Israel as the West's Isaac

Ron Lipsman

David Mamet makes an amazing accusation in an article in the September 13 issue of the Wall Street Journal. He speculates as to why the West seems to be so willing, even anxious, to throw Israel under the Muslim bus. He is aghast that, faced with Iran's blatant assertion that it intends to destroy Israel and its equally transparent quest to obtain the nuclear arsenal to do so, the US and Europe have made painfully clear that they have no intention of preventing the planned genocide. Mamet identifies the cause of this craven and cowardly behavior.

The Liberal West has, for decades, indulged itself in an orgy of self-flagellation. We have enjoyed comfort and security, but these, in the absence of gratitude and patriotism, cause insecurity, This attempted cure for insecurity can be seen in protestations of our worthlessness, and the indictment of private property...How may they still the resulting anxiety?
The Left's answer is the oldest in the world: by appeal to the Gods. But how may the Gods be appeased? The immemorial answer is: By human sacrifice...The essence of the Torah is the Akedah, the Binding of Isaac. The God of Hosts spoke to Abraham, as the various desert gods had spoken to the nomads for thousands of years: "If you wish to relieve your anxiety, give me the most precious thing you have."...In abandonment of the state of Israel, the West reverts to pagan sacrifice, once again, making a burnt offering not of that which one possesses, but of that which is another's. As Realpolitik, the liberal West's anti-Semitism can be understood like Chamberlain's offering of Czechoslovakia to Hitler, a sop thrown to terrorism.

It is an astounding and horrific accusation. That is, by eagerly abandoning Israel, and thereby placing it in mortal peril, the West seeks to ease its guilty conscience over its supposed transgressions against the Muslim world and over its disproportionate share of the Earth's wealth. Craven and cowardly do not do justice as descriptors of this heinous behavior. Treacherous, morally bankrupt - indeed, evil seem more appropriate labels.

God stilled Abraham's hand before he could complete the abominable deed of sacrificing his son Isaac. But the Europeans no longer pray to the God of Abraham. Many Americans still do, although apparently in smaller percentages than at the time of Israel's birth. Of course, Muslims pray to the same God. All of us, Muslims, Christians and Jews hear different responses. According to Mamet, the Jews should understand that we are now cast as Isaac in a new modern Akedah drama. Our liberal American and European "protectors" are cast as Abraham - albeit, an Abraham who is under the coaching of Ishmael rather than God. And therefore the story is intended to have a different ending. The people of Israel do not intend to follow the script. Too many American Jews do not understand the script. I pray that enough Americans do - and are so appalled by it that they will join with the Israelis in thwarting it.