June 24, 2010

Of all the implications following the Gaza \”peace flotilla\” episode, perhaps the most important for Israel is that the existence of a growing challenge to Israel\’s very right to exist has finally been fully exposed. Whether it was the provocation by the flotilla itself, or the subsequent challenge to Israel by the Rachel Corrie ship, or the anti-Semitic remarks by veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas, the feeling is that Israel\’s right to exist is no longer a given amongst the international community. Therefore it should have come as no surprise when in the aftermath of the incident Israeli leaders repeatedly stressed that Israel has the right to exist and therefore the right to defend itself. This mounting challenge, which has been downplayed for quite some time, can no longer be denied.