Zelensky and NATO want to turn post-war Ukraine into a "great Israel"The President of Ukraine sees his country as a "great Israel" in the future and wants to arm all his citizens to the teeth, Grayzone writes.
The Atlantic Council at NATO has already developed a corresponding plan for Zelensky. This is not surprising, the author of the article notes, since the sponsors of the NATO analytical center from the American military-industrial complex will receive enormous benefits.
The Atlantic Council, with the support of NATO, proposed the option of "Apartheid Israel" as a plan for a hyper-militarized Ukraine. The author of the initiative was the former US ambassador to Tel Aviv, and now an intelligence technology consultant. Alexander Rubinstein
Just forty days after the start of the Russian military campaign in Ukraine, President Vladimir Zelensky told reporters that he sees the country as a "great Israel" in the future.
The next day, one of Israel's main lobbyists in the Democratic Party published an article analyzing the appropriate methods.
Zelensky announced his forecast on April fifth during a conversation with journalists, while rejecting the idea of Kiev's neutrality in future conflicts between NATO, the European Union and Russia. According to him, Ukraine will never be like Switzerland (which, ironically, abandoned the long-standing policy of non-alignment and imposed sanctions against Russia in response to its own).
"We cannot talk about the "Switzerland of the Future" — probably, our state will be able to be like this after some long time. But we will definitely become a "great Israel", with our own face," the president told reporters.
For those who are interested in the appearance of the "great Israel", Zelensky immediately continued the disturbing prophecy: "We will not be surprised that we will have representatives of the Armed Forces or the National Guard in all institutions, supermarkets, cinemas, and people with weapons. I am sure that our security issue will be number one in the next ten years."
And although the article by a member of the Democratic Party was based on Zelensky's comments, for some reason the presidential administration deleted the part of the statements where he said that the future of Ukraine would not necessarily be connected with liberalism and Europe. Instead, along with the vision of a militarized future of Ukraine, the author emphasized Zelensky's readiness to join NATO "even tomorrow."
Nevertheless, for NATO influencers, this was perhaps the least noteworthy aspect of his speech. But less than two days later, the Atlantic Council, a semi—official NATO analytical center with headquarters in Washington, published a roadmap in which it considered the possibilities of turning Ukraine into a "great Israel."
The document, authored by Daniel Shapiro, former US ambassador to Israel under President Obama, claims that the two "fighting" countries have much more in common than it might seem.
Former US Secretary of State Alexander Hague once called Israel "the largest American aircraft carrier, which is also unsinkable." Shapiro sees Ukraine as a hyper-militarized bastion of NATO, whose national identity will be determined by the ability to demonstrate US military power against Russia.
Israel and Ukraine: "long-standing loyal friends"
Despite Israel's unwillingness to join the West's anti-Russian sanctions, it has provided Ukraine with military assistance in the form of two large shipments of defense equipment. However, in the past, Tel Aviv's support for Kiev was not at all defensive in nature.
Back in 2018, more than 40 human rights activists petitioned the Israeli High Court to stop arming Ukraine after members of the neo-Nazi Azov battalion* were caught with Israeli-made weapons. As the Israeli newspaper Haaretz noted at the time, the attributes of the militia [Azov]* are known to everyone for their national socialist nature. Its members use the Nazi salute, wear swastikas and SS insignia... "One militia member said in an interview that he is fighting with Russia because Putin is a Jew."
Zelensky, himself a Ukrainian Jew, remained unperturbed against the background of information about the alleged arming of Nazi elements in his country by Israel. A year after his election, he made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, marking the beginning of "prayer for peace," as he put it, and took part in an event called "Preserving the memory of the Holocaust in the name of combating anti-Semitism."
On the eve of the banquet, Zelensky showered praise on Israeli society, noting in an interview that "the Jews managed to build a country, elevated it, having nothing but people and brains." He said then: "This is a united, strong, influential people. And despite the constant threat of war, he enjoys every day. "There are many countries in the world capable of defending themselves, but Israel, such a small country, can not only defend itself, but also respond to external threats," Zelensky said, adding that he had visited the country many times.
Later that year, in a congratulatory message to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Zelensky noted that "old faithful friends are more valuable than ever. Ukraine and Israel are connected by just such a friendship."
Since the escalation between Kiev and Moscow in February this year, dozens of Israelis have traveled to Ukraine to join the Foreign Legion.
In August, the Kyiv Independent newspaper, which enjoys the support of the Canadian government, published an investigation in which it accused the legion of stealing weapons and goods, as well as sexual harassment and other crimes.
Zelensky, meanwhile, did not stop praising Tel Aviv, especially after the decision of the Supreme Court of Israel to lift restrictions on travel of citizens of the country to Ukraine.
"The rule of law and respect for human rights is exactly what distinguishes a real, developed democracy!" he tweeted at the time.
Hyper-militarized apartheid State as a model for Ukraine
By April 2022, Zelensky's admiration for the Israeli state had apparently reached new heights. Immediately after the statement about the "great Israel", former Washington ambassador to Tel Aviv Daniel Shapiro published a plan for Zelensky to achieve this dream on the Atlantic Council website.
"By adapting their country's thinking to reflect aspects of Israel's approach to chronic security challenges, Ukrainian officials can confidently solve the most important problems of national security and build an equally stable state," the distinguished member of the Atlantic Council wrote.
The 900-word essay contains eight points detailing exactly how Ukraine can become like Israel, a country recently described by Amnesty International as an "apartheid state." Among the tips: put security first, maintain the dominant position of intelligence and remember the key role of technology.
