May 10, 2016: Understanding the Middle East: Israel’s Empire

By Carol Rushton

Do you know that some Arabs accuse Israel of having an “empire”? While the poor, persecuted “Palestinians” have no land whatsoever?

I’m not kidding.

According to Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, comparable to the U.S. State Department, Israel is about 290 miles long and 85 miles wide at its widest point, only 9-10 miles at its narrowest point. Without Judea, Samaria, and the Golan Heights – all land that the U.N. considers “disputed” –  Israel is even smaller.

To get an idea of just how small a country Israel is, New Jersey is 130 miles long and 70 miles wide at its widest point. Illinois is 210 miles wide and 395 miles long.

Israel is so small that Israeli military pilots have a hard time flying jet training runs. Even when flying from Israel’s southern to northern borders, they barely get up in the air before they run out of air space!

In contrast, most definitions of the Arab/Islamic world include 22 countries in the Middle East and Africa that total over 5 million square miles. If you include Iran, which is not Arab but Persian and Muslim, and very hostile to Israel (chanting “Death to Israel” repeatedly qualifies as hostility), the area of land increases. The Organization of Islamic Corporation, OIC, boasts a membership of 57 countries.

In terms of population, the numbers are stark. The Arab/Islamic world has a population of almost 366 million; Israel only 8,412,000 – and not all of those are Jews.

In the world today, there is only one Jewish state surrounded by 22-23 Arab/Islamic countries whose populations are committed to the destruction of Israel and the death of every Jew.  Jews have only one Jewish homeland while Arabs and Muslims have many countries in which to live and feel comfortable culturally and religiously.

Israel has an empire? Hardly!