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Old Challenges, New Hopes | Israel today

2021-12-30T21:40:08.308Z


In 2022, the trends we have seen in the past year will be boosted. • China and Iran will strengthen, Ukraine will become Putin's battlefield, and the West may, as always, stand in the way. To the virus


The new civil year in Fatah brings with it old challenges, but also new hopes.

The end of December, for the world population, is an optimistic period of holidays, freedom, wishes and gifts.

The problem is that after December 31st comes January 1st - and then usually the surprises come too.

Who remembers, for example, that in December 2019, the various systems (outside China) tried to predict the future without a word about ... the corona virus;

The one that burst into our lives in a storm in early 2020 and made each of us a citizen with a mask and with the status of vaccinated, recovering or, not us, refusing vaccines. 

So first of all, we wish all of us solid health and longevity, and just the opposite we wish for the virus.

Optimism is allowed, even if we are now in the days of mass isolation and contagion.

"The worse it gets, the better," says the saying attributed to Vladimir Lenin - he was wrong.

Why not this time too?

Documentation: Corona patient connected to Acmeo went out for the first time after 3 months in the open air // Photo: Rambam spokeswoman

By the way, the virus itself has only reinforced global trends: evil can come from China, America is not being held accountable, Russia seeks to be always relevant and is one of the few countries to bring a vaccine world, and Europe less and less relevant because of the EU's reluctance to vaccinate.

The usual colorful and beloved Africa is lagging behind, and corona-sponsored nationalism is back to being a legitimate, certainly not rude, word.

The Beijing Winter Olympics in February are perhaps supposed to get us out of the epidemic a bit (China took, China gave), just like the Rio Carnival coming back to us for good.

The very unusual World Cup, which will take place in the desert in Qatar in November-December, may also contribute to the post-epidemic world.

We said maybe, because no one really knows.

Waiting for the wand to pass

We live in a strange time.

What was is not necessarily what will be, because the days are days of transition.

Stefan Zweig and his book "Yesterday's World" are more relevant than ever.

Powers sink, and new ones rise in their place.

Even the language from ancient Greece and Rome is no longer taught at the various European universities, and the level of interest that young people are showing today in the past causes some of them to be confused between Mamluks and bottles.

Zeitgeist.

Never before has access to knowledge been so easy, and we have never seen such a lack of interest in deepening, when for millions of young people even a 30-second video becomes long and tedious.

So where does our world go, and are we with it?

The trends of the past year will only intensify, and the main arenas will be Ukraine, China and Iran.

From there can come evil.

Russian helicopters and cannons near the Ukrainian border, Photo: AP

Let's start in Ukraine - where the business is on fire.

Vladimir Putin, a man of the previous century who, without the laws of nature, would have taken care to accompany us in the next century as well, seeks to recreate the glorious days of his country.

Putin sees Russia as the largest Russia in the world, not just on the ground.

But there is no doubt that the Russian economy is faltering, which undermines aspirations to return to the USSR.

But Ukraine is a battlefield where Putin can prove to the world - here I am, alive, kicking and invading.

The expected lack of American response - and that of Europe, and of the West in general - will be a strong signal to the Chinese to prepare for the baton ceremony, which is approaching each year.

The question many in the West are beginning to ask is not if, but when.

And China?

It continues to intensify economically (where it is and where Russia is), on the backs of the US and at its expense. This, by the way, may be the reason why the Chinese are not really in a hurry. They did not finish getting rich. The ceremony is over. It is not expected to happen in 2022, but this year will only intensify the trend. Biden and Trump have not agreed on anything - except the Chinese threat.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping is expected to take the reins from the Chinese Communist Party for the third time this fall (a precedent since Mao's death) to continue to establish his country's status.

Did you miss the Cold War between the USSR and the US?

Wait for the Chinese version.

Chinese President Shai and former Iranian President Rouhani visit Tehran, 2016., Photo: Reuters

Unresolved riddle

And Iran, of course.

Washington has placed the emphasis on the Chinese threat, and as a result has withdrawn from Afghanistan in the past year.

It may give up on the Ukrainian front - but also on that of Iran.

America has withdrawn voluntarily, and Iran - with its rich history - is waiting for the long-awaited day for it, which will turn it into a nuclear power.

The nuclear agreement that everyone is talking about has become almost a goal, not just a means.

Recall that the goal is neither a bad deal nor a military nucleus.

Biden's Washington, like Obama's, believes more in words and less in actions when it comes to Iran.

2022 will be a test year.

The US midterm elections in November 2022 are expected to bring about a revolution in Congress. This could lead to a spot change, but not a change of trend. American society is fed up and tired, and more interested in defining genders than punishing tyrants.

And Israel, in our whole changing world?

There is no doubt that Europe with feelings of guilt has contributed a lot to us, even if there have been episodes in which the Palestinians have been exploited to prove that the Jew is no better.

And America, of course, gave us all the help in the days when common values ​​were a kind of supreme value.

But today a new power is bursting into our lives, and she believes in total collectivism, in a world where technology has never been so advanced.

All this makes our future a riddle.

Just like with the corona, this time too - China has the solutions.

Were we wrong?

Fixed!

If you found an error in the article, we'll be happy for you to share it with us

Source: israelhayom

All news articles on 2021-12-30

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