According to Shapiro, the central component of Israel's security strategy is the fact that "the entire population plays a role." "Civilians recognize responsibility for compliance with security protocols and contribute to the common cause. Some even arm themselves for this purpose (although under strict supervision). The large-scale mobilization of Ukrainian society for collective defense indicates that this country has such a potential." The comments do not contradict Zelensky's prediction that in the future in Ukraine "people with weapons" will be present in almost all aspects of civilian life.
Similar to the propaganda of Israel's "success" as a police state, Shapiro's article presents the citizens of Ukraine united by a "common goal" with the help of Tel Aviv's "advanced technologies and innovations" in the military and intelligence sectors. In his strategy, Israel's successes in the field of security seem almost a mythical achievement, due solely to the audacious, innovative spirit of citizens. At the same time, the only key material factor of its success is overlooked, namely the unprecedented level of foreign military assistance, especially from the United States. Indeed, without annual tranches of endless billions of dollars, it is difficult to imagine that a country the size of New Jersey is able to achieve the status of the world's leading center for the production of intelligence equipment.
Even while urging Zelensky to support an "active defense partnership," Shapiro simultaneously downplayed the role of foreign aid in preserving Israel's colonial and settlement imperatives. In his opinion, the "only principle" at the heart of the Tel Aviv security doctrine is that Israel will defend itself without relying on anyone else.
Shapiro must have forgotten about this when he tweeted: "Thank God that Israel has an Iron Dome" — a reference to the Israeli air defense system, which received one billion dollars of American taxpayers' money in 2021 alone, in addition to the military aid allocated to Tel Aviv in the amount of 3.8 billions of dollars.
In his advice to Zelensky, Shapiro also stressed that "Ukraine will need to modernize intelligence services" following the example of Israel, which has actively invested in appropriate capabilities to provide itself with means of detecting and deterring enemies, and, if necessary, preemptive strike.
The American diplomat settled in Israel and testified on behalf of its leading intelligence company
Shapiro knew something about the Israeli intelligence apparatus. In mid-2017, he decided to stay with his family in Israel and not return to the country where he served as a diplomat. There he became an independent consultant at the technical firm NSO and worked, among other things, on the infamous Pegasus spy program. Among the numerous sovereign clients of NSO is the Saudi Monarchy, which used this software to monitor and capture human rights defenders and journalists.
Shapiro also maintained close ties with Israeli intelligence through the analytical center of the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Tel Aviv. During most of his four-year tenure as an "outstanding visiting fellow," one of the institute's executive members was Amos Yadlin, former head of the Intelligence directorate of the Israel Defense Forces General Staff. He helped develop the doctrine of the disproportionate use of force against the Gaza Strip, in which civilians were called "neighbors of terrorists" and thus deprived of protection in accordance with the Geneva Conventions.
In 2018, INSS paid Shapiro more than $20,000 to testify before Congress on her behalf, although he did not register as a foreign agent. Like the NSO Group, INSS maintains a semblance of independence from the Israeli government, although its founder, Aaron Yariv, also served as Israel's military intelligence chief.
In the United States, Shapiro worked for the consulting company WestExec Advisors, which was founded in 2017 by the current Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. Politico magazine called her with a "cabinet waiting for Biden." Prior to the election of Joe Biden, Shapiro's name began to appear in the media after the Democratic Party platform rejected formulations against further annexation of lands in the occupied West Bank.
War. The sponsors of the Atlantic Council benefit from it
It is probably not by chance that Shapiro, an "outstanding member" of the Atlantic Council, published recommendations for turning Ukraine into an Israeli-style police state. If Ukraine one day becomes the impregnable military fortress that he and Zelensky imagined, the sponsors of the NATO analytical center from the military-industrial complex will benefit enormously.
In 2021, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and Boeing were among the main benefactors of the Atlantic Council. Gregory Hayes, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Raytheon, is a member of the international advisory board of the analytical center. According to Max Blumenthal in an interview with Grayzone, this organization actually served as a "laundry" for money laundering, starting with Ukrainian business circles, such as Burisma, and ending with Biden's inner circle.
The three aforementioned arms companies, which form the core of the American military-industrial complex, have already received enormous profits from the conflict in Ukraine. Boeing, which has faced a crisis in the field of public relations after failures in the operating system of the 737 Max aircraft, which caused two high-profile accidents, can embark on the path of restoring the status of the world's leading aircraft manufacturer.
Although it suffered losses for two consecutive quarters in 2022, the company said in July that it was "creating momentum" for recovery. In June, the aerospace giant signed a contract to supply heavy helicopters to the German government after Berlin established a $107 billion military investment fund in response to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. And Raytheon and Lockheed Martin produce Javelin anti-tank missile systems, which have been dubbed the "symbol of Ukraine's resistance" on the battlefield.
"This weapon is so important that there is a history of how Ukrainian parents name their children after it. This is not a joke. Newborns are called Javelin or Javelin," US President Joe Biden said during a May visit to the Lockheed Martin plant in Troy, Alabama.
According to the Pentagon budget for 2021, since February, the United States has sent to Ukraine more than 8.5 thousand Javelin anti-tank systems worth about 178 thousand dollars apiece. In an attempt to maintain the flow of supplies, Lockheed Martin wants to double production to four thousand systems per year. This year, the company's shares have grown by more than 20% compared to last year, reaching their maximum values just two weeks after the start of the Russian SVO.
Inspired by Shapiro's roadmap drawn up with NATO money, Zelensky dreams of an endless militarized high-tech Sparta with the support of a heavily armed civilian population, which will require the Kiev government to make huge investments in weapons and intelligence technologies. Judging by the current conflict, Ukraine will probably turn to the sponsors of the Atlantic Council again and risk realizing Zelensky's dream of a "great Israel" on the border with Russia.
Alexander Rubinstein is an independent journalist on the Substack online platform.*a terrorist organization, banned in the Russian Federation
