We are the start-up nation. We are unbeatable, as the only democracy and only nation in the region that praises and celebrates life.
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Everyone follows everything we say and everything we do and do not do. When we are united, strong, and act clearly, our enemies who wish us harm, keep a distance.
We as a nation have let our guard down. We have let down thousands of Israelis who have lost their lives, and who were left orphaned or injured.
Despite some still considering taking responsibility, it is believed that our lack of unity was a driving factor behind the barbaric Hamas-ISIS massacre of innocent babies, children, women and men.
We are strong and we will bounce back stronger and more united than ever. Unbelievable to think that we were once known for our bravery in engaging and surprising the enemy in their backyard. We have forgotten what it is like to “raid Entebbe”. We rely on vulnerable high-tech fences and walls as opposed to reminding everyone that the Israeli nation and IDF are the “regional superpower”.
As Israelis, we know how to come together in times of need. Look today at how all of our citizens are working to help each other and to support our troops getting ready for battle. A good example is the startups in the country that despite economic uncertainty, many have been called up by the IDF as reverse, while others are actively collecting donations, or setting up distribution and control centers around the country to ensure that everyone has a place to go to, a meal to eat, or the equipment needed to best protect them while they fight and defeat the enemy.
Startup companies have donated both dollars and resources to support the war effort against Hamas-ISIS and will continue to stand by every Israeli anywhere and at any time. The motivation and spirit we share are stronger than any enemy.
With all our technology, beautiful people, and capabilities, how is it that we are not one of the “modern” wonders of the world?
The answer is simple. We are not united. We show no stability in government, no endgame in military conflicts, and no goal in the regional political arena.
For many years we have let internal politics get the best of us, dividing, dicing, and slicing us and our capabilities. Our uncalculated moves are fueling radicals in their efforts to propaganda and manipulatively brand Israel as the “bad guys” and the enemy of peace and democracy in the region and the Western world.
If we want to keep Western democracy alive, keep Israel strong and keep Jews around the world safe, we need to stay engaged as active ambassadors, to get the world to see us in a different light.
This will not take a day, a week, or months. The tool of communication is an asset and should be utilized strategically as we exercise the capabilities of the IDF.
In order to achieve this, we need to first look at ourselves and each other differently. We all need to put the country first and our professional and political desires and agendas last.
As Israelis (Jews and non-Jews alike) and supporters of Israel around the world, we all have a great responsibility to continuously re-educate the world about who we are and why the State of Israel is the center of the world's stability and survival.
We also need to promise to never forget what type of neighborhood we live in. We need to display zero tolerance for the way we are spoken of around the world and even less tolerance for anyone who threatens us or works to harm us. An intention by a potential enemy is not a concept, but rather an early form of a much bigger plan to displace us or worse. We need to behave responsibly, while also leaving no place for any enemy to develop and grow into a national threat. Unfortunately, we have forgotten this important fundamental rule.
As Israelis, Jews, and supporters of Israel, we do not share this luxury. Over the last 20 years, we have become addicted to “quietness” and “silence”, believing that no news is good news. In our neighborhood, no news means someone is up to something…and if anyone expresses a different opinion to the narrative, they are told to “calm down”, “you have a political agenda” or “everyone is scared of us”. This narrative has been drilled into our minds to a level that even if something did happen or something unusual is unfolding, again the response is “It's nothing”, “they would not dare” or “we do not need to do anything about it now”.
The whole pyramid from top to bottom has fallen into a conceptual misconception that “we are in control” and that “whoever has a different opinion is politically motivated”. This is how a nation with the best people, technologies, and resources in the region degrades its unpredictable creativity, unity, and might into an addicted nation sold on “silence and quietness”, while our biggest enemies are looking at us, understanding that we are off our game and using our assets against us as they become overly confident to do anything and everything to us.
We need to be conscious of the fact that we all need to be ambassadors for the benefit of a safer world. It is up to us to let the world know who Hamas-ISIS is as well as what the true intentions of other organizations and countries in and around the region. The recent Hamas-ISIS attack is only the beginning of a holy war being carried out by tiny cells and small to large groups under several organization identities, financed by a network of countries with one common goal of integrating and overtaking the Western population for their land.
Joe Hayon Photo: LIEL ANAPOLSKYThere are countries headed by Iran and sponsored by additional countries who are utilizing the Arab Spring that created millions of refugees as a silent plan to infiltrate Europe and to turn the continent, Middle East, and part of Asia into one mega radical Islamic state. It is this state that will then confront the U.S. superpower into a war of world annihilation.
Today, the banners of democracy are being exploited in the U.S. and Europe with refugees entering these countries, adapting language and accents, but with no real intention to become nationals. Being a radical Islamist is stronger than nationality and is silently taking advantage of the very tools of democracy to build and spread roots all over the world until the time is right. One needs to understand that there are many Arabs that are not Islamic extremists and they too like the West are subject to future dangers.
If Israel and the walls of Jerusalem were to fall, the Western world as we know it, would fall into a dark hole.
- Joe Hayon is co-founder and president of Inspira Technologies