Israel's place in the Middle East

It is more than half a century that the Arab-Israeli conflicts continue and so far it has dedicated multiple topics to itself. A key issue that has gradually become a part of the political culture of the Middle East is the centrality of Israel in many streams.
For example, the first question that came with the collapse of Saddam Hussein in Iraq was the issue that how will Israel and the new Iraq, as a Muslim country and member of the Arab League, define their relationships with each other. Other questions also raised, the ones such as whether the new Iraqi government will have friendly relations with Israel or not? Will future Iraq be a threat to Israel?
Israel's eyes to the new security environment in the Middle East after the fall of Saddam Hussein has been still a threatening look, and the leaders of Tel Aviv have accordingly tried to control disruptive inputs to their security system outside the of its borders and prevent the entry of these disruptive things to the system of them.
From point of view of leaders of Israel, regional countries' access to unconventional weapons and more importantly, the uncertain future of Middle East's peace, especially after the death of Yasser Arafat and serious vulnerability of the government in front of the other regional countries could cause them a serious security-political challenge.
Accordingly, Israel has built its strategy on expansion of influence, so that today it recognizes its strategic scope in the context of the new Middle East to the Black Sea in the north, the Gulf of Aden in the south, the Strait of Gibraltar in West and Central Asia, the Caucasus and the Caspian Sea in the East.
On the other hand, the occupation of Iraq and the fall of Saddam created the opportunity to Tel Aviv's government to carry out their dreams as far as its capabilities allow him, as Tisah Runtal, commander of Israeli ground forces, pointed out in an interview with Tel Aviv Radio: "the removal of threats of Iraq has provided opportunities for Israel that should be exploited."
What Israel's opportunities are in Iraq will be referred to in next paragraphs, but what lies in programs and strategies is fundamental pillar of Israeli real identity that leaders and officials of Tel Aviv have named them repeatedly by title of "Great Israel".
Of course, there are differences of opinion within Israel, while some groups in Israel call for the establishment of the Israeli state from the sea to the river (coast of the Mediterranean to the River Jordan), and radical groups call for the establishment of Greater Israel from the Nile to the Euphrates and know the blue color of upper and lower part of their government's flags as a sign this issue.
In this regard, and after the war in Iraq, "Rabbi Nahimaha Huri" had issued that Iraq is a part of Greater Israel: Territories of West of the Euphrates River are large parts of Israel, and Jewish soldiers have to say thanks prayer for thanking liberating the lands».
The fact is that Israel looks down Iraq as the Second Israel, and it is on this basis that the Jewish Agency believes in return of 125 Iraqi Jews to Iraq; the Jews have left Iraq in the early 50s to go to "Tel Aviv". Middle East regional newspapers writes in this regard: "by occupation of Iraq by US, the Jews of Iraqi descent who had immigrated to Israel, such as famous families, such as "Ben Sasson" and "Ben Nouh" sought to buy land and residences in Baghdad".
Israel's political geography in the Middle East
Israel is placed between latitudes 29/5 to 32/5 degrees and eastern lengths of 34 and 36 degrees and, in East of the northern hemisphere and Southwest of Asia, in the middle of a tropical climate and is considered as a part of Arab Middle East.
Israel from the north is limited to the Republic of Lebanon, from the northeast to Syria, from East to Dead Sea Lake and Jordan, from the south to the Sinai Peninsula (Egypt) and from West to Mediterranean Sea. In general, Israel is divided into six geographic regions:
Tel Aviv (center of industry, political parties, financial and commercial of the capital), Jerusalem (the largest city and political center) and Haifa are considered the most important cities of Israel.
Despite Israel's geographical location in the heart of the Middle East, many Israelis in general do not want to look at their territories in political, economic and cultural aspects as a part of a Middle East. This situation is mainly rooted in long-standing animosity Arab of regimes toward Israel that have surrendered the regime and avoid recognizing a reality named Israel in a way that more than five decades have been going on of Arab-Israeli hostility issue that is dominant face of Middle East policy.
The Jewish state has been involved with the war since its existence in 1948 and has actually emerged from the conflict, and except for some exceptions, mentioned hostility with Israel has continued to the present time. Historic, relational, cultural and language disputes between Israelis and Arabs have played an important role in separation of Israel from Middle East, and the separation between Middle East and Israel is institutionalized by Israeli academic community.
Many Israeli thought creating circles spending time for the Middle East issues have withdrawn Israel studies from their agenda, but despite these trends of academia and so, still many Israelis know separation between Israel and the Middle East unexplainable issue, of course, in spite of the exception of the country from the Middle East by the Arab states, Israel played an important role in the balance and maintaining the integrity of Middle East and Arabic systems.
In any case, from the geographical point of view, the position of this country in the Middle East has been and is still undeniable, but existence of some problems due to isolation of Israel in the Middle East system, its economic ties with Europe and the United States and Western cultural orientation, have somewhat made it difficult to define the position and role of Israel in the Middle East, but what is certain is that Israel's role in the developments in the Middle East was undeniable.
Israel's isolation since 1948 onwards led to the leaders of the regime to direct their regional policy towards non-Arab actors and therefore communicate with Muslim non-Arab countries such as Turkey and Iran, Christian countries or countries with Christian identity (Ethiopia and Lebanon ) and non-Arab ethnic minorities (Kurds and Armenians) with the purpose of destroying the wall of isolation.
Although relations with some of them had already been established by the Jewish Agency, however, since 1948 onwards, these relations had political significance, so that after the Suez War in 1956, Israel tried to strengthen his relations with Turkey, Iran and Ethiopia in the form of a new strategy.
The aim of this strategy was inhibition of Nasserism waves in the Middle East, because Gamal Abdel Nasser's attempt to unite Arab countries and cooperation with the Soviet Union as a serious threat against the interests of surrounding non-Arab states.
Israel, Iran and Turkey, especially in the areas of security and intelligence cooperated with each other. With the fading of the threat of Nasserism, Turkey turned toward its main activities center in Europe. Cooperation between Israel, Iran and Ethiopia continued during the '60s and late' 70s, but it was always subject to hostile propaganda of the Arabs and Muslims, and these relations were never formally institutionalized.
Iran's Islamic Revolution victory in 1357 and the growth of Soviet's influence in Ethiopia in the 70s collapsed the two important pillars of Israel's regional policy.
Developments in the Middle East after the Islamic Revolution, directly or indirectly, were for the sake of Israel, and in this way, the United States did not neglect its support for the regime, as a regional pillar. Middle East peace process and the unquestioning support of Washington for unconventional Israel's weapons all confirm this issue.
An essential point about Israel is the presence of the regime in the political, economic, and cultural system of the Middle East; an issue that has preoccupied the minds of many statesmen and leaders of the Middle East.
In general, there are two different views on the future status of Israel in the Middle East:
First, it needs to turn his economic superiority to military and political hegemony.
According to this scenario, Israel, which has so far enjoyed military supremacy (in terms of nuclear and conventional weapons), will try to take advantage of effective enforcement powers in the Middle East for the regional domination.
Second, Israel may act as the top state in the region that according to this scenario, it will act as a centerpiece in a system of economic, defense and communication networks between the Middle East and the West.
In either case, the integration of Israel in the Middle East's system will cause fundamental changes in the regional situation and the regime's traditional role in the system.
The basic point is that economic, political, and strategic partnership of Israel with the area does not necessarily mean cultural convergence. Both citizens and neighbors of Israel look at the regime as a part of western civilization. Therefore, all regional efforts are certainly consistent with the economic and political interests rather than cultural and ideological similarities.