Israel's response to the Beirut blast shines a light to the nations

For Israel’s citizens and its supporters and allies abroad, the aftermath of the recent tragedy served as a reminder that the Jewish state continues to hold itself to a higher standard.

By EVAN NIERMAN
Tel Aviv Municipality lit up with the Lebanese flag, August 5, 2020. (photo credit: SASSONI AVSHALOM)
Tel Aviv Municipality lit up with the Lebanese flag, August 5, 2020.
(photo credit: SASSONI AVSHALOM)
The footage was shocking: a massive explosion in the port of Haifa. More than 150 people dead on impact. More than 5,000 injured, with the numbers continuing to rise in the aftermath. Thousands of buildings destroyed. Ten percent of the city’s residents – hundreds of thousands of men, women and children – displaced. Their homes now uninhabitable; their offices and businesses reduced to smoldering rubble.
Within minutes, images and video of the deadly explosion in Israel went viral all across the world with news agencies scrambling to report the tragedy. And what was the reaction?
In the Gaza Strip and West Bank, Palestinians danced in the streets. Adults handed out candy to children to mark the sweet deaths of so many Jews. Guns were fired recklessly into the air in bursts of celebration, the mood joyous.
The heads of so-called religious groups in neighboring countries thanked Allah for destroying the “children of pigs and apes.” Hamas and Hezbollah released statements proclaiming the tragedy a well-deserved blow to the Zionist entity.
On Twitter, Iran’s spiritual leader declared the deaths the will of Allah, and said it marked the beginning of the end of the “cancerous Zionist tumor, which would soon be eradicated.”
What a difference 80 miles makes.
Obviously, the above scenario is imaginary, while the tragic explosion that took place in Beirut is real. But is there any real doubt that this is how things the fictitious scenario would have played out if the tables were turned and the accident had taken place in Israel instead of an Arab country in the Middle East?
Make no mistake about it, the Israeli government would have been roundly condemned all over the world, and not just by regional adversaries. Heads of Western democracies would have condemned the Israeli prime minister and his government in the strongest possible terms for recklessly storing highly flammable chemicals in such a haphazard manner, thereby endangering the lives of many innocent civilians.
Editorials would have run across the Arab world saying that Israel was finally getting a taste of its own medicine and deserved to suffer just as the Palestinians have suffered for decades.
Many lessons emerged from the Beirut calamity. And it also served as a stark reminder that Israel is held to a set of standards and treated in a manner that is not applied to any other country in the world. The hundreds of UN resolutions condemning Israel, while simultaneously ignoring rampant human rights abuses across the globe are proof of that fact.

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Despite this depressing reality, Israel nevertheless found a way to show the world what it means to be a light unto the nations. Israel extended its hand in peace across a border that has for decades been soaked with the blood of war. In recent months alone, tension has simmered along the northern border, with many observers predicting renewed fighting between Israel and the terrorist army Hezbollah.
Following the accident in Beirut, the Lebanese flag was projected onto the side of Tel Aviv City Hall as a sign of solidarity with the Lebanese people. Hospitals across the Jewish state, including Israel’s national hospital, Sheba Medical Center, presented Lebanon with genuine offers of assistance to treat the wounded, and even to deploy emergency rescue crews to provide medical care.
The Beirut Port explosion was an unmitigated disaster, leading to scores of deaths and injuries, and also delivering a ruinous impact on Lebanon’s economy, whose ripples will be felt much longer than the blast wave. In times of tragedy, we must also look for the silver lining, and in this case, there was one.
For Israel’s citizens and its supporters and allies abroad, the aftermath of the recent tragedy served as a reminder that the Jewish state continues to hold itself to a higher standard. Israel was correct to offer aid – for that is precisely how to show the world the heart of a country that is dedicated to fulfilling its responsibility to be a moral nation-state for Jews all over the world.
Israel must continue to strive for peace even if it cannot yet expect reciprocity, let alone acceptance of its right to exist, from some of its neighbors. Looking to give, even when there is no expectation of receiving anything in return, is at the heart of what it means to do the right thing.
It was heartening to see Israel respond to such a terrible incident with decency, kindness and generosity. That alone is reason to be proud of Israel, and hopeful for the future.
The writer is founder and CEO of international crisis PR firm Red Banyan.


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