Israel must state its position clearly and distinctly

Former Secretary of State Dan Meridor sharply criticizes [Naftali] Bennett government's course towards Russia

Former Israeli Minister of Justice and Finance Dan Meridor sharply criticized Israel's position in the conflict over Ukraine. During an online discussion at the Israeli Council on Foreign Relations (ICFR) on Thursday (10 March 2022), Meridor, its longtime president, said, "The whole world is closed except for Israel." The government in Jerusalem only unnecessarily attracts the attention of others onto itself.

Israel should not only put forward its political interests in the region as an argument to justify its silence. According to Meridor, it must take a clear stand against Russia's war of aggression. "There are cases when it is necessary to clearly state what is, and the rest — secondary."

HISTORY As the country represents Jewish history and the feelings of Jews, it cannot remain silent. "We should not complain that people did not come to our aid [during the Shoah] when we needed their help, but now say we have interests. This is something that goes very badly into history. I believe that we must clearly position ourselves," said the longtime politician from Likud.

Meridor also criticized his country's position on accepting Ukrainian refugees. On the contrary, it is "impressive" in contrast to the way Europe opens its arms and receives people from Ukraine. "We should be the first to say that you are in trouble, you are refugees, we will help you." But this did not happen. Instead, restrictions were imposed in Israel from the beginning, and refugees were required to provide guarantees.

SYRIA The 74-year-old politician does not rule out the fact that his country has certain interests in relation to Russia. "But Putin is not helping us because we are good to him. If he helps us, that is because we are good for him.” The Russian head of state in Syria is behaving like a puppet master, pitting Iran and Israel against each other. "We need to change our policy on this," Meridor demanded. “But despite this, we had to say clearly: what Russia did there [in Ukraine] cannot be justified."

The conflict will not end in a few days. Therefore, sooner or later Israel will be forced to take a clear position, not least because of the strengthening of international sanctions against Russia. What Naftali Bennett's government did was wrong and cynical, Meridor said.

On behalf of the conservative Likud, Dan Meridor served as Minister of Justice, Finance and Intelligence in various Israeli governments from 1988 to 2013. He was also a member of the Knesset for many years.

The article originally appeared in German in the Jüdische Allgemeine.