Anybody following the news from Washington in recent weeks knows that President Donald Trump and his government efficiency czar Elon Musk have been drying up the swamp of wasteful spending. According to some reports, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) already has saved US taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars.

But of course, DOGE is not just about dollars but also about the axing of programs that wield a radical ideological agenda and even anti-American policies.

It is now time to similarly cancel radical anti-Western, anti-Israel, and even antisemitic funding boondoggles on the international level.

Washington has made a good start on this by acting to shut down the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which for years has funneled millions of dollars to anti-Israel advocacy groups and entities linked to terrorism.

Some of the terror-tied funding initiatives are publicly known. In November 2022, for instance, USAID awarded $100,000 to a Palestinian activist group whose leaders hailed the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a designated terror group. Just six days before Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 assault on Israel, USAID handed $900,000 to a terror charity in Gaza involved with the son of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

A February report from the Middle East Forum found that USAID had directly awarded millions of federal dollars to organizations in Gaza controlled by Hamas. In one Biden-era case, it funded an “educational and community center in Gaza” controlled by a local group called the Unlimited Friends Association. The association openly collaborated with Hamas, inviting the terror group’s officials to its office and boasting of US-funded projects in Hamas-controlled newspapers. In 2021, its director called for Jerusalem to be cleansed “from the impurity of the Jews.”

A report released in January by NGO Monitor outlined millions in USAID funding for two nonprofits – Mercy Corps and American Near East Refugee Aid – that have closely coordinated with a Gaza-based ministry, run by a senior Hamas official identified by the US Treasury as previously responsible for part of Hamas’s smuggling operation. USAID humanitarian packages have been found in Hezbollah caches of weapons in Lebanon.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R–Texas) says that the full story of USAID funding Hamas “is vast and much of it was done in secret,” and he accuses the agency of purposeful subterfuge.

Worse still, under former president Joe Biden’s pick to run the agency, Samantha Power, USAID has taken the lead in accusing Israel of deliberately blocking Gazan aid deliveries, which Hamas is known to steal for its own use and for black market sales that fund its terror activities. USAID staffers went as far as to urge the Biden State Department to end military aid to Israel.

Also praiseworthy is the Trump administration’s early action to cut off funding for UNRWA which has a long record of glorifying terrorism and the rejection of Israel in its textbooks and schools. We now know of agency employees who participated in Hamas terrorist activities and of agency facilities that have been used as rocket storage and launch sites by Hamas. The complete dismantling of UNRWA is the next challenge. Its $1.5 billion budget can much better be spent on real refugee settlement and peacemaking.

In fact, US defunding of the UN all-together may be warranted, at least for a while – as prophylactic treatment. Why should America give the UN more than $18 billion a year when that organization underwrites a variety of departments and agencies that make up a global deep state extraordinarily hostile to the US and to Israel?

As Prof. Eugene Kontorovich has shown, this includes agencies that promote controversial agendas and questionable programs such as transgenderism, the training of LGBTIQ+ writers in the Third World, peacekeeping missions that have proven worthless and wasteful, and layers upon layers of massive bureaucracies that advance charges of apartheid, colonization, and war crimes against Israel while promoting runaway Palestinian statehood.

Then there is the estimated $30 billion to $45 b. that the evil Islamist government of Qatar has invested in the US, infecting the worlds of American academia, media, and business, and clearly contributing to recent anti-American and anti-Israel protests.

The Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP) has documented a gargantuan increase in Qatari funding for US universities since October 7 as well as direct connections between the amount of donations from Qatar and other Persian Gulf countries and the activity of Arab and radical Left groups that today terrorize college campuses.

Follow the money. Time to investigate and eliminate funding for the most nefarious and subversive activities on a global scale.

MOVING FROM the broad world to our narrower world, a hard-nosed review and massive recalculation of global support for the Palestinian Authority is also long overdue.

The tens of billions of dollars invested in corrupt Palestinian authorities since the halcyon days of the Oslo Accords have not brought about the building of even one hospital or significant housing project, nor has the largesse encouraged political moderation and maturity of Palestinian leadership.

Just the opposite: Flush with wild amounts of international largesse with few strings attached, the Palestinian national movement has become ever-more aggressive and hostile to Israel over the past 30 years, making true compromise impossible.

One of the most egregious PA policies is “pay-for-slay,” whereby Palestinian terrorists and their families are rewarded for the murder of Israelis on a sliding scale that prioritizes and glorifies the bloodiest attacks.

For example, Palestinian Media Watch has documented more than half-a-billion shekels in PA payments to Palestinian terrorists now being released by Israel in the horrifying terrorist-for-Israeli hostage trade deals. These terrorists have been paid by the PA ever since their arrests. PMW says that more than 300 of the 750 worst terrorists essentially are being released as millionaires.

All this raises questions about the enthusiasm of European countries and international aid agencies for paying for “rehabilitation” in Lebanon and Gaza. With Hezbollah still running Lebanon (under the cover of a fig-leaf Lebanese government) and Hamas still holding sway in Gaza (under cover of what might be a “reformed” PA government), should billions of dollars more in cement and steel and gas be poured into these disaster zones?

Alas, we all know that nobody in the oh-so-concerned and very-humanitarian-minded international community, the biased-against-Israel international community, is going to invest in the rehabilitation of northern and southern Israel, areas that have been devastated and depopulated by Hezbollah and Hamas attacks.

But should the unhealthy habits-of-old subsidize the rearming and rehabilitation of Hezbollah and Hamas? Should the US, Canada, or Germany really participate in international donor conference after international donor conference about pouring more cash down the drains of these terrorist-controlled territories? Have they learned nothing from October 7?

The writer is managing senior fellow at the Jerusalem-based Misgav Institute for National Security & Zionist Strategy. The views expressed here are his own. His diplomatic, defense, political, and Jewish world columns over the past 28 years are at davidmweinberg.com.

Published in The Jerusalem Post 21.02.2025.

Like all Israelis, I have shed buckets of tears in recent weeks watching the scenes of Israelis kidnapped (and to a great extent tortured) by Hamas returning to their families. Tears of joy and tears of horror. But mostly tears of relief.

Like all Israelis, I hope and pray that “stage one” of the deal negotiated by the Biden administration will be completed in full, including the additional tranches of live hostage releases planned for the coming weekends (which also include return of eight bodies of killed Israelis).

I hope and pray that President Trump’s new plan to evacuate all Palestinians from Gaza, Hamas’ ongoing drip-drip torture tactics against Israel, and Israel’s clear intention to yet drive Hamas leadership out of Gaza – don’t upset completion of the hostage-for-terrorist release deal in the near term. Managing these contradictory impulses and aims remains extraordinarily difficult.

Still, for obvious reasons, stages two and three of Biden’s Israel-Hamas deal were never realistic. Hamas never is going to release all Israeli hostages because they are the terrorist organization’s self-protection insurance policy and its most effective weapon for tearing Israeli society apart from within.

Israel is not going to lock-stock-and-barrel withdraw all IDF troops from Gaza and all-together forgo the security perimeter it has created inside Gaza, nor “permanently end” the war against Hamas – including interdiction of weapon shipments into Gaza and real-time strikes on Hamas terrorist offenses – as stipulated in Biden’s outline – because Israel cannot lose this war. It will not rest until Hamas’ military and dictatorial-ruling strength in Gaza is more decisively destroyed.

