Can Israel Survive?

Well, of course they can. And they will. We know that from the prophetic scriptures. But this intriguing title comes from an interesting commentary in the American Thinker and reveals an interesting read:

Can Israel Survive?

There's a great deal of speculation these days on Israel's dire situation, most notably from renowned author and scholar Victor Davis Hanson in the National Review, who prefaces it with a remark that the country has never been in more danger.

We see a listing of the usual threats to Israel:

The Islamist regimes in Egypt and elsewhere brought on by the Arab Spring and their growing hostility to Israel, the genocidal influence of Iran and its missile-armed proxies Hamas and Hezb'allah, Erdoğan's Islamist Turkey, the huge influence of Arab petro-dollars, and the indifference and growing anti-Semitism in much of Europe and the exhaustion and debt of the United States are frequently cited.

It's a gloomy picture, and none of it is to be trivialized. But I think dire predictions of Israel's demise are premature, to say the least.

Exactly.

After listing a variety of strategic and military advantages that Israel possesses, and after pointing out the weak spots in Israel's enemies, we get to the crux of the matter:

The real wild card remains Iran, rapidly approaching status as a nuclear power. Much of Iran's threat comes via its proxies in Gaza and Lebanon and its ability to launch missile attacks, since Iranian conventional forces are too far removed to make a ground war feasible...

Would the ayatollahs risk heavy retaliation by attempting to destroy Israel for Allah? Perhaps.

This is where I would disagree with the author. Replacing "perhaps" with "definitely" seems more appropriate, recognizing M. Ahmadinejad's obsession with the return of the Madhi and his role in this scenario - something the author neglects to recognize.

And he certainly gets this right:

It's certainly correct that Israel faces major challenges, and a combined assault by Iran, Hamas, and Hezb'allah would not be a negligible threat.

Indeed.

In some other news from the region today:

Israel's isolation rooted in US-imposed military inaction

Christian Pastor Faces Final Appeal of Iran Death Sentence

A Christian pastor who was sentenced to death by hanging for apostasy in 2009 faces his final appeal in Iran's Supreme Court next week.

At least one appeal against the "choose Islam or die" sentence has failed thus far.

Nadarkhani, a father of two and member of the Protestant evangelical Church of Iran, was given three opportunities to recant his faith by the appeals court.

But he refused to reconvert back to Islam.

...the death sentence was based on fatwas issued by a senior Islamic cleric who is now deceased. At least three other clerics had challenged the ruling.