George H.W. Bush's soldiers. These critics view Mr Biden as repeating the war against Iraq b efore supporting George W. Bush’s mistake Mr Obama made in Iraq in 2011 — at the urging of second one. In the years since he has been more frequently Mr Biden. In withdrawing American troops then, Mr an advocate of restraint, opposing Mr Obama’s Obama opened the door to a takeover by Islamic Sta te. intervention in Libya as well as his decision, in response to Mr Biden’s aides respond with their own counter - a renewed Taliban threat in 2009, to dispatch 30,000 factual. Antony Blinken, the secretary of state, insisted it so ldiers to Afghanistan. Since Mr Biden was a child he has was only the American commitment to withdraw that had always been a risk - taker, trusting in the end in his own led the Taliban to suspend attacks on American troops. judgment. That pattern led to another appraisal that has Had the Biden administration reneg ed, he said on the long troubled him, from a largely admiring portrait in the NBC program Meet the Press on August 15th, “I would great chronicle of America n presidential politics, “What It be on your show right now explaining why we were Takes”, by Richard Ben Cramer. “Joe Biden had ***** ,” Mr Cramer wrote. “Lot of times, more ***** than sense How the Taliban Overran the Afghan Army, Built by the U.S. Over 20 Years By Yaroslav Trofimov wsj.com August 14 , 2021 Afghanistan’s military was molded to match national army and police forces, other soldiers simply American operations and collapsed without U.S. air made the calculation that it wasn’t worth fighting support and intelligence. anymore — especially if the Taliban offered them safe The Afghan government outpost in Imam Sahib, a passage home, as they usual ly did. district of northern Kunduz province, held out for two “Everyone just surrendered their guns and ran away,” months after being surrounded by the Taliban. At first, said Rahimullah, a 25 - year soldier who joined the army a elite commando units would come once a week on a year ago and served in the Shahr - e - Bozorg district of resupply run. Then, these runs became more scarce, as did northeastern Badakhshan province. “We didn’t receive any the supplies. help from the central gover nment, and so the district fell “In the last days, there was no food, no water and no without any fighting.” weapons,” said trooper Taj Mohammad, 38. Fleeing in on e Afghanistan’s national army and police forces, armored personnel carrier and one Ford Ranger, the theoretically numbering 350,000 men and trained and remaining men finally made a run to the relative safety of equipped at huge cost by the U.S. and Western allies, were the provincial capital, which collapsed weeks later. They supposed to be a powerful deterrent to the Taliban. That is left behind another 11 APCs to the Taliban. one reason why President Biden, when he announced in As district after district fell in this su mmer’s Taliban April his decision to withdraw all American forces from offensive, without much visible support from the Afghan Foc u s o n Israel August 21, 2021 Page 4

Afghanistan, expressed confidence in the Afghan military’s Afghanistan’s more than 400 districts has long been the ability to hold ground. main pillar of America’s counterinsurgency strategy. “They’ll continue to fight valiantly, on behalf of Mr. Ghani had ample warning of the American Afghans, at great cost,” he said departure aft er the Trump at the time. administration signed the The Afghan security forces February 2020 agreement with have since then experienced a the Taliban that called on all humiliating collapse, losing most U.S. forces and contractors to of the country and the major leave by May 2021. Yet, the cities of Kandahar and Herat in Afghan government failed to recent days. Taliban fighters on adjust its military footprint to Sunday entered Kabul, freeing match the new reality. Many inmates at the city’s main prison. officials didn’t believe in their President Biden said hearts that the Americans Saturday he would send would actually leave. approximately 5,000 U.S. troops “Politically it was suicide to to safely evacuate U.S. and allied leave certain regions, and to personnel, a force slightly larger concentrate on certain others, than the 3,000 personnel already and that made the Afghan army in transit back to Afghanistan overstretched and critically an d the 1,000 already there, part dependent on close air support of a massive effort to airlift Western diplomats and f or logistics, medevac and combat operations,” Afghan civilians as the country’s demoralized security forces Foreign Minister Haneef Atmar, who previously served as offered no resistance. national - security adviser and interior minister, said in an This spectacular failure stemmed from built - in flaws