Our world hangs in a precarious space right now with nuclear war looming on the horizon. On Sept. 3, North Korea tested an incredibly powerful missile and has been test-flying rockets over Japan. This could spell disaster for Japan and South Korea, the United States and Israel.
Israel has long warned of the dangers of lax constraints on North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, which now claims to have an advanced hydrogen bomb for a long-range missile. As we know, it just takes one reckless launch to plunge our world into a devastation from which it may not recover. What many people might not realize, is that North Korea and Iran have been working together to create nuclear weapons and ICBMs. Unfortunately, the North Korean nuclear effort was left out of consideration when the Iranian agreement was drafted, even though it is really an extension of the Iranian nuclear program. The West was terribly negligent when it negotiated agreements in the past with North Korea and Iran and current and future generations will pay for this negligence.
Iran is financing the North Korean effort with 2-3 billion dollars per year. Unfortunately, because of these ties between Iran and North Korea, the U.S is at great risk and even though Israel’s missile defense capabilities are the best in the world, it is still a country surrounded by enemies. Believe me, Iran and all other terror organizations are watching closely how the U.S. handles the North Korean crisis.
But what can be done to protect the U.S. and Israel? On a smaller, individual level, we can join together and form a united front against terrorism, threats of nuclear war, and bullying from countries like North Korea and Iran. The Jewish organization (Acheinu, a division of the Dirshu organization) is holding the Day of Jewish Unity on Sept. 15 and is encouraging Jews across the world to unite with one another to pray for peace. This is not a bad place to start.
While the Day of Jewish Unity may not have a quantifiable impact on the situation, there will be several benefits. First of all, prayers for peace can never be bad; they can only heal, never destroy. Secondly, it is harder to fight a united force. For instance, a bully can easily snap one stick, but a bundle of sticks can withstand the bully’s strength. We need to show that we — as Jews, as peace-lovers, as Zionists and as anyone who wants to avoid nuclear war — are united.
In addition to praying, we need to reach out to our government representatives and urge them to deal swiftly and strongly with North Korea. North Korea tested its first missile in 2006, following negligent enforcement of sanctions. North Korea is continuing to test the boundaries, to dip a toe into the ocean of war to gauge the reaction.
We need to show that the water is too cold for them to swim. We need to make clear that we will retaliate should they continue on this path and then actually follow through. Just as we individuals need to unite on the Day of Jewish Unity, we need the various foreign powers within the United Nations to unite and ensure their criticisms pack a punch.
Too often, we see lackadaisical response from the United Nations, leaving the United States and its allies to police the world — for which the United Nations then criticizes us. This needs to end.
We must prevent war by showing that Israel and America are forces to be reckoned with, who will not be cowed by North Korea’s and Iran’s recent attempted shows of might. While China is advocating for us to stand down and allow them to fix this situation through dialogue, I don’t think that will work. We have tried talking to North Korea; we get nowhere.
We need to unite and ensure North Korea knows that we will respond in kind if they ever attack us.
Our union will not only send a strong message to North Korea, but it will communicate our seriousness regarding this issue to Iran, which is being emboldened by North Korea’s current behavior. Iran desperately wants nuclear capabilities and is continuously pushing the envelope in its quest to mine uranium and develop nuclear weapons. When Iran looks to North Korea, it sees a country achieving its goal without any real retaliation from the countries that sanctioned it — the same countries attempting to control Iran’s nuclear capabilities. Iran has stated on multiple occasions that it does not believe Israel or the U.S. should be a country and that it wants Israel destroyed. We need to show that they will be stopped before they even begin if they continue in their attempts to gain nuclear weapons.
On the Day of Jewish Unity, I ask that not only should Jews and our fellow Christians from around the world come together, but for each Western democratic country to commit itself to being united against the continuing nuclear threat from both North Korea and Iran. Meanwhile, we all should pray for the safety of America, Israel and all our allies.