Current Edition About Subscribe The Jerusalem Center

Daily Alert Archive

Every Daily Alert Since 2002

Search

Search more than 90,000 news items by topic, author, or source.
Use " " to search for multiple words and phrases.

Trending Topics

August 19, 2025       Share:    

Source: https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/open-letter-to-denmarks-prime-minister/

The Prime Minister of Denmark Gets Israel All Wrong

(Times of Israel) Dr. Emmanuel Navon - Dear Madam Prime Minister, you have declared recently that your Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, is "a problem"; that the current Israeli government is acting against the interests of Israel; and that you intend to push for sanctions against Israel. Imagine the reverse situation. Imagine if Netanyahu had declared that Denmark would be better off without you; that your government is acting against the interests of Denmark; and that it was time, let's say, for Denmark to grant full independence to Greenland. The Danes would rightly be offended by such chutzpah. It is for Israeli citizens and not for you to decide what are the interests of Israel. This is what elections are for. And in the previous elections, Israeli voters gave a majority to the ruling coalition. I personally did not vote for that coalition. But today, I fully support Netanyahu's commitment to victory. If he had given in to pressures, Iran's nuclear program would be intact, Sinwar and Nasrallah would still be alive, and Assad would still be president of Syria. The problem is not Netanyahu. The problem is the jihadist coalition led by Iran that for years had planned a coordinated attack against Israel with the declared purpose of destroying it. And, thankfully, Israel has mostly dismantled that coalition. Israel is half the size of Denmark. It was the one attacked on Oct. 7, 2023, and it is defending itself in accordance with international humanitarian law by allowing civilians to evacuate combat zones and by providing them with humanitarian aid. And Israel is fighting an enemy that is also your enemy: the same jihadists that have made hundreds of victims in Europe in the past two decades. Israel is not only fighting for itself but also for the Free World. Why do you think we are still fighting? Because we enjoy it? No. Trust me, our reserve soldiers, our sons, would rather be pursuing their studies, running their businesses, and taking care of their families than blowing up tunnels in Gaza. But we still have 50 hostages there and Hamas has not been defeated yet. Hamas would more likely capitulate if it were pressured by foreign powers. But why should Hamas release our hostages and lay down its arms when it sees that governments like yours only put pressure on Israel? The writer, a senior fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, lectures in international relations at Tel Aviv University.

View the full edition of Daily Alert

Back to Archive

Subscribe to Daily Alert: