This is Guest Post from Shlomo Yosef
As the Hertzlyia Conference comes to a close in Israel the much remarked upon phenomenon of Delegitimisation was again a hot topic.
The adoption of this term has been ubiquitous across the Israel advocacy community but its introduction has annoyed some due to its ineffability. Anti-Zionists have been around for a long time, why does one need a new word to describe an old phenomena?
Having read the Reut Insitutes reports (the think tank that coined the term), the main difference I can spot between Delegitimisation and anti Zionism is that an anti-Zionist was against the formulation of Israel regardless of what Israel has done or will do. A Delegitimiser is someone who thinks that due to Israeli actions (normally located over the past 43 years) that Israel has lost the right to exist in the form that it chooses.
The reason Delegitimisation has risen to the top of the agenda, Barak even describing it as the biggest threat to Israel on occasion (take that Iran, the BDS movement is scarier then you) is down to a number of stated reasons. Hubs of Delegitimisation, such as dear old London, spreading the hate out, the War in Gaza, the Flotilla – all have created a perfect storm.
All the work around this important issue will be for nothing though if a central figure within Israel is not removed. Around two years ago, when the talk of Delegitimisation had just started to be spoken about seriously, Israel appointed a new Foreign Minster, Mr. Lieberman.
The Israeli system of diplomacy before this point had worked very well, you can have anyone you want as the PM, even people who were defined as terrorists in the Mandate period by the West, as long as you had a Foreign Minster who got along with people.
Not only does the current Foreign Minster have an awful personal reputation, but is also seen as one of the worst offenders at breaking diplomatic protocol. (See here at how he infuriated the Europeans and of course the dressing down of the Turkish Ambassador.)
Lieberman is so unpopular that he is not allowed to set foot in Washington and has even managed to alienate the American Jewish Committee who find themselves in the very awkward position of having to issue press releases against the Foreign Minster’s statements and shuffle around embarrassed like everyone else at the UN. Add to this the strike by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs staff that has led to a massive diplomatic own goal, with the Russian president visiting the PA but not Israel (and Russia was the only place that Lieberman was suppose to be the expert) and the fact that Israel still has no permanent representation at the UN – it is little wonder why the tides of hatred are rising.
Lieberman’s charge sheet is not news to anyone but at the same time it cannot be ignored as one of the main reasons for why the West is turning away from Israel. With the Egyptian revolution capturing the hearts and minds of the democratic world, whatever government that is formed will be welcomed by the West and the effects of this on Israel can already be seen in William Hague’s comments today.
No amount of social media, nor build-up of global strategic planning, will help as long as Lieberman is in place. Hague’s comments are just a start –Israel has never been more ill prepared for the diplomatic assault that is about to hit. Israel would never go to war under a general who had lost every skirmish they had ever fought, what makes people think that the diplomatic world is any different?
