The Loneliest Nation

By Frank A. Meyer

The State of Israel is, therefore, “a common problem for humanity.” That is the view of Hakan Fidan, Turkey’s foreign minister. That is also the view of anti-Semites from the far right to the far left: the Jews and their nation are a problem for humanity.

Haven’t we already been there in history—just a short while ago—with the idea that Jews are the enemies of humanity?

In the *Neue Zürcher Zeitung*, Martin Meyer sums up the resurgence of anti-Semitism: “It denies the Jewish state the status of being part of humanity and thus places it on the same level as an equally malicious and unworthy ulcer—one that could therefore be eradicated without much hesitation.”

Israel—the Jew among the nations.

But Israel is fighting. For its very existence. And against a world that wants this conflict—which is currently raging in Hezbollah’s staging area in Lebanon and in the Gaza Strip controlled by Hamas—to finally come to an end. It is the war against Iran, which has made the destruction of Israel its primary national objective.

Both the Lebanese Hezbollah and the Palestinian Hamas are terrorist groups affiliated with the rogue regime in Tehran, relentlessly carrying out murderous attacks on behalf of the mullah-run state, which itself shares no border with Israel.

Israel has been at war since its founding. Its very existence depends on remaining victorious. Can we imagine Switzerland caught up in the turmoil of war, month after month and year after year? Can any European nation imagine a struggle for survival that has lasted nearly eighty years?

Israel—the loneliest nation in the world.

What is the Jewish state, surrounded by enemies, if not Western civilization: a democratic state governed by the rule of law—a culture of freedom, just as we Swiss and Europeans live and cherish it?

For generations, Israel has been vilified, threatened, and attacked, yet it stands for Western values: in politics, in everyday civilian life—and, because there is no other way, time and again militarily as well. It has never been any other way.

Israel—the indomitable democracy.

Oh yes, there are certainly a few things to find fault with: from a street café in Zurich or Berlin, the vantage point of Western referees in this most despicable game of world politics. This is what the barely disguised anti-Semites revel in—while sipping matcha lattes or flat whites—before and after their solidarity demonstrations for Hezbollah and Hamas. Their message is unmistakable:

“From the River to the Sea.”

The Israeli army is fighting for the very existence of the Jewish nation. Is it fighting in an irreproachable manner? It also fights cruelly. This is something to be denounced. And condemned. By whom? By those who have been forced to wage this war—ever since the founding of their homeland.

From the citizens of Israel.

This column appeared in the July 12 issue of SonntagsBlick and is published with the author’s permission.