To this one must now add Trump’s decision to re-work the architecture of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict by denying the annihilationist orthodoxies of the Palestinian national movement and its radical Islamist-jihadist supporters around the world; and rejecting the notion that “only” a unified Palestinian state in Gaza and Judea and Samaria and Jerusalem is the path to peace.

Hamas, of course, has no interest in playing along with Trump’s attempt to reset regional diplomacy or with Israel’s desire to see Trump’s gambit succeed.

And it is clear to anybody looking beyond the hostage issue at the broader strategic picture that Biden’s long-term outline for Hamas-Israel truce is both unwise and unrealistic.

In this regard, colder calculation and less emotional thinking in Israeli society are necessary. The increasingly shrill and even violent demand by protesters that the Netanyahu government cut “any” deal for “all” the hostages to be released “now” is perhaps understandable from a personal perspective (especially when it comes from hostage families) but it is questionable from national and strategic ones.

I certainly do not accept the most recent slogan of protesters that brands the government a “war criminal” government unless it “immediately” (and miraculously) obtains the release of “all hostages now, now, now, now!”

The streets of Tel Aviv and the front pages of almost all newspapers are plastered with this new slogan: “A government that doesn’t obtain all hostage release now is a war criminal government.” This echoes the worst defamatory language of Israel’s enemies everywhere: the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

According to this unbalanced internal discourse, amplified by around-the-clock television reporting that is uniformly vicious towards Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his right-wing/haredi coalition, the Israeli government is now guilty of war crimes not only against the Palestinians but against its own people.

According to this unbalanced internal discourse, the 76 remaining Israeli hostages held alive and dead by Hamas in Gaza are not the only hostages. All nine million Israeli Jews have been taken hostage by Netanyahu. Hostage to his personal political fortunes, hostage to his Trump-fed “delusions” of total victory.

IN MY VIEW, this is going many steps too far. Not every deprecatory assault is acceptable in the political campaign to drive Netanyahu out of office. Not every slanderous slogan is kosher even in the struggle for hostage freedom.

And if we are talking in terms of nine million hostages, I say that nine million Israelis must not be taken prisoner in further reckless deals with Hamas that will neither work for the hostages nor bring security to the entire country.

This is the place to recall the dangers of the “stage one” deal already being implemented and the even more wild dangers of potential stage two and three deals: the release of thousands more of Palestinian terrorists.

The released terrorists assuredly will strike again, with God-only-knows how many Israeli casualties in the future. Their release certainly will incentivize future kidnappings, pour gasoline onto the terrorist fires already raging in Judea and Samaria, and catapult Hamas towards its intended takeover of Judea and Samaria.

I know this to be a fact because this has been the case with every previous terrorist release. Israel repeatedly has erred by letting terrorists loose to murder more Israelis.

And each time, in advance of every deal, the Israeli “security establishment” arrogantly and falsely has assured Israeli politicians and the public that it “will know how to manage the situation,” i.e., how to track the terrorists and crush any nascent return to terrorist activity without too much harm done.

But this has never proven to be true. Every deal involving the release of terrorists has led to much bloodshed – planned and conducted by these released terrorists.

In short, dealing Palestinian terrorists for Israeli hostages might be the most necessary thing in the world to do, but it also is a difficult thing to do. The cost will pay out over a prolonged period, and it will be steep. This is important to keep in mind.

THEREFORE, a bit of self-discipline is incumbent on everybody in Israel when demanding that the Netanyahu government cut “any” deal at “any” price on “any” terms for “all” the hostages, who “must” be released “now, now, now.”

(Bang the drums, block the roads, strike the ports and airports, and scream “now, now, now” at the top of your lungs in Knesset too.)

Again, many Israelis will say that hostage release deals are sad but necessary; that it is the government’s moral obligation to free as many hostages as possible, as soon as possible, despite high prices; that the suffering of our hostages and their families is intolerable.

Many will say that giving freed hostages one big national hug is the greatest triumph of all, something so necessary for Israel’s collective spirit and its resilience over the long term. Even if Hamas retains power and survives to fight another day.

This is a legitimate perspective, as far as it goes.

As such, I am glad that as he took office Trump pushed through implementation of Biden’s “stage one” – so that I and all Israelis can rejoice a bit in the hostage lives that have been saved. I look forward to shedding additional buckets of tears of relief as more Israeli hostages are released soon, as healthy as possible.

But nobody has the right to declare skeptics of the current deal, and those of us concerned about imprudent next stage deals, to be “war criminals.” Nobody has the right to take me and nine million other Israelis hostage in an untamed campaign of complete character assassination.

It may be politically incorrect these days to question the tactics – never mind the goals and total discourse dominance – of the movement for hostage release, “now, now, now.” I have been told that it is “brave” and even “unwise” to pen an op-ed column like this. But I think some restraint and rethinking is necessary.

Published in The Jerusalem Post, February 14, 2025.

Naysayers around the world and in Israel hewed to international diplomatic orthodoxies in reacting to President Donald Trump’s announcement this week that the US would take control of the Gaza Strip and permanently “relocate” Palestinians elsewhere.

Few understood what Trump was trying to do, which is to upend decades of stale thinking about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Russia barked that there was “no alternative to the two-state solution,” and France bellowed that “the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza would violate international law.”

Saudi Arabia rejected “any infringement on the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, whether through Israeli settlement policies, the annexation of Palestinian lands, or attempts to displace the Palestinian people from their land.”

Mainstream commentators in the US and Israel laughed at Trump for proposing something that was neither feasible nor wise, in their view.

Others dismissed Trump for applying “tawdry real estate thinking” to a protracted ideological conflict.

Left-wing Israeli editors and reporters predictably bemoaned the fact that Trump had gifted Netanyahu a political lifeline by articulating an idea that would bring the hard-Right back into his governing coalition and provide Netanyahu with fodder for his next election campaign.

All this is hackneyed politics or stupid analysis. It misses Trump’s titanic point, his gargantuan insight: What was can no longer be.

It makes no sense to punish Israel or reward the Palestinians with the usual diplomatic playbook. That would be a recipe for yet more suffering, stalemate, and war.

Instead, paradigms have to change. New coordinates must be placed on diplomatic maps.

First and foremost in this transformation is that there must be a cost to decades of Palestinian aggression against Israel.

Palestinians cannot invade Israel, massacre and rape and kidnap Israeli citizens, and then run to international forums and courts to criminalize Israel and swear allegiance to annihilationist ideologies and loyalty to jihadist Iran – and expect a return to the status quo ante.

They cannot expect that Israel will nicely and swiftly withdraw to some supposedly sacrosanct lines after being forced to mount yet another costly military counter-assault.

Israel cannot be expected to let Hamas live-on in control of Gaza to fight it another day.

PALESTINIANS CANNOT expect the world (or at least, America) to dumbly pour yet again billions of dollars of rehabilitation and aid funds into their corrupt and militarized dictatorships.

Who in their right mind thinks to rebuild Gaza under Hamas, where every pile of rubble is wired to explode with Iranian-provided bombs and every building still standing has a terror attack tunnel burrowed underneath it?

Trump challenges conventions, and it works 

Donald Trump, disrupter-in-chief, is saying that it is time for new thinking. He is challenging conventions.

Even if his “Trumpsfer” plan is a nonstarter, even if the plan is unrealistic, it forces everybody to abandon failed fallback templates.

Trump is saying that the EKP (the “Everybody Knows Paradigm,” also known as the “Clinton Parameters”) may be kaput. Is it true that a full-fledged Palestinian state in a unified West Bank and Gaza will bring peace to the Mideast and that “only” this formula can guarantee Israel’s future? Perhaps not.

