Cannot stand on the sidelines

          Last year when Obama assembled a coalition of its allies against ISIS, Israel was not asked, at least publicly, to contribute. Jordan and Qatar, Australia and Denmark, Turkey and Britain were all expected to help counter the threat from ISIS; although better equipped than some of these countries, Israel was kept off the list. This action, however, came as no surprise. It was certainly not the first time the Jewish state was absent from a coalition at war in the region. Going back to the Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990 when George H.W. Bush was bringing together nearly 40 countries against Hussein administration’s aggression, Israel was also left out. Bush understood that in order to build a broad international (or regional) coalition that he wanted, he had to keep Israel excluded from the club. Considering how the region was still occupied with the Arab–Israeli conflict, this decision was logical and understandable. But as ISIS becomes more and more dangerous, Israel’s participation is much needed, both for its interests and for the coalition’s.

          In its first ever video in Hebrew, ISIS threatened to tear down Israel: “…there will not be a single Jew left in Jerusalem and throughout the country.” The message, however, failed to get Israeli official attention. It is true that the group does not represent a direct military threat at the moment: It has a limited military capability, and before they can come to “wipe [Israel] out,” they have to pass the Hashemite kingdom. Jordan, a strategic partner of Israel, will serve as a buffer zone and have enough military power to withstand the terrorists’ onslaught. Moreover, the threat from ISIS in neighboring Syria is now overshadowed by the escalation of the ongoing Palestinian–Israeli conflict. Anti-Palestinian rhetoric dominates Israel’s statement, as seen in Netanyahu’s latest U.N General Assembly Speech.

But downplaying the threat posed by ISIS is not a good long-term strategy for Tel Aviv. As ISIS is taking Syria piece by piece, the threat of an ISIS attack in Israel is on the horizon. Tensions occasionally spilled into Golan Heights. ISIS is gaining more outside support, some of them are from Israel, according to Israeli security officials (Source). There is also a possibility that ISIS will try to destabilize Jordan, and Israel cannot risk letting its only ally in the Levant region turn into an enemy state. The challenge from ISIS prompts Israel to take actions. Participation in the anti-ISIS coalition will demonstrate to the world that Israel is not an international pariah. It proves that Israel is an important strategic ally of the United States by standing with the superpower against terror. Israel can also play the ISIS crisis to build its new allies. Joining the coalition provides an opportunity for Israel to show the moderate Arabs that it is not an enemy but a potentially steadfast ally.

Of course the invitation for Israel’s participation has not been extended. The U.S. would want Israel, a democracy with a strong military power, to be a pillar of the coalition; nevertheless, the protracted conflict with Palestinians is an obstacle to Israel’s involvement in the coalition. Unless Israel chooses to address the Palestinian question with more creative terms in the service of peace, Israel can never be a part of the coalition that may protect its security interests. There is always a possibility of a dreadful scenario: If ISIS were strong enough to take over both Syria and Jordan, Israel would have to face both Hamas and Daesh on both sides. It is important that Israel, by joining the United States and its allies, pursues its fight with ISIS before this new enemy causes greater problems for the Jewish state.