The Justice

Media Credit: Max Breitstein Matza Last Thursday, Dan Meridor discussed the status of Israel in light of the advent of nuclear weaponry in Iran.

Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor gave a talk titled "Israel in the Changing Middle East," discussing the hiatus of the Israeli-Palestinian dialogues and the advent of nuclear weaponry in Iran in Rapaporte Treasure Hall last Thursday.

The event was co-sponsored by the Crown Center for Middle East Studies and the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies.

Meridor attained his current, primary position as Deputy Prime Minister of Israel under the 32nd government in the 18th Knesset on March 31, 2009 but has had a seat in the Knesset since its 11th term, which began Aug. 13, 1984.

Israel has built a strong presence in the Middle East, Meridor said, adding that its strength also instilled fear in Palestinians and the Arab leaders of neighboring countries.

Meridor also touched upon the reluctance of Arab leaders to come to terms with the sovereignty of Israel.

According to Meridor, the Palestinians and their allies in the Middle East are threatened by how advanced Israel has become over the course of its modern existence as a sovereign nation.

Israel has added a second layer to the "battlefield" outside of the normal "regular army" arena, he said.

He said that the Palestinians had been fighting against Israel in the normal layer until they explored the avenues of nuclear weaponry and guerilla warfare.

The more extreme battlefield layer is nuclear warfare, which Meridor said Iran and Syria had already created.

However, Meridor stressed the appeal of the efficiency and effectiveness of the decentralized nature of guerilla warfare to the Palestinians by citing the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks as an example of successful guerilla warfare.

Meridor also expressed his optimism of resuming the Israeli-Palestinian dialogue, which has been nonexistent for some time, as evidenced by his response to a question, asked by Sarah Geller '13 regarding the Israeli perspective of America's influence, past and present, on the Palestinian-Israeli dialogue.

He said he is confident that under the Obama administration, America would be more supportive of Israel's efforts to promote peace, stating, "We belong to that camp that is headed by America."

Heddy Ben-Atar '11, who attended the event, said that she enjoyed Meridor's speech.

She said that she liked Meridor's "commitment to peace and a commitment to Israel moving forward in a peace process."

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