Is it really true that if billions are ploughed into Gaza reconstruction by the international community, the Palestinians currently there will discover that it is worth investing in peace with Israel? Perhaps not.

Therefore, any movement away from antiquated formulas for resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – most of which have been based on maximalist Palestinian demands deemed holy by the international community – is a huge achievement.

Essentially, Trump is moving to reset the Mideast diplomatic table based on historical truths and concrete realities.

His previous administration wholly rejected the notion that an Israeli-Palestinian solution should begin from any 75-year-old armistice line forced upon Israel by Arab aggression; or from the defensive “security barrier” forced upon Israel by Palestinian terrorism; or from any borders dictated by politicized international organizations and jaundiced legal tribunals.

Today, Washington is also rebuffing the Palestinian notion that Jerusalem can be coerced into wide-ranging withdrawals by appealing to international courts to criminalize Israel.

THE TRUMP administration is rejecting the system of never-ending Palestinian refugeehood backed by organizations like UNRWA, which have underpinned the belief that Gaza (or any other piece of land the Palestinians control) is not a home, but merely a launching pad for reconquering “Palestine from the River to the Sea.”

Trump is asserting that the Clinton parameters do not adequately conform to today’s dramatically changed Mideast security environment.

And that those parameters insufficiently contemplated the irredentist, almost Nazi-like nature of much of the Palestinian national movement.

The tired EKP also underwrote a dynamic whereby every Palestinian failure in responsible state-building was forgiven; every Palestinian rejection of a reasonable peace offer was explained-away; and every Palestinian assault on Israel was excused in international forums, including the invasion and massacre of October 7, 2023.

At the same time, unilateral Palestinian steps against Israel were accepted with equanimity – such as appeals to have their statehood unilaterally recognized by the UN without negotiation or compromise; appeals to the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice to penalize Israel; and illegal building of Palestinian settlements in Area C of the West Bank.

Israel was expected to do nothing in response to these Palestinian assaults. It was supposed to wait endlessly for a negotiation with Palestinians that Palestinian leadership never wanted and repeatedly rejects.

Israel also was expected to hang on for a peaceful and democratic Palestinian political culture to miraculously emerge.

This would involve, alas implausibly, a unified Palestinian government that doesn’t pay people to kill Israelis, that disarms Hamas and other terrorist armies in its midst, that ends the teaching of antisemitism and genocidal attitudes toward Israel in its schools and media, that respects human rights, that is prepared to reconcile with Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people, that accepts as legitimate (at least some) Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria, that accepts Israeli security control of the two-state envelope, etc.

In the meantime, of course, Israel had been expected to take no unilateral action to secure its baseline national and security assets. Well, that no longer holds, thanks to President Trump.

A method to Trump’s seeming madness 

THERE IS a method to Trump’s seeming madness. He and his team seem to have intuited the truth that the real challenge in Palestinian-Israeli affairs is to unleash long-term dynamics that shatter obsolete approaches, and which might regenerate belief in the possibility of peace.

In this regard, one assumes that the Trump team has taken notice of tectonic realignments in Israeli public opinion – against establishment of any Palestinian state, in favor of extending Israeli sovereignty to much of Judea and Samaria, and in favor of expelling Gaza Arabs.

This is not a function of Israeli “trauma,” as some condescending European leaders have suggested. Rather, it is informed political maturation.

Don’t snottily dismiss Israeli “fears” of Palestinian terrorism (or of Iranian nuclear attack) as if the Israeli public is a psychological weakling that needs to be coddled; as if Israel is a polity that needs security “assurances” and international “guarantees” so that it can revert to the good old Oslo-era “solutions.”

Rather, Israel has undergone an informed political maturation – call it a hawkish transformation or the ripening of hard-earned wisdom, whatever you wish.

In short, Israelis agree with Trump that they cannot make – that the region and the world must not make – the same mistakes over and over again.

Trump is absolutely correct about this: “They’ve tried other solutions [writer’s note: like rebuilding Gaza with a Palestinian government], and they’ve tried it for decades and decades and decades. It’s not going to work.

It didn’t work, it will never work. And you have to learn from history. History is, you know: [We] just can’t let it keep repeating itself.”

To this one should add Trump’s recognition of Israel’s justified and necessary victories, and its strategic value to the US. “Israel has endured a sustained, aggressive, and murderous assault on every front. But it fought back bravely after an all-out attack on the very existence of a Jewish state in the Jewish homeland,” he said.

“The Israelis stood strong and united in the face of an enemy that kidnapped, tortured, raped, and slaughtered innocent women and children. I salute the Israeli people for meeting this trial with courage, determination, and unflinching resolve.”

Israeli military victories and innovative diplomatic approaches like the president’s are the path to eventual peace and prosperity. Trump’s disruption is a good thing.

Published in The Jerusalem Post, February 8, 2025.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel are looking for smart ways to spend NIS 500 million on public diplomacy. This new government hasbara (Israel advocacy) budget is to be 20 times what it was before the Israel-Hamas War began in 2023. The two leaders have been brainstorming with influencers and public opinion leaders as to the allocation of the funds.

The challenge is enormous, the effort is worthy, and the range of initiatives suggested is impressive. But Sa’ar and Haskel must be careful not to waste funds on feckless enterprises. This includes the establishment of a government hasbara bureaucracy and more. Mainly, they ought to revolutionize Israel’s messaging. This means matching resolute messaging to Israel’s necessarily aggressive strategic and defense posture and restoring the Jewish faith and traditions to Israel’s diplomatic arsenal.

What Israel should not do with the new hasbara budget is this: Set up a grand government hasbara directorate or fiefdom. There are plenty of existing mechanisms to simply coordinate matters, including the Foreign Ministry’s own public diplomacy division; and in any case, government bureaucracies have never been good at implementation. Give the money to fast-moving independent actors.

Secondly, don’t spend big chunks of cash on hasbara “research” projects or on international public relations firms – who will be only too happy to “advise” Israel at great expense after conducting polling and focus groups and opposition research and more. This has been done so many times.

Thirdly, don’t try to outdo bad actors by spending tons on TikTok videos, even though many will say this is critical in reaching younger audiences. There is simply no way at present to outspend and overwhelm the billions of anti-Israel posts on this Chinese-controlled medium.

Instead, invest in a broad swath of cool Gen-Z activists, in media training for Israeli officials, in Arabic and other multilingual and multiethnic young spokespeople, in a 24-hour English TV network, in efforts to expose the moral bankruptcy of the United Nations and the venality of Qatar-backed ventures at universities, and in programs that highlight the non-political faces of Israel in culture, sports, technology, and medicine.

Most importantly, and most of all, invest in missions to Israel. Over my 45 years in pro-Israel activism and outreach to global leaders and intellectuals, it has become piercingly clear that nothing, but nothing, more effectively develops friends for Israel than a well-planned trip to the land. Such visits are always overwhelmingly transformative.

Getting relevant influencers to visit Israel is hard work, especially since the violent anti-Israel hordes abroad are attempting to make the Jewish state into a contaminated product and have succeeded – partially – in raising the social cost of sympathy and support for Israel. Indeed, at the current moment, there are certain groups that simply won’t visit Israel.

But there are many good and important target sectors with residual basic goodwill towards the state whose thought leaders and community activists can and must be invited to visit here to discover Israel in all its richness; its aspirations, beauty, and battles; warts and all.

Missions, missions, missions. Working through pro-Israel organizations abroad. That is my main operational advice to the Israeli government.