of interview. the Afghan military compounded by str ategic blundering “We did not have enough transition time to move of the government of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. The from that arrangement to a n ew arrangement, to bring Taliban, meanwhile, took advantage of the U.S. - sponsored back forces from areas that are difficult to defend and to peace talks to deceive Kabul about their intentions as they concentrate on the main population centers,” he added. prepared and executed a lighting offensive. Aminuddin Amini, 28, displaced from Kunduz with The Afghan army fight ing alongside American troops his family, held his 1 - year - old daughter, Berin, at a was molded to match the way the Americans operate. The makeshift camp in Shahr - e Naw Park in Kabul on Friday. U.S. military, the world’s most advanced, relies heavily on Taliban fighters on a pickup truck in a market area of combining ground operations with air power, using aircraft Kabul on Tuesday following the group’s takeover of the to resupply outposts, strike targets, ferry the woun ded, and Afghan capital.Afghans congregated outside the French collect reconnaissance and intelligence. Embassy in Kabul on Tuesday in hopes of leaving In the wake of President Biden’s withdrawal decision, Afgh anistan.Hundreds of people gathered outside the the U.S. pulled its air support, intelligence and contractors international airport in Kabul in a bid to catch a flight out servicing Afghanistan’s planes and helicopters. That meant of the country Tuesday.A marketplace in Kabul on the Afghan military simply couldn’t operate anymore. The Tuesday.Taliban fighters rode through Kabul on Monday, same happened with anoth er failed American effort, the a day after the U.S. - backed government col lapsed and the South Vietnamese army in the 1970s, said retired Lt. Gen. Taliban took control.This pickup truck, in Kabul on Daniel Bolger, who commanded the U.S. - led coalition’s Monday, was among those seized by Taliban fighters from mission to train Afghan forces in 2011 - 2013. Afghan government forces.Afghans climbed atop a plane “There is always a tendency to use the model you at the Kabul airport Monday after a stunningly swift end to know, which is your own model,” said Gen. Bolger, who Afghanistan's 20 - ye ar war. Thousands of people mobbed now teaches history at North Carolina State University. the airport trying to flee the country as the Taliban took “When you build an army like that, and it’s meant to be a control.There was chaos outside partner with a sophisticated force like the Americans, you International Airport in Kabul Monday as Afghans can’t pull the Americans out all of a sudden, be cause then attempted to get on flights leaving the country.Members of they lose the day - to - day assistance that they need,” he said. the Talib an at the Afghan presidential palace in Kabul after When U.S. forces were still operating here, the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country on government sought to maximize its presence through the Sunday.Taliban fighters took over the Afghan capital on country’s far - flung countryside, maintaining more than 200 Sunday after seizing most of the country in just over a bases and outp osts that could be resupplied only by air. week.Displaced Afghans from Kunduz prayed at a mo sque Extending government operations to the most of in Kabul on Friday. Page 5 August 21, 2021 Focus on Israe l

When the Taliban launched their offensive in May, t hird force, frequently lashing out at Mr. Ghani and the they concentrated on overrunning those isolated outposts, U .S. massacring soldiers who were determined to resist but “The government ended up com pletely isolating many allowing safe conduct to those who surrendered, often via people,” said Hekmat Karzai, a former deputy foreign deals nego tiated by local tribal elders. The Taliban gave minister and a cousin of the former president. “It became pocket money to some of these troops, who had gone a self - licking ice cream fantasy. It just talked to itself and unpaid for months. had very senior positions led by very inexperienced people By the time the Taliban began their assault on major who hardly understood the reality,” he said. population centers this month, the Afghan military was so “Do the troops have a reason to fight?” he asked. “I demoralized that it offered little resistance. Provincial feel that the Taliban isn’t enormously strong. It’s that the leaders and senior commanders replicated surrender deals government is in disarray.” struck on the local level before. The elite commando units Andrew Watkins, senior analyst for Afghanistan at the were one exception, but they were too few in number and International C risis Group, a research and advocacy lacked aircraft to move them around