As Elizabeth Tsurkov compellingly describes, the protests in Egypt are mostly received in Israel with fear and indifference. The fear is not only fueled by prejudice and habits of thought, but also by good, old fashioned fear mongering. Take, for example, the following statement by an Israeli “defense official”:
A fundamental change of government in Egypt may lead to a “revolution in Israel’s security doctrine,” a defense official told Ynet Friday night, as protests against President Hosni Mubarak’s rule continued to intensify… The defense source said that the IDF would have to dedicate major resources in order to devote any attention to the Egyptian front as well.
Israel’s security establishment often appears to be a war machine in search of a war. A great deal of self-interest is at stake here: the huge and expensive apparatus supports a large and highly privileged group in Israeli society. Without keeping fear alive, people might expect resources to be shifted away to support Israel’s depleted public and social services.
Let us hope the turmoil in Egypt is not used as yet another excuse for a military buildup and an aggressive external posture, which could destabilize the entire region.