David Mark, Author at Israel Rising

April 24, 2016

What Jewish Nationalists can Learn from Nnamadi Kanu

As Meir Ettinger, a young right wing activist known for his politically radical views on preserving a complete Land of Israel sits in administrative detention for over 8 months a parallel situation is occurring in Nigeria. Nnamadi Kanu, the leader of the Free Biafra movement is kept confined, awaiting a kangaroo court trial in Nigeria.

The differences could not be more stark. Biafrans await daily for their leader’s release. Most residents of Judea and Samaria and their supporters across Israel have accepted the government’s line about Ettinger’s influence and potential danger to the State. Despite the lack of charges, Israelis don’t see any imperative in forcing the government to release Ettinger. The “extreme right” in Israel despite legitimate grievances has never played for the soul of the country, whereas Kanu and IPOB captured Biafra with their straight talk and pathway to independence. I

So what can Israeli nationalists learn from Nnamadi Kanu and those that follow him? The right in Israel, if it wants to lead and help change Israel’s course must be about more than just pushing to guard the Land of Israel in its entirety. The body politic in Israel has shifted away from a two state solution, so arguing against it does nothing to shift the reigns of leadership towards a truly Jewish vision of statehood, something we loosely call Malchut Yisrael or the Kingdom of Israel.

Nationalists must grab the soul of the country. There are systemic issues in the State of Israel. These issues are felt throughout the Land. Whether it is income disparity, taxes, overreaching government, or cultural differences that threaten to burn down Israel’s dynamic society, Jewish Nationalists must build a long term plan to speak to the heart of the country, the way Nnamadi Kanu has.

Ettinger Can be a True Leader

Meir Ettinger can rise above the fringe that has captured him and created a martyr out of his unlawful imprisonment. He can do this by taking his charisma and determination and show Israelis that there are things that are worth more than just international approval and a growing economy.

Nnamadi Kanu and the Free Biafra movement is winning. They are winning because their goal is clear and they are determined to change the course of their nation no matter roadblock stands in the way.

Kanu recently published the following statement from jail: “As our journey to the promised land progresses beautifully, since we left Egypt, it is important to always remind ourselves that our progeny will forever remain grateful to us for our many sacrifices today. We are almost there and as the oppressor panic, they unwittingly wobble from one blunder to another, time is running out and Pharaoh and his army clearly has no choice than to let my people go. I remain very proud of you all. Thank you.”

Israel is in trouble. Despite, the innovation, technology, and growing partnerships in Africa and the Near East, the Western World seems intent on ensuring the Jewish Nation is put in a dangerous position once again.

The young ideological activists in Judea and Samaria can be a source of true leadership for the Jewish Nation by offering a way forward to something greater and distinct from the Western culture that has taken hold in Israel.

Ettinger spoke the following in a court hearing: “In the State of Israel today we have leaders who do not understand the Torah and no one dares explain to them what a true Jewish state looks like, why the Jewish people to the land of Israel, and what right the Jewish people have to the land. Not only are we victims of this unfortunate situation, but you are too- you, the judge, and the prosecutor. All of us are captives of this reality. Each of us has a G-dly soul that wants to live a Jewish life and we all feel alone in our opposition to the state.”

The State of Israel can be a beacon of light to the world. It is true Israel has inspired and continues to inspire. From technological innovation to military prowess Israel is a miracle, but the destiny of the Jewish Nation is clear and must be grasped by the leadership in order to be harnessed correctly.

Celebrating Passover, the holiday of freedom, gives us a unique insight into what true freedom is about. The physical bonds of servitude are not the actual source of the slave mentality. One can break the bonds of slavery and yet still act as a slave. One can accept the cultural code and mores of the captors themselves. This is what Passover comes to teach the Jew. The remembering of leaving Egypt on a yearly level reminds us that if we adopt foreign cultures and give them the power to rule us in our lives then even if we are in our homeland we remain enslaved. No amount of technology and innovation will release from the predicament we currently face outside and from within.

Freeing ourselves from mental slavery as the great Bob Marley etched in history in his famous Redemption Song is the key to true freedom. Nnamdi Kanu’s belief in his nation’s destiny is inspiring and should be seen as an example of how we Jews here in Israel that care about our own destiny should lead our nation forward. Meir Ettinger seems to understand the responsibility that has been foisted on him. Perhaps that is why the Defense Minister has spent so much energy letting him stay confined without charges. A movement though, is more than just one man and the question is if we here in Israel can realize our destiny has already been written, we just need the courage to grab it.

Ettinger concluded his speech in court: Your hysterical actions and discrimination against Jews in enforcing the law, your shocking neglect for the values of democracy when dealing with Jews who love the land of Israel, appears strange to many people. However it is not strange to anyone who recognizes that these actions are done in order to silence your inner, yearning Jewish voice. This is part of your general schizophrenia. It is obvious that these actions will backfire and have the opposite result. You will not manage to silence the voice inside you, anymore than you could expel your Jewish soul from your body. In the end, even you will repent for your actions and your Jewish soul will take over to help bring the redemption.”