the country. organization, said that there was no evidence the Taliban Mr. Ghani and his national - security adviser, had increased their manpower to launch this summer’s Hamdullah Mohib, were opposed to last year’s offensive, apart from tapping some of the 5,000 insurgent agreement and expected the Biden administration to detainees who had been released under the Doha reverse course instead of doubling down on the deal struck agr eement. by Mr. Trump. What changed between February 2020 and Mr. Mr. Mohib, a British - educated former amba ssador Biden’s withdrawal announcement was an end to with no military experience, took direct control of military American airstrikes that used to exact a heavy toll on operations, calling unit commanders and issuing orders insurgent fighters, he noted. that bypassed the normal chain of command, according to “The Doha agreement bought the Taliban a one year several senior government officials and diplomats. He reprieve,” said Mr. Watk ins. “They were able to regroup, couldn’t be reached for comment. plan, strengthen their supply lines, have freedom of For much of the past year, the Afghan minister of movement, without fear of American bombardment.” defense, replaced in June by veteran anti - Taliban When the insurgents struck, after suggesting in public commander Gen. Bismillah Khan Mohammadi, was out of that they won’t attack big cities while peace talks continue, the country, receiving medical treatment in the United the blow was overwhelming. Arab Emirates. Mr. Ghani routinely sack ed commanders. “When the Kunduz province fell to the Taliban, so The latest chief of the army lasted less than two months. many soldiers were killed. We were surrounded,” said The U.S. - sponsored peace talks in Doha allowed the Abdul Qudus, a 29 - year - old soldier who managed to make Taliban to project themselves as a moderate, benevolent his way to Kabul in the past week. “There was no air force just as Mr. Ghani’s political rivals in Kabul plotted to support. In the last m inutes, our commander told us that replace him w ith some sort of transitional administration they cannot do anything for us and it’s just better to run that would facilitate a peace deal. Former President Hamid away. Everyone left the war and escaped.” Karzai, in particular, tried to position himself as a neutral Visit suburba northodox.or g f or t he current iss u e. Can Biden reverse course and abandon Obama’s policies? By Jonathan S. Tobin jns.org August 18, 2021 After Afghanistan, the administration may double contradict the beliefs of almost all of those who serve on down on Iran appeasement in pursuit of a dubious his foreign - policy team. diplomatic triumph. Seeking to expand the Abraham After Afghanistan, the rest of the world is looking at Accords would be a better idea. the United States as a declining world power. The man The most notable was President Recep Tayyip who h as ceaselessly boasted of his diplomatic expertise and President Joe Biden has tried to shift the responsibility to that under his leadership, “America is back,” now finds his his predecessors and to just about everyone but himself reputation and his credibility in tatters. regarding the situation in Afghanistan, which is a colossal That leaves the administration and the foreign - policy disaster. It demonstrates how ill - prepared the president establishment, whose members largely compris e Biden’s and his staff were to deal with an entirely predictable top advisers, in desperate need of a triumph of some sort. catastrophe that they had helped create. They may be counting on the public’s lack of interest in As bad his current p redicament seems, Biden has an foreign policy to give them a pass for their blunders. Still, opportunity to segue from this calamity to something that the terrible pictures coming out of Afghanistan and the would not only be productive but political gold. The only fact that th ere are still thousands of Americans left behind problem is that it would require him to pivot away from as potential hostages as well as an untold number of his current course in which he is acting as if he is leading Afghans who served as U.S. allies similarly being left to the third term of the Obama administration and to their fate, can’t be ignored. That means that Biden is going Focus o n I srael August 21, 2021 P age 6 to want to do something soon to dis tract the country from Morocco were added to the roster of Arab and Islamic a narrative about his incompetence. countries that had diplomatic relations with the Jewish Unfortunately, the most likely option for the Biden state. There are others waiting to join that list, and all it team involves doubling down on their desire to revive would take would be some encouragement from the former President Barack Obama’s 2015 Iran