We are not them [View All]

[JohnLocke]

We are not them
Matti Golan – Jerusalem Post
December 31, 2003

Does Israel have a problem with nuclear weapons? At first glance, it would appear that we do. Libya is willing to disarm itself of its weapons of mass destruction and to commit not to manufacture them in the future. Sooner or later, Iran will probably take the same path and Pakistan may not lag far behind. After all, the Iraqi example is still very fresh in the minds of these countries.
It is only natural for Arab countries – those that are required to disarm themselves of weapons of mass destruction – to try to direct attention toward Israel. Why just us, they say?
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From the outset, Israel became involved in the entire matter of nuclear weapons for only one purpose: defense. This includes the balance of terror. If we did not have these weapons at our disposal, we might not exist anymore. The Arab countries might already have destroyed us. The thing that deters them more than anything else is the knowledge of a possible nuclear response.
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Because if Israel did not have these arms, no Arab or Muslim country – Egypt and Jordan included – would have been willing to talk peace. Their willingness to make peace, to the extent that such willingness exists, stems from their acceptance of the existence of the State of Israel, and acceptance of the fact that we cannot be erased from the face of the earth. And this acceptance on the part of the Arabs and Muslim countries is the direct result of their knowledge that we have nuclear weapons.
The state, in essence, owes its very existence to a single individual who brought nuclear weapons to Israel, and who did so despite the opposition of almost all his fellow government members. If we manage to reach peace with the Arab countries, it will be thanks to the person who brought nuclear weapons to Israel out of a prophetic view to the future and out of a sober understanding of the reality in this region, a reality that has not and will not change. It is not superfluous to remind ourselves again and again that this man was none other than Shimon Peres.
Those who say that the same rule should apply to us and the Muslim countries regarding nuclear weapons are not looking out for our welfare. And if asked how we can be so confident that these weapons will never be used improperly, we must state frankly: Our confidence stems from the fact that we are not them; we are not like them and those that say otherwise are not interested in the truth.
For the Arab countries, nuclear weapons are weapons of destruction. For us, they are weapons of defense, which make our continued existence possible. To allow Muslim countries to continue to possess nuclear weapons is tantamount to agreeing to global suicide. To demand that Israel disarm itself of these weapons is like asking it to please consent to commit suicide.

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