We the Jewish people, have been scattered to the four corners of the Earth and returned home just as the Bible foretold. We have built a country that is the envy of the world and we have become global leaders as also foretold. Yet, we have forgotten a part of our souls in the exile. Our mission must be to blend our technological and military prowess with true Jewish leadership. Nnamadi Kanu and his followers have much to teach us. It is time we paid closer attention their words and deeds.

April 21, 2016

How Does the US Saudi Fallout Affect Israel?

Nothing will help the Obama administration put together the former American Middle East coalition that was once grounded in a solid Saudi-American partnership. Too much distrust has been injected into the relationship for it to be salvaged. Obama’s visit to Saudi Arabia is a poor attempt in public relations damage control.

When Obama was sworn in on January 20th 2009, hopes ran high that a new type of American paradigm would be played out across the globe. Pundits didn’t actually believe Obama really looked at the world the way he said, but Barack Hussein Obama has proven to be true to his word. Obama has refashioned the Middle East by essentially burning down bridges between long term American Allies in the Sunni world and the USA government. The idea was to spur real democratic change reflected through tolerance for the Muslim Brotherhood and rapprochement with Iran in a mad attempt to instill some sort of amiability in the Muslim street.

Instead of winning over Iran and the Sunni street, Iran openly pivoted to Russia and the Sunni street grew antagonistic towards the Muslim Brotherhood.

What Does this Mean for Israel

It is no secret that the Saudis and other Gulf States have grown closer to a strategic partnership with Israel. This has become so open that some Gulf leaders have suggested to drop the “Palestinian Issue.” With plummeting oil prices and an encroaching Iran, Israel is beginning to play a far more constructive role in the Middle East when it comes to its once erstwhile foes.

However promising Israel’s new found position is, a long term partnership with the Saudis and their Gulf allies is not close to becoming solidified due to a variety of diverging interests. For one, Israel is at war with Radical Islam and the Saudis happen to be one of the biggest bank rollers for many of these terror groups. The Saudis are also a primitive society, whose social morays are stuck in an Islam that has never climbed out of the Middle Ages. Israelis not only don’t connect to this sort of culture, there is broad antagonism from all quarters in Israel against the Saudi and Gulf state expression of Islam and Shariah Law.

Israel’s continued pivot to the East and their behind the scenes relationship with the Kurds and now burgeoning partnership with East Africa paints a very different path into Israel’s future than what will be a short lived relationship with the Sunni Gulf States.

One thing Obama can be credited for, is that his policies in the Middle East has caused Israel to chart its own course and one that is far more natural and promises to be built on mutual respect and advancement.

April 16, 2016

[podcast] From Nigeria to Ghana: Free Biafra

While attending the Africa Israel Initiative I had the opportunity to sit down with our very own Oscar Lee face to face in Accra, Ghana. Besides being a gracious host and a friend we shared some time on the issue of Biafra and what Israel can do to help. Have a listen!

April 14, 2016

Ghana’s Growth a Beacon for a Potential Israeli Partnership

When I landed in Accra, Ghana yesterday it had been just under 16 years since my last visit. The world has changed a few times over since then. Internet technology and communication has created a smaller world, a world where people from any country can dialogue and discuss with counterparts around the world.

Still, some things were the same. Women selling food and drinks from on top of their heads, children pointing to their mouth and asking for charity (although far less than what I remembered), and a distinct dichotomy between rich and poor.

In the world’s eye Africa has always been behind. Whether out of ignorance or passive racism the perception that Africa is a bunch of unstable countries, steeped in corruption, and reliant in international aid has persisted well into this century.

Like anything else, the Western world views the world through a particular historical and cultural context. It is true Africa and especially sub-Saharan Africa has had its fair share of chaos brought upon it from a clear neo-colonial agenda that saw the Western world take advantage of ravaged economies, artificial boundaries, and dictatorships it helped to foster.

Ghana as a Model

What has always made Ghana fascinating to me is the relative stability it has compared to many of its counterparts across Africa, although we can point now to many African countries, especially in the lakes region and Eastern Africa that have achieved this as well, Ghana has always seemed to exhume some sort of alternate reality as opposed to other places.

At first glance, Ghana should have similar problems with geopolitical uncertainty as other African countries. It is an artificial construct of the British merging a mosaic of African tribal nations together. It has a strong Muslim population along with a devout Christian populace. There are vast amounts of poor people, coupled with a strong wealthy upper class.

Yet, with all of the above, Ghana has seemed to skip the chaos. Part of the reason for this is that it did not sink into conflict after independence in 1957, but rather was built in a stable one party rule albeit sometimes military. However, it transitioned when it had into a multi-party rule in 1992, which has allowed for more voices to be heard and aided the growth of an exceptional economy. Although Ghana needed an IMF bailout due to a spiraling debt, it’s oil production and multi layered economy is a window for what can be in the future.

Ghana as an Ideal Partner for Israel

Ghana has appears to be strategically critical by Israel as a buffer against the spread of radical Islam into the Sub-Sahara. This takes more importance after Israel lost a growing ally in Nigeria, with the ascendancy of Mohammed Buhari.