nuclear deal. United States. A rapprochement with Iran was the a dministration’s But they haven’t gotten any since January for two foreign - policy priority with the expectation when they took reasons. office in January that they would easily achieve their goal. One is that the Biden team wants nothing to do with But rather than happily accept Biden’s tempting offer, anything associated with former President Donald Trump. the Iranians have proved themselves once again to be The other is that most of the people back in charge of tough barga iners. They’ve made new demands that range American foreign policy — a group co mposed of veteran from the implausible, such as having Congress repeal the members of the establishment and young left - wingers — extra sanctions imposed by the Trump administration for don’t actually believe in the Abraham Accords. the Islamic regime’s role as a state sponsor of terror, to the The idea that Arab countries view Israel as a strategic constitutionally impossible, such as having the ally against Iran, as well as an economic partner, goes administration guarantee that any successor won’t overturn against everything they bel ieve about the conflict in the the agreement. The latter would require its passage as a Middle East. They are still convinced that the only treaty rather than merely an agreement, which would legitimate path to peace is by brokering an agreement require a two - thirds affirmative vote in the Senate. between Israel and the Palestinians. In their minds, that Neither is going to happ en, though judging by the means a two - state solution and an Israeli withdrawal to the Iranian’s bargaining skills, which were on display during 1 967 lines with only minor adjustments while throwing the negotiations for the 2015 agreement, Iran is counting hundreds of thousands of Jews out of their homes and on Biden being as desperate as Obama was to get a deal, replicating the current mess in Gaza on a grand scale in the no matter what the price. At the very least, that would West Bank. The Palestinians — both the Fatah “moderates” pr obably mean a reinstatement of the old pact with various who govern the West Bank and the r adical Islamists of side deals thrown in to make it even more lucrative for a Hamas who run Gaza — have no interest in two states or regime that is in dire economic distress in large part due to peace. But for American diplomats and foreign - policy the Trump administration’s sanctions. wonks, belief in this concept is a matter of what can only Given Biden’s current dilemma, you can co unt on him be described as religious faith since it requires one to and his cheerleaders in the mainstream media to represent disregard the facts. any agreement with Iran as a diplomatic triumph. In While Biden has not sought to overturn the Abraham reality, a decision to up the ante on Iran appeasement Accords, neither he nor his staff has shown the least would actually dig Biden an even deeper hole than the one interest in expanding them. he’s in now. It would not only further alienate Israel and As historian Michael Oren, who was Israel’s the Arab states, which have been forced into each other’s ambassador to the United States from 2009 to 2013, told arms in no small measure because they believed that me in an intervi ew, Biden’s people are “looking for Sadats” Obama’s pro - Iran tilt betrayed their security interests. It (a reference to Egyptian leader Anwar Sadat who made would also make regional conflict in the Middle E ast — peace with Israel in 1977), but in the wrong places. There where an Iran that would be further enriched and are other Muslim and Arab leaders who understand that empowered is already doing its best to stir up trouble with Israel isn’t their enemy, and can help them bo th its Hamas and Hezbollah terrorist allies and auxiliaries — strategically and economically. But they aren’t to be found much more likely. in either Tehran or Ramallah. By appeasing Iran, Biden would set the stage for what Giving up on the impossible (a two - state solution with might be a ser ies of bloody conflicts along Israel’s borders, the Palestinians) or the dangerous (the appeasement of as well as those targeting its Arab allies, which could Iran) would be painful for Biden’s staff, many of who se destabilize the region with unknowable consequences. members, especially at the lower level, have little love for That said, Biden has a much better option than such a Israel. But as Oren points out, for all of his arguments with dismal prospect. The main obstacle is that it would be Israel’s leaders, Biden thinks of himself as someone who harder to persuade his foreign - policy team to pursue it cares deeply about the Jewish state. Expanding the than it would to sell it to the American people. Abraham Accords would be an