Tamir Pardo, the former Director of the Mossad, spoke on Tuesday at a Jewish People Policy Institute conference on the topic of Ukraine: Moral Considerations in Israel’s Foreign Policy.
Pardo has joined the Jewish People Policy Institute and will co-head the Geopolitical project of the Institute.
The conference focused on the question of whether moral considerations should play a role in governmental policy decision making.
Pardo said it was a complex issue, "The field of international relations is a chaotic field. Although in the twenty-first century attempts were made to set benchmarks for the rules of the game in the global arena, success was limited, and that is to say the least.”
Pardo said that in Israel, "when dilemmas or collisions between political or security interests and moral positions arise, political interest has repeatedly triumph over clear moral values. In the case of Gilad Shalit, as well as Israel's attitude towards the genocide of the Armenian people, political interests prevailed over moral values."
Referring to the current situation in Ukraine and Israel’s treatment of Ukrainian refugees, Pardo referred to the way Switzerland, and other countries, including the US and UK refused to allow Jewish refugees enter during World War II.
“The Jewish people felt in the clearest and most tangible way the consequences of the tension between a moral position followed by operative moves and the adoption of the political interest which largely requires closing their eyes or turning the gaze,” he said.
“If today, Israelis believe it's moral that we differentiate between Ukrainian Jewish and non-Jewish refugees, we have a problem. Israel policymakers do not side with Ukraine and the Israelis are indifferent. Our treatment of Ukrainian refugees is a shame and disgrace.”
Pardo also stated that Israel should provide defensive weapons to Ukraine and should it not, there may be a price to pay in the future. “Why don't we support our true ally, Washington?” he questioned.
“Today,” he said, “Iran is not a threat to our existence. Today, Israel is a country like all others, so it needs to adhere to the norms of normal countries. The Holocaust is over. It is in our interest not to present ourselves as weak. As Israeli politicians continue to preach that our existence is uncertain, it is no wonder that we are giving up basic moral principles. I can't understand why Israel chose to sit on the fence and not support the positions of the United States and the EU. Israel is a regional power, strong stable, rich, and flourishing. The time has come to change the narrative that there is an existential threat to us."