MINISTERS SA’AR AND HASKEL must also lead a messaging revolution. This means matching resolute messaging to Israel’s newly and necessarily aggressive strategic and defense posture.

‘Hasbara’ is not working

Twenty-five years of Oslo-era hasbara epistles have not worked. It is simply insufficient to explain Israel’s security dilemmas or emphasize Israel’s past and potentially future diplomatic generosity towards the Palestinians. What are needed are three additional themes.

The first is the reintroduction of realism and truth-telling to the global dynamic.

This means a basic restatement of the Jewish People’s profound historical and national rights in Israel and Jerusalem. To this, add Israel as the Jewish People’s contribution to science, technology, arts, and culture in the modern world, and as a reliable anchor for democracy in a dangerous part of the world.

Second, there is no choice but to own up and embrace Israel’s strength. Israeli messaging must affirm Israeli power and articulate how that strength is justifiably and wisely being used to fight Iran, Islamic jihadism, and annihilationist (against Israel) Palestinianism.

The fact is that Israel is acting with overwhelming military power to reset the regional strategic architecture and roll back its enemies. It is seeking to restore its dominance and deterrence across all its borders, and in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) too, and it will yet act even more forcefully. A fierce takedown of Iran is surely next.

Of course, this presents a heightened hasbara challenge for advocates of Israel, but there is no way to avoid the state’s ferociousness. The challenge must be met defiantly and unwaveringly.

Remember David Ben-Gurion’s famous adage about the Messianic era when the lion will lie down with the lamb, as per Isaiah? “That will be great,” said Ben-Gurion, “as long as Israel is the lion!”

So, supporters of Israel cannot be shy about Israeli military prowess. They must articulate the reasons why the Jewish state must be the “lion” and use crushing force to deter enemies and defend its homeland. In my mind, this is the most important turnabout necessary in Israeli public diplomacy and global pro-Israel activism.

Indeed, I have found that such forthright talk has a salutary impact. Without being nasty or unfeeling regarding Israel’s adversaries, one can convey a deep sense of sincerity by clarifying red lines and owning up to Israel’s necessarily aggressive strategic posture. People are forced to respect that, even if they may not impute to Israel spectacular charity.

THIRD, AND this is a theme hinted at above, Israeli and Jewish public diplomacy must become more candidly “Jewish.” In the past, secular themes have dominated – Israel’s security needs and diplomatic bigheartedness. This was because secular messaging was most comfortable for secular Israeli leaders and diplomats themselves, and they also surely thought that such an approach was most relatable for foreign leaders and Diaspora Jews.

These days, given the ideological assault on Judaism and Zionism that underpins violent Palestinianism and its “progressive” fellow travelers, this must change.

We all must insist on a narrative that proclaims incontrovertible, indigenous Jewish rights to Israel, and which speaks of the land as a grand reunion of faith, people, and land. We can win only if we speak about history, justice, and the Jewish nation. I sense that Jews abroad, in particular, now recognize that one cannot escape core Jewish identities and creeds in any effort to support Israel.

Indeed, in repeat visits to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, I have found that urbane Arabs such as the Emiratis respect Israelis for their faithfulness to Jewish tradition, for their belief in the power of Jewish history, and for their loyalty to ancient heritage and unique national identity.

Believe it or not, the Emiratis seem to understand – perhaps better than we do ourselves, sometimes – that these anchors of identity are the greatest source of strength and authenticity.

To all this, I add a comment about tone and timbre. Hasbara needs to be smart and sophisticated and delivered in a reasonable manner. Radical talk and wild action are the modus operandi of Israel’s enemies; not ours. Hot-headedness only drives potential friends away.

Nevertheless, there must be a way to express outrage about genocidal anti-Zionist and anti-Jewish sentiment, and, as I say, to explicate Israel’s determination to beat all enemies. After 2,000 years of demonization and persecution, and after 16 months of heroic battle to defeat Hamas, Hezbollah, and others, Jews and Zionists in the 21st century no longer have to bear body blows on a regular basis!

We are no longer powerless. It is time to engage in the fight for Israel with passion and conviction, not apologetics or apprehension.

Published in The Jerusalem Post, January 31, 2025

Defense Minister Israel Katz says that if his new haredi (ultra-Orthodox) IDF draft bill were adopted, the number of haredim serving in the IDF per year would jump to 4,800 in 2025, 5,700 in 2026, and steadily reach 50% eligibility by 2032, the seventh year of the bill’s implementation.

This, out of a pool of more than 60,000 young haredi men who currently exempt themselves from military or national service.

Deputy Attorney-General Gil Limon immediately retorted that the scope of Katz’s proposed draft does not meet constitutional standards of equality, as insisted upon by the Israeli Supreme Court (and as expected by most Israelis).

More relevant and poignant was the response delivered at a Wednesday meeting of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee by Noa Mevorach of the Religious Zionist “Shutafot LaSheirut” movement (Partners in Service).

In a passionate address, Mevorach held up her husband’s conscription notice for reserve duty, what would be his fifth tour of reserve duty in the IDF since the Simchat Torah (October 7, 2023) invasion of Israel and the massacres led by Hamas. This next tour of duty would take him away from home and from his four kids for the upcoming holidays of Purim and Pesach, just as he was absent from home for Rosh Hashana and Succot.

“The blood of great (Torah) scholars from my community who went to battle for Israel over the past year, the husbands of my friends who were killed in battle and whose kids are orphans – cries out from the ground,” exclaimed Mrs. Mevorach.

“I hear the discussion here in this committee where it is said over and over that haredi men cannot be drafted except by consensus, that they cannot be drafted against their will, that force won’t work. And that the great goal of the proposed new draft legislation is to softly and slowly reach a 50% draft of haredi men.”

“So take another look at my husband’s fifth draft notice! I ask every member of Knesset to consider this: Why am I not eligible for a 50% discount too, for a 50% reduction in the army burden placed on my husband and on the shoulders of my family? Give me a 50% reduction! I’ll take either the holidays of Tishrei (Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, and Succot) or the holidays of Nissan (Pesach) in this cutback, so that my husband can be home for 50% of the holidays and we won’t have to sit at the holiday table alone or go to my parents.”

“Why am I not eligible for 50% savings? Who decided and with what authority was it decided that one particular population in the State of Israel, the haredi public, is entitled to a 50% discount? I also want the option to choose such a bargain!”

Of course, Noa Mevorach’s demand for relief and true sharing of the military burden is justified on religious, ideological, social, legal, and political grounds. And Defense Minister Katz’s draft/non-draft legislation is a weak, sad sop to the power that haredi factions hold in Israeli politics.

The enforcement mechanisms in the proposed bill – supposed financial sanctions against any yeshiva that does not meet its quota and against men who are issued draft orders but do not show up – are a joke too.

Moreover, the extent of haredi draft that Katz aims for does not meet the IDF’s immediate needs, which is about 10,000 new soldiers, including 6,000 to 7,000 combat soldiers.

Alas, I see no solution for this painful issue, no matter what draft/draft exemption law is passed in this Knesset or the next; no matter what sanctions are imposed on haredi families and institutions.

Haredi leaders are mostly 90+ year old scholars locked into an ideological framework that mistakenly posits spiritual primacy of their Torah study above all else. They are incapable of adjusting to the realities and necessities of Jewish statehood, and unwilling to risk the vast changes in haredi society that would surely follow any significant draft of haredim, even in frameworks that are super-finely tuned to haredi sensibilities.