easy diplomatic win as well All he has to do is to put his foreign - pol icy team to as make the region safer and more stable, something that is work on an effort to expand the Abraham Accords. The more important than ever in the wake of the Afghanistan normalization agreements between Israel, and the United disgrace. Arab Emirates and Bahrain, were first agreed upon in Unfortunately, there is little indication that Biden will August of 2020 and solemnized in a White House choose this path. As former Secretary of Defense Robert ceremony the following month. Later that year, Sudan and Gates famously noted in his memoir, Biden has been Page 7 August 21, 2021 Focus on Israe l consistently wrong about every foreign - policy issue facing Nevertheless, it would be the best thing for the Middle the United States for 40 years. It would be totally out of East, American interests and Biden’s political prospects. character for him to discard Obama’s policy catechism. Mr. Tobin is editor in chief of JNS — Jewish News Syndicate. The Fall of Afghanistan Will Strengthen the Abraham Accords — for All the Wrong Reasons By Elliott Abrams cfr.org August 16, 2021 Perceiving American weakness, Arabs and Israelis members of the ship’s crew, or the Trump administration’s will have to work together. failure to respond when Iranian - backed terrorists attacked What has the collapse of Afghanistan to do with the the Abqaiq petroleum facility in Saudi Arabia in 2019. Abraham Accords — the agreements between Israel and What is happening in Afghanistan will deepen the several Arab states? impression among Arab governments that they cannot rely Last week marked Afghan istan’s collapse and also the on the United States to protect their security as they used first anniversary of the Abraham Accords. While the Biden to. So those states have increasingly drawn the conclusion administration congratulated Morocco and Israel last week that they have one neighbor who unlike Iran or Turkey when Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid visited Rabat, and poses no threat to them, and who conti nually displays a the two countries announced that full, formal dipl omatic firm willingness to use military power against its enemies. relations would soon begin, it’s clear that the anniversary That’s Israel. Israel in addition has a modern economy of the Abraham Accords was not going to be marked. based on exceptional high - tech achievements, and Perhaps it was viewed as a Trump achievement that should maintains not only a close alliance with the United States be buried rather than saluted. but working rel ationships with Russia and China. For the In fact the two events — the new - found willingness o f Arabs, then, the Abraham Accords were at long last the Sunni Arab states to open diplomatic and economic victory of self - interest over ideology – and over outmoded relations with Israel, and the Biden administration’s versions of Arab nationalism and support for Palestinians. calamitous moves in Afghanistan — are related. What This is a boon for Israel, and seeing Arab states draw transpired in Afghanistan helps explain why the Abraham closer to Israel is a benefit for the United States as well, Accords happened. because we maintain close relations with many of them. Abrams gives his take on U .S. foreign policy, with But the reason for this development is problematic. It does special focus on the Middle East and democracy and not primarily reflect U.S. pressures or urgings, especially human rights issues. under t he Biden administration. Instead it reflects a Simply put, Arab states face numerous threats and see realpolitik judgment about the U.S. role in the region, and their region as one where Iran, Turkey, and Israel are the about our willingness to act to protect allies, friends, and most powerful nations. They also see a decline in even ourselves. The collapse in Afghanistan will only American willingness to use power to protect U.S. deepen the doubts and fears many c ountries -- including interests — and to protect U.S. allies. Witness, for example, Israel and the Arab states -- have about America’s role in the failure of the Biden administration to respond to the the world, and about the Biden administration’s Iranian drone attack on the Mercer Street commercial understanding of the challenges we face. vessel in the Arabian Sea last month, which killed two Ending the Israeli Rabbinate’s Monopoly on Kosher Certification Will Strengthen Religious Observance By David Stav j ewishjournal.com August 11, 2021 Transparency and competition will help reduce that there will be increased effectiveness and greater corruption and other ills. integrity while always promi sing that the ultimate In mid - July, Israel’s Minister of Religious Affairs commitment remains steadfastly to