“The laws of Chess do not permit a free choice: you have to move whether you like it or not”
~ Emanuel Lasker
In chess over four hundred different possible positions exist each time a player moves their piece. An incalculable game that requires a skillful move, countermove, and sacrifice for the cause. The game does not end until the king falls.
Israel’s matches are always center stage despite the considerable frequency of them. Despite claims otherwise, Israel always plays black and never opens first. Once White makes its move Black Israel has no choice but to defend herself.
The game often opens with charging Israel’s expansion of settlements as the sole impediment to peace. Israel defends by affirming the obstruction lies in the support of terror to those who do not recognize Israel’s right to exist.
History has seen its share of punitive players who have engaged in total blitz. The carnage of the move is etched in the psyche of man forever. Those who have donned the Star of David have seen its pieces slaughtered by war and genocide. Miraculously, after the ashes have settled the last remaining piece on the board is black.
August 6, 1945, changed the stratagem forever; if the blitz is ever exercised again it will be the last piece ever moved. Some of the finest matches ever played were between the Communist and Democratic strategists during the Cold War. Gross success in the Capitalist and Industrial markets are now standard for those coveting to be considered fit to play.
On May 14th, 1948, a new actor entered the world stage. The State of Israel has become an invaluable resource to the world’s growing demands. Technological innovations in Medicine, Computers, and Agriculture among many other things have Israel camped at the front of humanity’s evolution. Since inception Israel had has been a city of refuge for religious intolerance and persecution. The country prides itself on being the guardian that honors, preserves and protects the holy sites of all three major world faiths.
I ask myself why such a virtuous country is constantly dragged out onto the main stage to defend herself?
The State of Israel has been playing a prolific chess match that has withstood decades of political upheaval and unprecedented scientific advancement. The world today is completely unrecognizable to the man who stood behind his same window 69 years ago. Who wouldn’t want to be the one who puts Israel in checkmate?
The tale of David and Goliath captures the imagination of child and adult alike. Israel the proverbial David in terms of size and stature, fends off the world’s Goliaths whom relentlessly condemn the Jewish State. An indomitable adversary draws the attention of everybody. When the extent of power is measured at the time of defeat; it stands without reason, how compelling it is to those with hate in their hearts to slay David?
President Trump is tasked to mediate a game of attrition that has long frustrated many previous administrations. The President sits down to a game conventionally played through force of hand by use of protracted positions and egregious directives. As of now the administration’s policy towards the conflict is to refrain from forcing Israel’s hand. He prefers to give to give Israel and the PA the most conducive environment possible to maximize negotiations between themselves. Trump is taking a page from the past by acknowledging use of external dogmatic force has often ended in stalemate or worse.
This may be the first of a series of moves that breaks the unbreakable game. Perhaps in time, the world will come to realize that Israel would rather put the chess board away. Israel only wishes to stop the terror attacks upon its citizens, be unanimously legitimized, and continue to advance the noble goals of humanity.
No checkmate. No stalemate. No game at all.