What to do with Israel and its ambassador?

We do not want to see Chile disarmed and unprotected due to a conflict that is not ours at a time when we must utilize all our strategic capabilities in light of the pressing national security realities we face.

El Líbero, March 13, 2023

Perhaps justifiably, considerable controversy has arisen over the fact that the President of the Republic did not authorize the presence of Israeli companies at Fidae 2024. Former Defense Ministers have expressed opinions on the supposed strategic consequences, as have parliamentarians from both sides, notably Deputy Winter, who calls for the expulsion of the ambassador, and others who even demand the termination of diplomatic relations with that country.

Meanwhile, the local Palestinian community, which is not necessarily related to those currently residing in Gaza, Israel, and the West Bank, enjoys the ambassador’s difficult situation and that of Israeli companies, and more importantly, they commend the President and congratulate him on how he is managing Chile’s foreign relations and national interest, in a clear demonstration that the end justifies the means.

Let us be clear that prohibiting the presence of Israeli companies at the Fidae, calling the Chilean ambassador in Israel for consultations, arguing in the International Court of Justice, and not receiving the Israeli ambassador in Chile will not alter the course of the conflict between Israel and Hamas. To think that Chile has enough specific weight to influence is to misunderstand how things are managed at the global level, and these actions are merely personal whims of the individual to whom the Constitution assigns the management of Chile’s foreign relations.

If Chile disagrees with how Israel or Hamas are conducting military operations and the consequences of these on the civilian population, the optimal approach is to express its discontent and concern through multilateral organizations, which are an excellent means for these purposes, and, moreover, if it is so concerned about the situation of non-combatants, it should send humanitarian aid in the same manner as other countries are doing.

To be clear, the International Court of Justice based in The Hague ruled that access and facilities must be provided for humanitarian aid to reach Gaza, and that military operations must refrain from affecting the non-combatant civilian population. It did not condemn Israel for crimes against humanity, nor did it deny its right to defend itself or to eliminate those who attacked it on October 7 2023.

I have written extensively in this medium about the conflict in Gaza, explaining how Israel defends itself and conducts its wars, the precautions that must be taken with the civilian population and international humanitarian law, the conduct of information or disinformation operations, and other aspects inherent to such a conflict. That said, upon reviewing the press, it is evident that the pro-Palestinian and pro-Hamas world has done a good job in Western countries in the manipulation of public opinion in the countries where they have been active, but this has not significantly affected Israel’s military actions or its supply of arms, though everything can have a limit, and Israel knows it is close to that limit. The elimination of Hamas or the recovery of hostages cannot come at any cost and at some point soon, Israeli leadership will have to reassess the objectives it set when it invaded Gaza and evaluate whether it is worth maintaining the original purposes of its military actions.

If one understands the logic of war, how it begins, develops, and ends, one will realize that no matter how much the President of the Republic has an opinion, that opinion and the accompanying actions will not alter the conduct of the Israeli armed forces, something that neither neighboring countries to the conflict nor the United States of America have been able to achieve.

For Israelis, this is a life-or-death struggle; it is about eliminating an enemy whose foundational mandate is to eliminate the Jews living in Israel, and on October 7, they demonstrated what they understood by that, and in doing so, they were willing to sacrifice themselves and all those living in Gaza. That has not changed, and for it to change, Israel must eliminate any possibility of them retaining military capabilities or the desire to carry out something similar again.

It is always good to ask ourselves what we would do if something similar happened to us. Perhaps it is time to start asking what we will do when organized crime begins to eliminate innocent civilians as recently occurred in Rosario, Argentina, or if children continue to die as a result of clashes between rival gangs. To judge Israel, one must put oneself in their shoes. They have certainly made very regrettable mistakes, but it is unlikely that the Jews, with their history, similar to what I know as an Armenian, seek to harm the civilian population of Gaza. One might expect that from other countries with negative histories, but not from them.

Returning to our land and understanding what I have indicated in the previous paragraphs, what should Chile do? The presidency and its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, assuming they have well-founded data, as mentioned in the first part, can express their reservations and discontent, they can join multilateral efforts or similar initiatives, but what they cannot do is take actions that do not help at all, which are rather irrelevant and have zero consequences in the conflict, and which, moreover, leave us in worse conditions due to having been disrespectful to the ambassador, the Israeli companies supplying military systems and equipment, and what is even more serious, to the Jewish community residing in Chile.

Personally, I do not believe that Israeli companies will stop supplying us. We are an important client, and they know that the current government has only a couple of years left. They understand that no evil lasts 100 years and that this is merely a personal whim of the President of the Republic.

I am not worried about the ambassador. He has shown that he knows how to defend himself and protect Israel’s national interest. What I am concerned about is that personal whims extend further and that Israeli supplies cool or are halted due to suicidal instructions from the Ministry of Defense. That is my true concern, and I hope common sense prevails. We do not want to see Chile disarmed and unprotected due to a conflict that is not ours at a time when we must utilize all our strategic capabilities in light of the pressing national security realities we face.

Richard Kouyoumdjian
Vice President AthenaLab