Yet, building a strong relationship requires more than weapons, it needs real economic cooperation. This is where Israeli companies and startups would be able to take advantage of Ghana’s stability and fast paced growth. Accra may still be a third world capital, but it is quickly transforming into a modern hub in Western Africa.

Although Israel has grown close with East African countries and seems to be placing more of its emphasis on those countries, Ghana would be a great place to start to rebuild its West African strategy, after its miscalculation with Nigeria.

April 7, 2016April 7, 2016

Decolonizing the Future

“If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn’t. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn’t be. And what it wouldn’t be, it would. You see?”

― Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass

The issue of Israel’s legitimacy is a question once reserved to the far left corners of Western academia and Arabist leaders in the middle east. As time has gone on delegitimizing Israel has moved more and more mainstream.

As India, the Kurds, and East African countries rise out of the bonds of neo-colonial European, Arab, and Sunni Muslim oppression, the global security state which formed post Cold War has kicked into hyper drive to denounce many of these countries as aggressors, terror sponsors, or corrupt as well.

Essentially, the Western world as well as their Arab allies has gone about flipping the once colonized to the status of those doing the colonization. This is true, whether it is meant for Israel, Kurdistan, or even India. What is behind this seemingly warped sense of reality, where the former oppressed are deemed the new oppressors?

European and Arab Countries Fear the New Emerging Order

For years it was BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa), but now there is a sense that another order is beginning to emerge. The future of Israel, India, Kurdistan, and East Africa have become unexpectedly intertwined.

East Africa, Israel, and India were all former British colonies. Israel and India gained their independence the same year and Kenya became independent in 1963, with other East African states following suit shortly after. These former colonies are homes to ancient cultures oppressed both by Arab or Muslim radicals as well as White European Christians. The exploitation of these areas first occurred in Israel when the Romans conquered Judea and dispersed much of indigenous Judeans to the far reaches of the Empire. The remaining Jews withstood Byzantine aggression only to be forcibly converted by Arab Islamic conquerors in the 8th Century.

This same parallel occurred in East Africa as Arab slave traders weakened Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania long before the Europeans finished the brutalization through forcibly confiscating Kenyan land and colonizing the country.

Indian Hindus fought off the Islamic hordes for centuries only to be taken over by British muscle.In all of the three cases the British and other European interlocutors used the artificial Arab and Islamic presence to weaken th indigenous rights of the true national owners. The partnership with European colonialists and slave traders with Arab and Islamic leaders benefited both sides. The Europeans were able to control the indigenous population by ’giving claim to the false Arab and Islamic narrative, while the Islamic Umma expanded its control.

The rise of real partnerships, based on mutual trust, parallel histories, and common aspirations is scary to Europeans who are being left out as their continent falls into the abyss and is likewise threatening to the Arab and Radical Islamic movement that suffers the greatest when it appears weak to its followers.

What About Kurdistan?

Kurdistan is increasingly being seen as an independent actor. When the Peshmerga was seen as an ally against ISIS, the world cheered, but independence was a dream that would have gone too far. The truth is, Kurdistan has long been colonized by the Arab and Turkish world. The artificial boundaries of the Sykes-Picot agreement were placed in order satisfy the power of both the Arabs and Turkish regime rather than allow the real indigenous people of Northern Iraq, Syria and Southern Turkey to thrive and control what is rightfully theirs.

As the Sykes-Picot lines are beginning to melt away the inevitability of an independent Kurdistan is now a reality. Israel has already expressed support for an independent Kurdistan. With Kurdistan’s realization, the new Middle East, Africa, and Indian sub continent would reshape global economic and geopolitical affairs.

The Only Weapon Left is Delegitimization

The fractured and weakened Europe and primitive Arab world has only one arrow left in their proverbial quiver and that is to delegitimize these countries as oppressors, terror actors, capitalists, and colonizers.

The world has classified Israel as the occupier when it comes to the Palestinians, even though most Palestinians are new inhabitants save for the residents of the villages in and around Hebron who were forcibly converted over a thousand years ago.

India is deemed racist and nationalistic as Modi their Hindu ultra-nationalist prime minister has charted an independent foreign policy. The international community plays the Punjab controlled Islamic state of Pakistan against India when it comes to the disagreement over Kashmir, when in reality Pakistan was carved from India in 1948 to placate the Muslim world, which invaded India and is the one supporting terror.

Kenya and the surrounding countries are now seen as “corrupt” as they have sought to modernize and realign themselves away from Europe and the Arab world in favor of Israel and India.

The Kurds are deemed terrorists, when in reality it is the Turks who support and nurture ISIS. The Europeans and Americans have promised to aid the Kurds and yet decade after decade the West has purposely held back real arms and support.

Conclusion

As the old global security and economic structures collapse the powers behind the scenes will unavoidably paint a world that is based on falsehoods rather than the truth. This old world will not succeed as long as the new players, the formerly oppressed continue to work together to create a new type of world; one that is based on truth and fairness as well as a rectification of past grievances. These grievances began with the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans and continued into Africa and the Near East by the Arab world and Europeans.