These are challenging and threatening times for the Jewish people. In Israel, we are facing the unvarnished genocidal aspirations of radical Islamic rejectionists, in a pincer-like fashion, from Hamas, Hezbollah, and various other groups, including factions of the Palestinian Authority in Judea and Samaria.
In the Diaspora, it has become not just acceptable but downright fashionable to indulge in Jew hatred. The sophistic distinction between anti-Zionism and antisemitism has been decimated in favor of full-throated hatred of Jews.
It is said that in times of adversity, one discovers who one’s true friends are. If that is true now as well, it doesn’t bode well for us. The support coming from the United States is conditioned, conditional, and, to say the least, ambivalent.
We are seeing the war in Gaza being used, not as a proof text for the inability to tolerate the existence, let alone the governing presence of Hamas, but rather, as the sign that now is the time to seize upon a pathway to a so-called two-state solution. This enthusiasm is being echoed in Europe, with the always reliable paper tigers of the EU adding veiled threats of coercion to make sure Israel buys into such a course of action.
Despite the conflict, support for Israel from friends is lukewarm
Much has been written about and speculated on why the US is doubling down on a strategy that defies all common sense and logic. It might be strongly related to an assessment of what domestic politics might dictate in an election year. There is also the sense that it is part of a campaign to unseat Prime Minister Netanyahu, who can be made to look obstinate and opposed to a peaceful solution.
Regardless, it represents an intensification of the appeasement-infused delusional thinking that holds that somehow entrusting Iran with power will create a balanced and ultimately less violent Middle East.
Another school of opinion has it that the West is exhausted by the ferocious tenacity of conflict here – a conflict that they refuse to see as a religious jihad against upstart infidels. They, and here the Europeans come quickly to mind, want to see an end to it. Just make it go away. “Won’t someone rid me of this meddlesome priest?”
We have little control over the mindset and perspectives of the rest of the world. We have shown the incontrovertible evidence of Hamas barbarism, a barbarism that has engaged a significant cohort of the overall Gazan population. We have demonstrated sensitivity and care in the conduct of our warfare – sensitivity unmatched anywhere or at any time in other confrontations – which has cost us precious lives. Somehow, it doesn’t really matter.
We are still the impediment, the fly in the ointment of what would otherwise be just the same old, same old internecine struggle in the Middle East between Sunnis and Shia. We have to recognize that, at the end of the day, in the eyes of much of the world, we are, always have been, and will continue to be the problem.
THE REAL question for us here in Israel is: what do we do about it? How do we assimilate this worldview of others with the crystal clear recognition that if we cherish the Zionist vision, dream, and reality that we have created, we must exert our sovereignty and control.
Having absorbed the painful lesson of October 7, we understand that the price of admission in this neighborhood is power, vigilance, and the determination to assert our sovereignty, no matter what. We recognize that we must take our enemies at their word. They really do want to annihilate us. It’s not just pandering to the masses. It is the guiding vision of our enemies.
So, with that understanding, again, we must ask how we proceed internationally as well as internally. Actually, the internal part is much easier, as we have consensus and widespread clarity as to what has to be done.
Dealing with those who, in effect, are demanding surrender requires both strength and finesse. We must be respectful and understanding, but also firm. While we can pay lip service to American aspirations (confident that the Palestinians will subvert any plans the Americans might have for them), we should not allow ourselves to be made, wittingly or otherwise, into agents of American or European goals.
We should not submit to the interests of other players
For example, any talk of elections now is a betrayal of our unity and cohesion. It is likely a heartfelt desire of the Biden Administration that new leadership here would be more pliable. That in and of itself should be the best argument against supporting the idea of an election.
We cannot allow the liberation of the hostages to become a partisan or political issue. All Israelis want our hostages back. However, in the wake of the disastrous Gilad Schalit trade, all Israelis should understand the risks of pursuing their release. The previous hostage release was borne out of the shock that Hamas received from our military campaign. Continued intensity of military pressure will be the best way to ensure another broad release.
We can offer alternative visions for aspects of the “day after” and put them forward proactively. Such visions should be seen as tangible manifestations of our goals of eliminating the threat of Hamas and creating enduring quiet on our borders.
Above all, we must recognize that what we are doing is not only imperative but also just, humane, and the inevitable cost of maintaining a Jewish and democratic state consistent with the vision of Zionism. Our unified strength is feared by our enemies and envied by our fair-weather friends. Ultimately, we will prevail, but only if we maintain that unity and focus on what needs to be done. At the end of the day, it is all up to us.
If we will it, a safe and secure Israel is no dream.
The writer is the chairman of the board of Im Tirtzu and a board member of the Israel Independence Fund.