preserving halachic proposed a bill that would introduce a reform to the standards and ethics that are at the very heart of our country’s kashrut industry. While this is a d evelopment tradition. that most directly affects Israeli businesses and consumers, Beyond the practical aspects of this reform, it deserves by definition as the center of the Jewish world, it will have to be heralded as a major step forward in making Jewish both practical and broader implications for Jews all across observance in Israel something that can be embraced by all the globe. its people as food is so central to celebrations and family As this is a complex and nuanced development, I gatherings. It therefore, alongside many other aspects of wel come the chance to explore its ramifications and better daily Jewish life, cannot be something that is held hostage explain why it’s so historically significant. or controlled based on political or personal considerations Perhaps the next time you come to Israel (and may we in the hands of one agency or rabbinical group. Rabbinical be blessed to see the full re - opening of our borders very services and those aspects of Jewish life that are defined by speedily) or even when you purchase product s our ancient traditions must be transparent and open. It is manufactured here, you might be confused initially by for this reason that this reform is so important for the very these new developments. It is therefore important that you future of our Jewish nation and for Judaism in general. understand that the ramifications of this process will be In many ways the passage of this bill should be viewed Focus o n I srael August 21, 2021 P age 8 as a victory for all people who have long sought - out this into law, multiple agencies, fully committed to strict more transparent, effective and competitive kashrut halacha, would be able to provide kosher certification. infrastructure — but also for those who strive for a more It is once again critical to explain that despite the ill - inclusive and just Israeli Jewish society. informed criticisms that are launched against the proposed While such a structure is something tha t exists in other changes by politica l rivals, this process will in no way parts of the Diaspora, here in Israel kashrut has always weaken halachic standards — in fact, quite the contrary. been managed under one centralized monopoly — in the The very structure of the bill ensures that the halachic form of the Israel Chief Rabbinate. Such a centralized oversight and regulation will remain in the hands of system by definition leads itself to inefficiency and, sadly, members of the local rabbinates, people who I know to be even corrupti on. A widespread presence of such God - fearing advocates of strict halacha whose entire goal irregularities was the conclusion of a comprehensive report is to ensure that kashrut observance is accessible and on Israel’s kashrut industry issued several years ago by managed in a reliable, professional and transparent way. Israel’s State Comptroller. While the details are complex to the point that they It is important to stress that such corruption and cannot be fully explained in this forum, on a technical operational failures are n ot because the Chief Rabbinate is level, the way this reform will take place is that it will allow intentionally seeking to impose anything other than a high groups of qualified city chief rabbis to certify independent level of kashrut. But when you have a system with no kashrut organizations to provide kashrut across the competitors and limited oversight, it is only natural that it country. The practical significance of this change in the will lead to cutting corners, improprieties, inc reased costs law is that independent agencies — like Tzohar kashrut, but and, unfortunately, a truly broken system. certainly others that we look forward to welcoming into It is also well worth pointing out that many within the marketplace — will now be able to provide full kashrut Israel’s ultra - orthodox community recognize this, and even services all over the country. The key point is that there the very individuals who are involved with overseeing the will be a clear sep aration between the role of the rabbis, Rabbinate’s kashrut don’t trust it when it comes to the who will set the standards, and the independent foods they will eat. Israel’s High Court has found that the organizations that will certify the eateries. current system is problematic because of the existence of The Key Point Is That There Will Be A Clear illicit compensation relationships between business owners Separation Between The Role Of The Rabbis, Who Will and supervisors. Operationally, the very structure whe re Set The Standards, And The Independent Organizations local rabbinates are meant to be supervising