It would be nice to believe that the trauma and suffering of the past 15 months in the general Israeli public and in the “Torani” (ardent Religious Zionist) community as represented by Mrs. Mevorah, would shock the haredi community out of its crushingly insular shell and nudge it forward towards national service – but nada. It has not happened to any significant degree nor will it.

This is an historic grand tragedy that has the potential to crash the modern State of Israel, no less, in the Heavens and on earth.

I don’t dismiss the slew of impressive efforts to integrate older haredi men and women in soft military and civilian-security frameworks such as the military industries and regional rapid-response Homefront defense squads – such as those being bravely advanced by Eli Paley of the Haredi Institute for Public Affairs. In fact, I salute him.

Nor should one dismiss the gargantuan effort now being made by the IDF, for the first time, to provide a truly haredi-friendly military environment for haredi inductees.

The IDF just drafted a first cohort into its new “Hasmonean” haredi brigade, complete with its own sequestered training base where haredi religious standards on everything from kashrut and tefilot to gender separation and ideological indoctrination are to be scrupulously observed. This impressive effort is headed-up by a smart and sensitive military commander, Col. Avinoam Emunah. (He was chased and hounded by haredi hooligans in Bnei Brak several weeks ago.)

Alas, these fine initiatives only nibble at the edges of the military, societal, and ideological need, which is significant draft to the fighting army of 18 to 26 years old haredi men.

And thus, the arrangements now proposed by the defense minister are both an outrage and a fiction.

Outrage, because they perpetuate mass draft desertion by the haredi community. They fail to nudge haredi leaders towards reluctant recognition of the post-October 7 changed situation and towards even grudging validation of military/national service for mainstream (not just marginal) haredim, yeshiva boys and kollel men.

Fiction, because the target numbers are a boondoggle. Like the previous frameworks for haredi draft over the past decades (the Tal, Plesner, Shaked, and other plans), the numbers will never be met, or they will be massaged to included lots of inductees who are not really haredi at their core, and thus “satisfy” the target goals.

I want to add my voice to Noa Mevorach’s cry. Two of my sons – serious religious men, Torah scholars even, with young families – just received their fourth call-up notices, covering another ten weeks of reserve duty on the Gaza and Judea and Samaria fronts, for the Purim-Pesach holiday period. I too demand a 50% discount for them.

Published in The Jerusalem Post 24.01.2025. 

**The opinions expressed in Misgav publications are the authors’ alone.**

The perils of predicting political and diplomatic developments are well known, especially in the Middle East. “Black Swan” events seem par for the course (i.e., events that are highly improbable, difficult to predict, and end up having drastic consequences – like the Hamas October 7 attack).

In my crystal ball column of January 2022, I did foresee tough combat ahead. I wrote that “Israel is likely to wage this year a multifaceted war against Iran’s terrorist proxies in the region – Hezbollah, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad – in successive or simultaneous fashion. A full-scale IDF operation to degrade enemy capabilities in Lebanon and Gaza is just a question of time, and this needs to be done before directly striking at Iran in Iran.”

I then further wondered “whether Washington would give Israel full-throated backing in such circumstances of intense ground combat, with all the civilian casualties this will entail.”

The good news here is that President Donald Trump is returning the White House in two weeks’ time, and there is reason to believe that he will give Israel room to maneuver, meaning an opportunity to finish-off Hamas in decisive fashion, and the American backing necessary to truly cut Iran down to size.

This entails freeing Israel from the burden of providing “humanitarian aid” to an enemy in Gaza during wartime (as outgoing President Biden illogically has insisted, something that only has kept Hamas in power), and providing Israel with the massive ordnance required destroy Iran’s nuclear bomb facilities.

Indeed, this is the year (even the season, winter-spring, meaning now) to tackle Iran, when it is at a nadir and before it goes fully nuclear. Iran’s proxies on Israel’s borders have been mostly eviscerated (see below) and Tehran has been stripped naked (by Israel) of its Russian-supplied air defense systems. President Trump can and probably will further weaken Iran with renewed “maximum sanctions.”

I cannot believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu will forgo the historic opportunity to complete his 25-year-long campaign against Iranian domination without a game-changing crushing blow on Iran, a pièce de resistance, which might also blessedly lead to regime change in that country.

In short, there is an opportunity at hand to overwhelmingly reset the regional strategic architecture beyond the knockback already delivered to Iran’s so-called “Shiite arc” or “circle of fire” against Israel.

The dreaded Third Lebanon War is now essentially over, with Hezbollah having lost most of its heavy missiles and its political-military leadership including its all-powerful, longstanding leader. (I predicted the demise of Hassan Nasrallah and Yihye Sinwar. In 2022, I wrote that “Yihye Sinwar will go the way of Saleh al-Arouri and discover that there are no virgins waiting for him in the next world. Hassan Nasrallah will get the chance to make a similar discovery.”)

Bashar Assad has been pushed out of power too, fleeing like a rat for his life from Syria to Russia. Might Abdul-Malik al-Houthi in Yemen and Abu Mohammed Al-Jolani in Syria be next?

The Turkish dictator Recep Tayyip Erdogan will demand significant attention over the coming year, meaning that somebody is going to have to counter his Ottoman-style hegemonic ambitions and ruthless inclinations. Already he has occupied a swath of northern Syria; he seeks to dominate the entire country (through Al-Jolani) and threaten Israel from there; and he is preparing to carry out genuine genocide against Kurdish forces and Kurdish civilians (not the fictitious genocide of which Erdogan has accused Israel) – unless Tayyip is stopped by Trump, and maybe Israel too.

AS I ACCURATELY predicted, the Israel’s new peace treaties with the UAE, Bahrain, and Morocco have held firm, despite the Biden administration’s lack of enthusiasm for the Abraham Accords and despite the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon. This is the year that a tripartite US-Saudi-Israeli accord will be reached. It is one of Trump’s top priorities and is well within reach.

Israel will have to swallow some bitter pills to facilitate this, like acquiescence to the US sale of F-35 fighter jets to Riyadh and acceptance of a US-backed Saudi civilian nuclear program. Netanyahu may also have to mutter something about a “pathway” to Palestinian independence in the distant future even though neither he nor the Saudis believe this is feasible or sensible.

For Trump, everything is transactional, and so he will expect Israel to play ball regarding a Saudi deal along these lines. If Israel does so, it will be well placed to expect a return from Trump down the line on issues closer to home, ranging from Israeli assertion of sovereignty in parts of Judea and Samaria to pushback against nasty international organizations that are at Israel’s throat.

Advocates of a strong America and an even stronger US-Israel alliance can only be thrilled about Trump’s picks for key administration posts in defense (Pete Hegseth), national security (Michael Waltz, John Ratcliffe), and foreign affairs (Marco Rubio, Elise Stefanik, and Mike Huckabee). But remember: The likelihood that these people will serve four full years alongside Trump is negligible.

In his first term, Trump hired and fired his top lieutenants frequently. Remember H.R. McMaster, James Mattis, John Bolton, Michael Flynn, and Rex Tillerson? Only Mike Pompeo lasted a full term (first as CIA director and then as secretary of state), and alas he has not been given a senior post in the new administration.

Still on the international scene, hopefully this will be the year that UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and Pope Francis will take early retirement. Each has tacked to the hard anti-Israel camp with a series of incendiary comments. Isn’t it nice that the World Jewish Congress and European Jewish Congress awarded these very unfriendly figures with their highest awards in 2020 and 2022?

