Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is only the beginning. Does anyone really think that Russian President Vladimir Putin will stop after he conquers Europe’s bread basket? Don’t get your hopes up. Putin wants ALL the countries of the Soviet Union back under Russian rule. In fact, he wants more than that. He wants Russia to dominate Europe. He wants Russia to be the dominant power in the world.
In the midst of Russia’s growing assertiveness, and now outright aggression, the State of Israel has straddled both sides of the fence. On the one hand, maintaining strong ties with its greatest ally, the United States, and on the other hand, keeping relations with Putin’s Russia as cordial as possible. Israel cannot afford to enrage Russia, which is why the Israeli government initially hesitated to condemn Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu knew that it was important to maintain friendly relations with Russia. Fortunately, current Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has followed his example.
But there will come a time when Israel can no longer sit on the fence between the West and Russia. At some point, the Jewish state will have to pick a side. I have no doubt that Israel will choose to side with the U.S. and the rest of the Western world in countering Russian aggression. When this happens, the Jewish state will have to prepare itself for direct conflict with the world’s largest country. In other words, Israel must prepare for an eventual war with Russia.
Putin’s Russia and Israel are already on opposing sides of a new Cold War. The Russians routinely support our enemies in Syria and Iran. Russian expertise built much of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. Furthermore, Russia has continued to arm the tyrannical regime of Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad, who probably would not still be in power if not for Putin’s support. Some of the weapons that Russia has supplied to Syria have made their way to Hezbollah, the Iran-backed terrorist group sworn to Israel’s destruction. Russia also maintains an important military base in Syria, from which Russian forces could attack the Jewish state in the future. It may not be long before Russian missiles and bombs rain down on Israel.
So how can Israel prepare for the likelihood of a war with Russia? I am no military strategist or intelligence expert, thus I don’t really have the answer. There are, however, a couple of ideas that come to mind. Firstly, Israel should try and persuade Jews living in countries that are vulnerable to Russian aggression to leave. The reason is that once Israel becomes an enemy of Russia, Putin will no doubt begin persecuting the Jewish populations of any territory he controls, arguing that they are a fifth column. At a certain point, the borders of Russia and any other territory under Putin’s control will close, preventing Jews from finding refuge elsewhere, so it is imperative that Israel help get these people to safety before then.
Another
way Israel can prepare for a war with Russia is by increasing its strategic
importance. Right now, the Jewish state already has a high level of strategic
importance because of its proximity to the world’s leading producers of oil and
gas. Israel itself is also emerging as a major gas exporter to the extent that,
in 2020, it signed a deal with Cyprus and Greece to build a pipeline that would
allow Israeli gas to flow to Europe. Building such a pipeline would
substantially raise the level of the Jewish state’s strategic importance
because it would reduce Europe’s dependence on Russia for its gas supply.
Unfortunately, U.S. President Joe Biden has decided not to support this
project. It is vital, then, that Israel makes every effort to convince the U.S.
to reverse its decision so that the pipeline can get built, because if the
Jewish state can help fulfill Europe’s energy needs and reduce its reliance on
Russian gas, the European powers will be more inclined to protect Israel from
Putin’s Russia in the future.
Updates:
I'm not the only person saying that Israel can be Europe's future gas supplier. Check out this article in the Jerusalem Post: https://www.jpost.com/business-and-innovation/energy-and-infrastructure/article-698808
https://www.israelhayom.com/opinions/israel-must-step-in-to-replace-russian-gas/
