The behavior of both Israel and Europe after the Second World War has been the case of people learning their lesson too well. Prior to Second World War, the Jews were liberal pacifist internationalists who believed that if they contribute meaningfully to countries in which they lived, the world would be a better place. And at the time of the Second World War, the Europeans became rabid militaristic nationalists who wanted to hunt the Jews first and everyone else later.
In recent decades, the two populations have come close to trading places.
The Europeans learned one lesson from the big war: That war, and nationalism, is evil. The Jews learned another lesson: That Jews aren't safe in the world. Then both of them went overboard - the Jews, by creating a super-militaristic state that has been using military might left and right while not doing much by way of negotiation; and the Europeans, by deciding that all military force is evil and that militaristic people who wish them ill and have no such considerations in their conscience - such as militant Islamists - should be accommodated instead of confronted at their level.
So now, Israel acts in a way that is similar to that of the war-era European countries; and Europeans act in ways similar to that of the pacifistic internationalistic Jews of early 20th century.
In both cases, a lesson was learned; then it was learned too well. And what we see in both cases is undesirable effects of historical lessons being learned too well.
What many in Israel (and especially Netanyahu) do not realize is that it doesn't just take military might to ensure the security of the population. The Nazis had an extremely powerful military, but they still lost the war. If a country - especially a small country - becomes the enemy of the world, then not even the best military in the world can protect it. And I want to save Israel the pain of finding this out the hard way.
If Israel spends more resources on things that Jews are good at and that benefit the civilization - things such as science, technology, arts and business - then that will contribute vastly to Israel's security and to security of Jews around the world. By virtue of their contributions the Jews would have the world's gratitude rather than hatred. And this will motivate more people to willingly support Israel against its real enemies, thus vastly increasing the Jewish people's security.
Far be it from me to agitate against Israel. But people as intelligent as Israelis need to understand things of this sort. The more the Israelis misuse the power of the military, the more people hate Israel and the Jews. The more the Israelis contribute constructively to the civilization, the more people are grateful to Israel and willing to support it against groups such as Hamas.
I want to see the Israeli scientists win the number of Nobel Prizes comparable to one that is won by Jews in America. I want to see Israel become a major international financial center. I want to see movies made in Israel bringing as much money as movies made in Hollywood. I want to see Israeli Jews be the most of what they can be.
The reasons for Israel's existence are understandable and rightful. The same however does not extend to the policies of the Netanyahu administration. Fascism is wrong whoever is doing it. And Jews for one should know about the dangers of fascism.
Israel needs a better direction than it has had under its recent leaders. It needs more science, more innovation, more constructive economic activity, more world-class art. The Jews must be allowed to do what the Jews are best at and that benefits both the Jewish people and humanity. And this will not only give Israel more willing protection. It will also show the Jews at their best and give the Jewish people the world's respect and gratitude.