BACK AT HOME in Israel, last year I predicted that Israel would have to increase its defense budget from 60 to 90 billion shekels (from 16 to 25 billion dollars), with large chunks earmarked for a full year of combat in Gaza and Lebanon, long stints of military duty for reservists, rehabilitation of injured soldiers, massive production and stockpiling of ammunition, and for military strike planning on Iran.

Well, that is out the window. The defense budget this past year skyrocketed to NIS 190 billion (not including support for Israelis displaced from the Negev and Galilee), and in 2025 the budget will likely stand at NIS 150 billion (including the annual US defense package).

And that is before the Nagel Committee hits us this month with its recommendations for military restructuring and defense allocations for the next decade. The committee is going to insist that Israel hike spending on defense from 5 to 7.5 percent of GDP, which means tens of billions of shekels more.

Those of us who yesterday completed eight days of saying the Al HaNissim prayer for miracles, can start today saying an Al haMissim prayer for help with handling the massive new taxes that will surely be our burden for years to come. (Nissim means miracles; Missim means taxes).

It would be nice to believe that the trauma and suffering of the past 15 months would shock the haredi (Ultra-Orthodox) community out of its crushingly insular shell and nudge it forward towards national service, but nada. It has not happened to any significant degree nor will it.

Haredi elders (inevitably they are 90+ year old scholars locked into an ideological framework that mistakenly posits spiritual primacy of their Torah study above all else) are incapable of adjusting to the realities and necessities of Jewish statehood.

I see no solution for this painful issue, no matter what draft/draft exemption law is passed in this Knesset or the next; no matter what sanctions are imposed on haredi families and institutions. This is an historic grand tragedy that has the potential to crash the modern State of Israel, no less, in the Heavens and on earth.

(I don’t dismiss the slew of impressive efforts to integrate older haredi men and women in soft military and civilian-security frameworks, but this only nibbles at the edges of the need which is large-scale draft to the fighting army of 18-26-year-old haredi men.)

If there is hope on the horizon for Israel, it comes from those brave soldiers and their families, and from social activists and volunteers, who are the real heroes of the past 15 months of war.

I hope and pray that down the road – say, in 2028 elections – they will emerge as better unifiers with a vision of wholesome Israeli renaissance and nationalist resurgence. They are the proof that mainstream Israeli society is strong, its faith robust, and its grit undiminished.

Published in The Jerusalem Post 03.01.2025.

**The opinions expressed in Misgav publications are the authors’ alone.**

Over the past 15 years and especially since the atrocities of October 7, annihilationist Palestinianism has become the rave in some “progressive” circles, especially among hard-left rioters on Western campuses. This means dismissal of Jewish/Zionist rootedness in the Land of Israel and adoption of the Palestinian campaign to delegitimize and destroy Israel. “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

Palestinianism is an ideology and an identity invented by the KGB and advanced by Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas ever since he rejected John Kerry’s 2014 peace initiative. It makes conflict in the Land of Israel a zero-sum game.

It fabricates Palestinian inhabitance of Israel going back to the Canaanites and Philistines of the Bible; it inverts Arab rejection and invasion of young Israel in 1948 and the expulsion of Jews from Arab lands by claiming a Palestinian “Nakba”; it turns the Temple Mount into Haram ash-Sharif, denying any Jewish history in Jerusalem and the Land of Israel; and it converts genocidal assaults on the People of Israel like Hamas’ Simchat Torah attack into heroic acts that must be celebrated by all freedom seekers.

In short, Palestinianism is violence against Israeli/Jewish indigenousness in the land of Israel. It savages the core identity of Jews and Israelis. It is an offensive to deny the most basic building blocks of Jewish connection to Jerusalem and Israel. It seeks to strip justice and authenticity from Israel’s very existence, and to upend Israel’s alliance with the human-rights-supporting, democratic world.

And as we have seen over the past year, it directly leads to violent antisemitic battering of Jews and Jewish institutions around the world.

We got a whiff of what was coming back in 2018 when UNESCO passed, davka on Chanukah, a series of nonsensical resolutions (proposed by Abbas), declaring Jerusalem an exclusively Moslem heritage city and criminalizing Israel’s custodianship of the holy city.

Most European nations, those great paragons of “peace” and “love” for Jews, went along with that affront, either voting for or abstaining on the denialist resolutions. Then they doubled down on such perfidy by adopting a similar resolution in the UN General Assembly in 2021.

Then-US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman responded to the UN disgrace by tweeting that “More than 2,000 years ago, Jewish patriots (Maccabees) captured Jerusalem, purified the Holy Temple and rededicated it as a house of Jewish worship. The UN can’t vote away the facts: Jerusalem is the ancient and modern capital of Israel. Happy Chanukah from this blessed city!”

Alas, the gangs rampaging today against Jews and Israelis in the streets of Berlin, London, Montreal, and Sydney have swallowed every bit of Abbas’ bile about exclusive Arab rights to Israel. They ignore the fact that Abbas’ gangs have destroyed Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus, sought to destroy Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem, have run Christians out of Bethlehem, and have wantonly dug-up and destroyed thousands of years of Jewish archeological treasures on the Temple Mount.

WHAT DO YOU DO in the face of such defamation and betrayal? What do you do when the Big Lie is evident everywhere?

First, you act to introduce realism and truth-telling to the global dynamic by re-asserting the Jewish People’s profound historic and national rights in Israel and Jerusalem. You insist on a narrative that proclaims incontrovertible indigenous Jewish rights in Israel. You push back against anti-Israel denialism by reinforcing Israel’s sovereign hold on all parts of Israel.

This begins with recapturing a sense of outrage about anti-Zionist and anti-Jewish sentiment. After 2,000 years of demonization and persecution, Jews and Zionists in the 21st century no longer have bear body blows on a regular basis! We are no longer powerless. It is time to re-engage in the fight for Israel with passion and conviction, not apologetics or apprehension.

From a hasbara (public diplomacy) perspective, it is not enough to explain Israel’s security dilemmas or revisit Israel’s past diplomatic generosity towards the Palestinians. What is needed is a much more basic restatement of Israel’s cause and purpose: Israel as a grand historic reunion of people and land; as the Jewish People’s contribution to science, technology, arts and culture in the modern world; and Israel as a reliable anchor for democracy in a dangerous part of the world.

I think that Israel wins when you speak about justice and the Jewish nation.

Second, in the face of betrayal and peril, you act with overwhelming military power to reset the regional strategic architecture and reinforce Israeli deterrence. Israel is now doing this across all its borders, and a fierce takedown of Iran is surely next.

Of course, this presents a heightened hasbara challenge for advocates for Israel –which must be met defiantly and unwaveringly.

For Zionists and advocates of Israel there is no choice but to own-up to Israel’s strength. They must affirm it and articulate how that strength is justifiably and wisely being used to fight Iran, Islamic jihadism, and annihilationist-against-Israel Palestinianism.

Remember David Ben-Gurion’s famous adage about the messianic era when the lion will lie down with the lamb, as per Isaiah? “That will be great,” said Ben-Gurion, “as long as Israel is the lion”!

So, supporters of Israel cannot apologize; cannot be shy about Israeli military prowess. They must articulate the reasons why Israel must be the “lion” and use crushing force to deter enemies and defend its homeland.

I have found that forthright talk has a salutary impact. Without being nasty or unfeeling regarding Israel’s adversaries, one can convey a deep sense of sincerity by articulating core Zionist commitments and clarifying Israeli red lines. People are forced to respect that, even if they may not impute to Israel spectacular charity.