local That Will Certify The Eateries. businesses is also broken. At present there are some 30 That transparency, competition and integrity that we municipalities, including major cities like Tel Aviv and spoke about above will become the accepted form of Haifa, where for several years there has been no local rabbi supervision throughout the system. Costs will be reduced, overseeing the religious cou ncils — an absurdity that lends and, just as importantly, de - centra lization will allow for far itself to lax kashrut standards and supervision. better oversight that translates to enhanced efficiency from In business, no one would accept such a scenario. So it both operational and halachic perspectives. is hard to believe that the people of the Jewish State I know there are those who fear that such a move should accept it when it comes to one of our most delegitimizes the Chief Rabbinate or will lead to reduced important and sa cred traditions. stringency in ka shrut supervision. But as explained above, In February of 2018, following an intensive review of the effect will be just the opposite because it will preserve the report and the options under the law to begin to the standards of the Chief Rabbinate as the halachic introduce kashrut reform, the Tzohar Rabbinical regulator while promising that the operational Organization that I founded and chair, opened a program implementation will be placed in more competent han ds. to act as a kosher supervisi ng agency. Due to restrictions For Jewish life in Israel to be observed in a way that under the law to keep the Rabbinate’s power centralized, respects all, it ultimately needs to be conducted in a we were prohibited from using the word “kosher” in our manner that is first and foremost driven by real Jewish certification. While we faced intense political, public and values — values only possible when they are guided by communal pressures, we knew that this was a process t hat integrity, justice and respect. Th is is an understanding that needed to take place if we wanted to increase the level of deserves to be embraced by every Jew - regardless of where integrity of kashrut in Israel. on the globe we find ourselves. The reform bill introduced in July has now taken that Rabbi Stav is the Chair and Founder of the Tzohar Rabbinical vision for alternative kashrut supervision and intends to Organization in Israel. make it the operating standard. Should the bill b e passed Good News about Public Opinion in the Persian Gulf By David Pollock washingtoninstitute.org July 29, 2021 Significant numbers support religious moderation popular attitudes in three Gulf Arab states — Saudi Arabia, and peace with Israel. Some rare new polling data about the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain — provide an even Page 9 August 21, 2021 Focus on Israe l rarer commodity these days: relatively good news. Surveys taken in November 2020, around 40% in each country conducted there in June by a credible commercial firm backed the Abraham Accords with Israel, with almost as reveal mixed but generally pragmatic views on a host of many also accepting “business or sports contacts with hot topics, Israelis.” Those numbers hardly budged at all in this latest from Iraq to poll, taken just a few weeks after the Gaza hostilities Iran to Israel ended. to Islam. In both Saudi Arabia and the UAE, less than one - The q uarter report even a “somewhat” positive opinion of surveys, Hamas today. But that proportion rises, for unknown reasons, to 44% in Bahrain, where a notable 53% also say that “the Hamas launch of missiles and rockets into Israel” would have at least a “somewhat” po sitive effect on the commissioned by the Washington Institute for Near East region as a whole. Policy, comprised face - to - face interviews with a random As for views of the United States, again in stark sample of 1,000 citizens in each country. Among the contrast with the dominant local elites, just over half the surprises: a renewed nuclear deal with Iran, and President public in all three countries see the change from the Joe Biden, now get at least narrow majority support; the Trump administration to the Biden administration as recent conflict in Gaza did not cut into the roughly 40% favorable for the Middle East. And just under half, as in approval for normalization with Israel; and sympathy fo r a past surveys, see good relations with Washington as “moderate interpretation of Islam” is increasing while important. This figure is roughly on a par with China in support for the Muslim Brotherhood is on the decline. recent years, and modestly ahead of Russia. The first crucial finding is simply that people are willing to speak their minds, even on controversial matters, at least in private. So, in sh arp contrast to most elite and official