8/7/2019 ISRAEL ROLE IN GEORGIAN CONFLICT

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ISRAEL ROLE IN GEORGIAN CONFLICT

"It is important that the entire world understands that what is happening in Georgia now will affect the entire worldorder," Georgian Cabinet Minister Temur Yakobashvili said last weekend. "It's not just Georgia's business, but theentire world's business." Such sentiments would have been unremarkable but for the fact that Yakobashvili wasexpressing himself in fluent Hebrew, telling Israeli Army Radio that "Israel should be proud of its military, whichtrained Georgian soldiers."

However, the impression that Israel had helped bolster the Georgian military was one the Israeli Foreign Ministry wasanxious to avoid. Last Saturday it reportedly recommended a freeze on the further supply of equipment and expertiseto Georgia by Israeli defense contractors. (Israel doesn't supply foreign militaries directly, but its private contractorsmust get Defense Ministry approval for such deals.) The Israelis decided to refrain from authorizing new defensecontracts, although those currently in effect will be fulfilled. Israel stressed that the contracts are to provide equipmentfor defensive purposes. But if the Israelis were looking to downplay the significance of military ties, they weren'thelped by comments like Yakobashvili's ² or by Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili's enthusing at a pressconference earlier this week that "the Israeli weapons have been very effective."

Nor did the Russians fail to notice. "Israel armed the Georgian army," grumbled General Anatoly Nogovitsyn, deputychief of staff of the Russian military, at a press conference in Moscow earlier this week.

The extent of involvement in Georgia by Israeli defense contractors may be overstated, and most of the equipmentused by the Georgian military comes from the U.S. and other suppliers. Still, Israeli companies had been sufficientlyinvolved in supplying specialized equipment and advanced tactical training to the Georgian military that theconnection ² and Russia's perception of it ² created a ripple of anxiety in Israeli government circles. Israeli officialssay that, in anticipation of a showdown between Georgia and Russia, Israel began to scale back the involvement of Israeli companies in Georgia as early as the end of 2007. Georgia's Yakobashvili charged this week that Israel, "atRussia's behest," had downgraded military ties with Georgia, a decision he branded a "disgrace."

Israel's weapons sales, just like Russia's, are driven by the commercial interests of domestic arms industries. Israelimilitary exports to Georgia are driven more by the logic of business than by a strategic choice to back Tbilisi againstMoscow ² indeed, the Israeli response since the outbreak of hostilities is a reminder that, on balance, even arelatively cool friendship with Russia may be more important to Israel than a close alliance with tiny Georgia. DespiteIsrael's pecuniary imperative, Georgia has used these commercial military ties to press closer ties on Israel.

President Saakashvili has noted that both his minister responsible for negotiations over South Ossetia (Yakobashvili)

and his Defense Minister, Davit Kezerashvili, had lived in Israel before moving to post-Soviet Georgia. According tothe Israeli daily Haaretz, the Georgian leader this week enthused that in Tbilisi, "both war and peace are in the handsof Israeli Jews." Working through the Georgian Defense Ministry (and with the approval of its Israeli counterpart),Israeli companies are reported to have supplied the Georgians with pilotless drones, night-vision equipment, anti-aircraft equipment, shells, rockets and various electronic systems. Even more important than equipment may havebeen the advanced tactical training and consultancy provided, as private contractors, by retired top Israeli generalssuch as Yisrael Ziv and Gal Hirsch, the man who commanded Israeli ground forces during their disastrous foray intoLebanon in 2006. (Never one to resist an opportunity to mock his enemies, Hizballah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallahquipped in a speech this week, "Gal Hirsch, who was defeated in Lebanon, went to Georgia, and they too lostbecause of him.") Not necessarily: Russia applied overwhelming force against the tiny Georgian military, which,according to Israeli assessments, still managed to punch above its weight.

The Russians were piqued by Israel's military trade with Georgia even before the latest outbreak of hostilities ²Moscow expressed its annoyance over the pilotless drones supplied by an Israeli company to the Georgians, three of 

which were downed by Russian aircraft over South Ossetia in recent months. Obviously mindful of the need to avoidprovoking Russia, Israel declared off-limits certain weapons systems the Georgians had asked for, such as Merkavatanks and advanced anti-aircraft systems. "We have turned down many requests involving arms sales to Georgia,and the ones that have been approved have been duly scrutinized," a Defense Ministry official told the Israeli dailyYediot Ahoronot amid concerns raised over a possible fallout from the Israeli ties to the Georgian military. The extentof damage to the Israeli-Russia relationship ² if indeed there is any ² remains to be seen. Despite GeneralNogovitsyn's comments, Israeli officials say they have received no formal complaints from Russia over ties withGeorgia.