Better shock-and-awe than shrink-and-whimper.

WHEN SEEKING SOLACE and affirmation in these trying times, I also draw inspiration from intelligent and courageous non-Jewish allies. They should be acknowledged and encouraged.

The Emiratis are an excellent example of far-sightedness and friendship. The Emiratis do not bemoan colonialism in their past. They do not wail about anti-Arab discrimination, wallow in negativity, or seek scapegoats. They believe in hard work and in using one’s riches (be they intellectual riches or oil riches) for the betterment of one’s own people. From this perspective, cooperation with Israel is a win-win situation for the Emiratis, and they honorably have abided by their peace treaty with Israel despite global and regional assaults on Israel. 

Indeed, in repeat visits to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, I have found that Emiratis respect Israelis for their faithfulness to Jewish tradition, for their belief in the power of Jewish history, for their loyalty to ancient heritage and unique national identity. Believe it or not, the Emiratis seem to understand – perhaps better than we do ourselves, sometimes – that these anchors of identity are the greatest source of strength and authenticity.

Another shining example of intellectual honesty towards Israel and courage is the Lebanese-Syrian activist Rawan Osman, who features in the jaw-dropping new documentary film “Tragic Awakening: A New Look at the Oldest Hatred.” Osman details her journey from Jew-hater to Jewish believer and supporter of Israel, on the background of an intellectual investigation into the roots of ancient and modern antisemitism.

Brilliantly produced by my friends (and former fellow Canadians) rabbis Raphael Shore of OpenDor Media and Shalom Schwartz of the Aseret Movement, the film offers a bold answer to the question: Why the Jews? Their answer is a classic Jewish answer, the Talmudic answer: Sinah (hatred) of Jews stems from Sinai, meaning that Jewish morals and teachings sourced in the Torah are an “affront” to some in the world. Jew-haters hate Judaism’s empowering, soaring, disruptive message. (That certainly was the case for Adolf Hitler).

Run and see the film, and/or read Rabbi Shore’s provocative new book on which it is based, Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Jews? Learning to Love the Lessons of Jew-Hatred. He argues that the best response to those who hate Jews is to embrace Judaism, appreciate its grandeur, and benefit from it. As the late Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks taught: Non-Jews most respect Jews who are self-respecting.

In any case, it is wonderful that deep-thinking and brave figures like Rawan Osman can rise beyond the decrepit teachings fed to her during her Arab adolescent years.

I take inspiration also from Indigenous activists like Nova Peris of Australia. A double-gold Olympic champion and former Member of Parliament who is lionized and recognized by everyone Down Under, she has become one of Israel’s most outspoken defenders.

Nova electrifies listeners with her discourse on proud Aboriginal identity and Indigenous claims to ancestral lands, making an explicit comparison between the struggle of her First Nations communities and the struggle of the Jewish People for respect and for reclamation of its ancient homeland, Israel.

“The history of the Jewish People reminds me that strength comes not just from right but from purpose, faith, and resilience,” says Nova.

Yes, indeed, in these darks days there are smart, good people who unapologetically stand with Israel. We must take heart and determine to win all our wars unapologetically and smartly too, Maccabean style, ka-yamim hahem bazman hazeh, as in the days of old in these very times.

Published in The Jerusalem Post 27.12.2024.

**The opinions expressed in Misgav publications are the authors’ alone.**

Education ranks first among the fields where the brightest sons and daughters of the national religious sector are encouraged to contribute, according to a comprehensive survey conducted in July for Beit HaTzionut HaDatit (House of Religious Zionism). In response to the question “Where should the best go?”, “education and social work” was chosen by the largest share of respondents (approximately 37%). The fields of law, media, public and political activity, defense, and religious engagement followed closely behind.

The emphasis on education, even during a time of prolonged and intense warfare that has underscored the severity of the security challenges and amid profound crises in law, media, and the economy, highlights the recognition of its pivotal role. It reflects a deep understanding that education is the key to every area: Leadership, security, science and technology, economic prosperity, culture, and social cohesion. The eternal nation not only does not fear a long journey but believes that only through education can true influence be achieved, a nation be built, and a model society for the future be created.

The devastating war that began on Simchat Torah 2023 continues to shake us, dismantling long-held assumptions and historical paradigms. It forces a profound reckoning with the essence of the state and the unique destiny of our people among the nations. This war has brought us back to foundational values and reminded us – a truth we sought to escape – that we are still fighting for our very survival.

The atrocities, terror, and dread of the monstrous attack that struck us without warning, followed by the sorrow, grief, and heavy price paid, have been tempered by extraordinary stories of courage and heroism. Astonishing self-sacrifice and unprecedented bravery emerged from “ordinary” citizens and soldiers who heard the call and answered, “Here I am.” Our enemies, who expected to find a fractured nation and a weakened army, instead encountered heroes of unyielding spirit and strength – young fighters who revealed the true character of this generation: a generation of valor.

When we ask what shaped these young individuals and instilled in them the values that inspired their heroism, the role of the education system cannot be overlooked. This is not to diminish the profound influence of the home and family, where the roots are first planted, nor the role of community, youth movements, or military service, where the IDF instills these values deeply. Yet preceding all of this are the efforts and investment of the education system — in classrooms, schoolyards, educational trips that connect youth to the land and society, and various social-educational frameworks.

Just days after the education system was once again in the headlines following the concerning results of the 2023 TIMSS international mathematics and science exam, it is important to highlight its role in our resilience during the far greater test of the past 14 months. (This does not absolve the system of its obligation to act urgently to improve performance in mathematics and science, fields that are vital for Israel’s future.)

The education system carries the nation’s most critical responsibility: building the next generations!

It is tasked with fostering excellence and encouraging achievement in both the scientific and humanities fields. Without excellence in science, Israel will struggle to maintain its status as a startup and innovation powerhouse, strengthen its capabilities (including military), finance its many needs, and ensure a high standard of living. Without excellence in the humanities, Israeli society will falter in preserving its spiritual and moral strength, refining its identity, and answering the question, “National security – for what purpose?” The system must cultivate graduates who possess values, knowledge, and skills that enable them to develop as independent, educated individuals with emotional and social resilience, maximize their potential with a sense of purpose, and contribute to society, the community, and the state.

Within the national-religious public, this mission is viewed as a sacred duty, fulfilling the commandment to “teach them to your children.” Here, the education system is expected to instill awe of heaven, a love for Torah and commandments, and the tools to strengthen Jewish and faith-based identity. It must produce graduates who are idealistic, state-minded, proud of their identity, and committed to preserving the Jewish character of the state, the unity of the people of Israel, and the settlement of the land. These graduates must skillfully balance between the sacred and the secular, Torah and work, tradition and modernity, and religion and state.

This mission must be accomplished in a reality marked by confusion, instability, and blurred boundaries between truth and falsehood, weakened authority, technological advancement, tension, polarization, diversity, and separatism. The education system absorbs all social disparities and ideological conflicts, yet it also has the power to influence them, promoting tolerance, openness, solidarity, and a shared sense of purpose.

The challenges facing the education system are immense. These include fundamental questions regarding its philosophy, structure, and processes; planning and budgeting; integrating technological innovation into teaching; upgrading learning environments; and improving its relationship with other related systems. Above all, there remains the fight for quality human capital.

The importance of education is universally acknowledged. The understanding within the National-Religious public that now is the time for its brightest youth to enter education presents a valuable opportunity. While it is not sufficient on its own, it is a strong starting point from which to advance complementary, practical steps.