media messages in those Gulf Arab states, over More specifically, when asked to pick their top two 60% of the public in each country say that restoring the priorities for U.S. policy in the ir region, respondents are nuclear accord with Iran would have a positive effect on about evenly divided among the four options offered. the region. Significantly, however, this is not because they Only around a quarter pick “pushing for a solution to the see good relations with Iran as important for their own Palestinian - Israeli conflict” as their top option, while countries. In both Saudi Arabia and the UAE, a mere 10% approximately equal percentages opt for other objectives: of all citizens see good relations with Iran as important. con taining Iran, ending the wars in Yemen and Libya, or — In Bahrain, this figure is similar for Sunnis, although more surprisingly — “promoting human rights and among the democracy.” Shia majority Likewise, a remarkable three - quarters or more of the on the island, public in each country agree with this proposition: “Right that now, internal political and econo mic reform is more proportion important for our country than any foreign policy issue, so rises to 37%. we should stay out of any wars outside our borders.” Yet overall, However, the desire for internal reform does not extend to there are only public protest. Nearly three - quarters in all three countries modest poll ed also agree with the following statement: “It’s a good differences in thing we don’t have the kind of street protests against attitudes between Sunnis and Shia in all three countries on corruption that we see lately in Lebanon, Iraq, and some a wide range of controversial issues — an unexpected other places.” finding that augurs well for social and political stability. Regarding the even more sensitive internal issues of Equally unexpected is the finding that the mid - May political Islam, the data shows a similarly moderate trend armed conflict between Israel and Hamas has had little over time. The past seven years show a slow but steady effect on attitudes toward either party. In a previous poll, uptick in the percentages agreeing with this assertion: “We Focus o n I srael August 21, 2021 P age 10 should listen to those among us who want to interpret discussion. The clear odd man out here is Syria: only a Islam in a more moderate, modern, and toleran t way.” In quarter of Saudis, Emiratis, or Bahrainis see relations with ascending order, the numbers today stand as follows: the that countr y today as important, presumably due to lasting UAE, 33%; Saudi Arabia, 39%; and Bahrain, a whopping distaste for the Assad regime. 51%. Altogether, this hard data paints a highly counterintuitive yet convincing picture of Gulf Arab publics open to key U.S. policies on Israel, Iran, and their Arab neighbors, incr easingly moderate on Islamic issues, and unlikely to rise up against their own rulers. These countries are not democracies, yet public opinion does matter in Conversely, recent years have witnessed a gradual setting the decline in the Muslim Brotherhood’s popularity in all three broad places. Today, its approval rating is a mere 14% in Saudi parameters of Arabia, and an even lower 9% in Bahrain. The government Brotherhood retains a bit more popular sympathy in the action. The implications for stability and for partners hip UAE, at 18%, despite its outlaw status there. with the United States and its other friends in the region A final are therefore both significant and, for once, at least piece of modestly encouraging. good Methodological Note news, in Each of these three surveys consisted of face - to - face the sense interviews with a true random national sample of citizens of shared (ex cluding the large expatriate, mostly guest worker friends and population), male and female, over the age of eighteen. The samples were selected by standard geographic probability methods, with interviews conducted in Arabic in private homes by experienced local profes sionals. The adversa ries, concerns Gulf Arab perceptions of other Arab translation from the English original questionnaire was countries. Solid majorities in all three GCC states polled back - checked by native speakers and pretested for clarity say they value good ties with both Egypt and Jordan. and precision. Strict assurances of confidentiality, along Moreover, they say the same about Iraq, notwithstanding with supervisory quality controls, were provided its Shia majority rule and close ties with Iran. On the throughout. Additiona l methodological details are readily morrow of Iraqi prime minister Mustafa al - Kadhimi’s visit available on request. to Washington, this is an important data point for

C urrent iss u e also available at suburbanorthodox.org . If you see something, se nd something” – editor