In fighting war on Islamist terror, the Jewish State of Israel offers a model of excellence to our world. Its successive governments have never forgotten what the Romans, Babylonians and Nazis did to it and have remained ever vigilant as to what the Islamists, of the state or non-state variety today, are up to .
The legendary Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin said one of the lessons of the Holocaust” is that “if an enemy … says he seeks to destroy us, believe him. Don’t doubt… Don’t make light of it. Do all in your power to deny him the means of carrying out his satanic intent.” He warned against letting any “seeds of Jewish destruction lie in passively enabling the enemy to humiliate us.”
Knowledgeable sources say that, in view of its history , the Jewish State has had the mantra of self-defence close to its heart. It has developed over the years a unique intelligence and security mechanism to fight all its perceived enemies.
Prime Minister Begin dispatched Israel’s Air Force to destroy the Osirak nuclear facility of Iraq, a state actor perceived to be the then threat to the Jewish state. Today Jerusalem takes the Khomeinist Iran’s threat to annihilate it seriously. Since the ‘Project Daniel’ Group advised then Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in 2003 on the threat of the Iranian nuclear armament programme, Jerusalem has considerably upgraded its defence mechanism to counter Tehran. The Israeli defence strategy today involves mutually reinforcing the Arrow, Iron Dome and, in the future, Magic Wand systems. Its second strike capability is very advanced. It has arguably the most powerful air force in the world .
Israel fights the non-state Islamists of all hues —- Wahhabism , Deobandi, Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, Saudi Salafism and Khomeinism— that threaten its existence . It knows they all threaten Israel’s all-inclusive, pluralistic values with their agenda to establish Sharia rule , restrict women, and subjugate non-Muslims. Mossad, Shin Bet and Aman coordinated well to eliminate Hamas leaders—Ahmad Yassin, Abd Al Aziz Rantise, Ismail Haniyah—and Hezbollah master-minds Imad Muniyah and Syed Nasrullah .
It is high time New Delhi learnt appropriate lessons from Jerusalem to contain all anti-India Islamist elements . Some analysts argue India need not worry as such elements are not a majority anywhere in the world . The sources warn against this argument . They say there are over 60 lakh members of the Muslim Brotherhood today . In Pakistan, there are a considerable number of violent Islamist groups. There are about 30 thousand madarasas and 40 jihadi publications in the country. Besides, there are elements, including in Al Hadith (Salafism), Tablighi Jamaat and Deobandi, based in India itself . All of them are united in their designs against modern , secular India.
These sources stress New Delhi must not forget what some small bands of invaders did to the vast masses in Indian history or over just 9,50,000 Waffen SS members did to Jews in Nazi Germany. To defend its core values and fight its enemies, the top Indian political command must put in place an effective interoperative network of autonomous intelligence and security agencies. The Indian intelligence and security mechanism is largely apolitical. It is highly professional and competent . It just needs to be adequately activated and authorised to launch massive pre-emptive strikes against all anti-India Islamists wherever they may be hiding.
In fighting the Islamist terror , New Delhi must not expect much from the international community. The latter has been absolutely ineffective in combating India-specific Islamist terror . Washington , the so-called leader of the free world , still seems to think it can use Islamabad, the main source of terror against India, to contain its perceived US-specific terror .
( The author is a New Delhi-based journalist).
