CMV:Reddit's recent support of Iran and it's nuclear program is more about a 'stand up to Israel' circlejerk than actual support for Iran.

You forgot the air-strikes Israel made on Iraq when they wanted nuclear energy. They've successfully pissed off pretty much every neighbor they have at this point.

I didn't forget about the bombing of the Osiraq reactor, I chose to refer to more recent events. and every neighbor of Israel was basically pissed at it since 1948 and all the subsequent wars, so nothing new there.

And yes, Israel would have to be mindful with their conventional forces of this imaginary red line they can't cross anymore before Armageddon. Is that really so bad, to seek approval before violating international law? Or if they can't, would having less war be so bad?

you make it sound like Israel is just war mongering and strives for war whenever it feels like it. But I do not wish to argue opinions with anyone, there is no benefit to that I will just state the reason Israel sees this thing as unacceptable.

there are several events that drive Israeli decision making:

  • Trauma from the Jewish holocaust- that is one of the most significant events in Jewish history, and in Israeli eyes it serves as a proof and a reminder that nobody will stand for them, no one will come to their rescue at their time of need and they need to fend for themselves, no matter the cost. see recent discourse between Netanyahu and Obama over the negotiations with Iran, he risks hurting relations with he's greatest ally over this issue. see also the 1967 six day war that Israel went for even that it was explicitly warned not to do so by the US.

  • The trauma of the 1973 Yom Kippur War- before it's outbreak the top brass of the IDF and the political leadership believed that no one, least of all Egypt, were going to attack Israel. and this war became the closest moment to annihilation for the Israelis. It served as a proof that the middle eastern nations will not spare resources to combat Israel, and it must be always on the guard and ready for any contingency.

  • the constant war with insurgent organizations- since the end of the 1973 war, many Arab nations started more massively supporting the PLO, JIHAD, black October and etc. to fight Israel, as war proved ineffective. although these organizations were active beforehand and the Feddayun were attacking Israeli citizens since the 50's, at that time the funding changed the game. suddenly Palestinian insurgents could abduct aircraft, in the right before the war of Peace Of Galilee Palestinian insurgents controlled much of southern Lebanon. the power of these organizations became increasingly big and threatening. they obstructed the life in northern Israel so much, that Israel had to go to war even in the risk of going to war with Syria that had substantial forces in Lebanon. Long story short Israel realized it had to act decisively if they wanted to be able to deal with terrorist groups and they couldn't let them dictate the events.

So you see, Israels reasoning is: you must stand for yourself, you must always consider the unfathomable, you must never let the enemy dictate future events and reality. By this logic, since the 1890's when Israel first caught wind of the Iranian growing regional influence and nuclear ambitions, they decided that they cannot accept an enemy nation in the middle east having nuclear weapons. that's why by the way they always strive to keep that military edge in the middle east, going so far as to meddling with military purchases.

at any rate, for Israel the military edge, reliance on their own power and the ability to act when needed, in their eyes is key to it's survival, losing any of that is a great threat.

for most of the people of the world it looks trivial, one less operation and one less war may be, but for Israel it means when advanced weaponry gets into the hands of the Hezbollah, advanced weaponry that is there to threaten Israel, their hands are tied and they cannot ensure the safety of their nation and it's citizens.

TL;DR: there are several factors that effect Israeli decision making, all of them lead to that it cannot tolerate nuclear weapons in the hands of their enemy, it is for them, an existential threat.

/r/changemyview Thread Parent