Published in  Israel Hayom, December 17, 2024.

**The opinions expressed in Misgav publications are the authors’ alone.**

The yahrzeits of Israeli soldiers who fell in battle at the start of the IDF counter-assault against Hamas, a month or so after October 7 last year, are being marked right now, in mid-Mar-Cheshvan – the bitter, bitter Hebrew month of Cheshvan. (Yahrzeit is Yiddish for anniversary of death.)

One of these slain heroes is my beloved young friend Yonadav Raz Levenstein, may the Heavens avenge his death. Yonadav had the physique of a giant and the soul of a singer-scholar. Given his size, enormous red beard, and outstanding military leadership, he was known as the “Viking” of the Givati Brigade’s reconnaissance unit. Given his calm demeanor and erudite take on all things, he was revered at 23 years old as the wise old man of the unit.

He had married the love of his life, Hadar Karavani, just two months before being felled by Palestinians who popped out of a terror attack tunnel in Gaza. I remember Yonadav’s Givati platoonmates dancing and singing at the wedding with such passion and power that the ground literally shook and the heavens seemed to stir too. He was the youngest son of my dear friends, the Levensteins: the late, great Dr. Michael, and the valiant Leora.

At Yonadav’s yahrzeit gravesite gathering several days ago at Mt. Herzl, and at many other recent cemetery memorial gatherings (far too many!), what I saw was astounding. What I heard was heartening, and what I felt was fortifying.

Of course, there was anguish and longing, pain and pathos, bone-penetrating sadness at the loss of a promising life cut short, and acute compassion for the immediate bereaved family. All this folded into the grim reality of so many other one-year-old military grave markers arrayed in precise rows as far as the eye could see, immersing me in the enormity of Israel’s national sacrifice.

But there was no despair. No regrets, and no wallowing in recrimination. No talk of giving up hope.

Instead, there was pride at the privilege of fighting for the freedom, security, and sovereignty of the Jewish People in the Land of Israel. There was determination to battle on. There was resolve to win against all enemies. It was a tsunami of steadfastness, a demonstration of overpowering ideological devotion to Jewish destiny.

And there was buoyancy: Enthusiasm to live a happy, meaningful, and productive life despite the tragedy – out of allegiance to the fallen soldier and indeed, to the nation at large.

There were young soldiers arriving straight from the battlefield and going directly back to the battlefield, who spoke of the morality and courage they learned from their fallen comrade-in-arms. There were battered and bereaved grandparents offering wisdom about the vicissitudes and vulnerabilities of life, while charging their other grandchildren to struggle on – since Israel’s path is righteous, and its cause is just.

This is what social scientists call resilience.

BROAD segments of the Israeli public are fueled and redeemed by such resilience, driving them to take on myriad tasks of volunteer kindness and brotherly love.

This ranges from remarkable mothers holding down the home front to the hundreds of thousands of Israelis (and Diaspora Jews) who volunteer in myriad ways to make up labor shortfalls in fields, factories, and hospitals. From those who babysit for families of reservists away from home, to those who cook and bake for soldiers on the frontlines. From social workers and trauma specialists accompanying the families of hostages and the displaced and bereaved, to public diplomacy mavens who courageously take on the antisemites around the world.

In short, Israeli society is heroic, compassionate, determined, and resilient. It is a beautiful thing.

Despite the losses of the past year and the grim reality of continued battle that likely will be Israel’s lot for years to come, most Israelis also are optimistic about the future. Dozens of in-depth polls and international indexes of “happiness” bear this out.

For example, a recent survey of Israel’s younger generation (by Glikman, Shamir, Samsanov of the Publicis Group) makes it crystal clear that Israel is blessed with the most believing youth; a generation of future leaders who are upbeat and keen enough to drive Israel towards every success despite the challenges ahead.

Fifty-nine percent believe that Israel is strong, will win all wars, and has a great future. Forty-nine percent say they are mobilized to the military or are volunteering in civilian frameworks and are “devoted” to the State of Israel. Eighty-two percent are prepared (to some or to a great extent) to pause the “good life” in terms of personal plans for work, study, and vacation in order to serve the country, and they are prepared to forgo travel abroad all-together.

The explanations given for such unbelievable optimism and commitment – despite internal Israeli disagreements and escalating external conflicts – range from the rich tapestry of social connections that bind Israelis together to shared cultural and national creeds.

I THINK that Israel also is a deeply believing nation, one of the most “religious” societies in the modern world, and this is a central source of resilience. As “secular” as many Israelis are in their lifestyle, they are simultaneously deep believers in Divine providence over the Jewish People.

By and large, Israelis sense that they are on a grand meta-historic journey; a journey pregnant with spiritual powers and loaded with a moral heritage that has sustained the Jewish People for thousands of years and returned it to the Land of Israel. They know that no Jew lives in Israel merely by chance or on a whim, but rather that there is a guiding hand behind the modern renaissance of Jewish life and peoplehood.

Look at all the prayer assemblies in every corner of this country. Witness the mass Kabbalat Shabbat ceremonies at the hip Tel Aviv Port and Jerusalem Train Station entertainment spaces every Friday night, attended by hundreds. Listen to pop music lyrics on mainstream supposedly “secular” radio stations – songs of spiritual longing with words drawn from the Bible and traditional prayers. You feel the spiritual searching underway, with increasing intensity since the atrocities of October 7.

In data published by the Central Bureau of Statistics, 80% of self-declared secular Israelis say that they “believe in the G-d of Israel.” Eighty percent! In my view, this means that four-fifths of “secular” Israelis are not truly secular! They believe in the G-d of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who remains active in Jewish history.

And this, I think, is a central source of Israeli resilience in the face of so much adversity.

Alas, antagonistic-to-religion Israelis (a super minority of the public) drown in their own rancor and displeasure at such statistics. Supposedly “enlightened” but in fact downbeat and blinkered, they are scared by “true believers”– whether they mean believers in God or believers in Jewish rights to the Land of Israel.

What they don’t understand is that “religious” and “believer” need not mean, and generally doesn’t mean, insular, intolerant, or irrational. Rather, it means contemplative, proud, determined, and resilient. It means faith in G-d, confident in Jewish-Zionist rights, and trusting in the Jewish future.

The late, great British Chief Rabbi Lord Dr. Jonathan Sacks wrote: “The Jewish People have been around for longer than almost any other. We have known our share of suffering. And we are still here, still young, still full of energy, still able to rejoice and celebrate and sing. Jews have walked more often than most through the valley of the shadow of death, yet they lost neither their humour nor their hope – because of faith in G-d.”

On Yonadav’s yahrzeit, in his honor and memory, it is appropriate to acknowledge the deep wellspring of identity, loyalty, and purpose that animates this nation. It is important to know the gutsy optimism and amplify the patriotic faith authentically expressed by Israel’s younger generation and much of Israeli society. The Jewish People cannot afford anything less robust.

Published in The Jerusalem Post 22.11.2024.

**The opinions expressed in Misgav publications are the authors’ alone.**

More than last week’s US presidential vote being a victory for Donald Trump, it was a searing defeat for Barack Obama. This month’s real headline is “Trump thrashes Obama again.”

In a torrent of impassioned campaign stops over the past two months, former president Obama made it clear that this election was a referendum on his policies.

He explicitly warned that unless Kamala Harris was elected president, everything that he stood for and worked for would be washed down the drain. He literally said that the “fate of the nation” hung in the balance.

He said the same thing in 2016 when he strenuously campaigned for Hillary Clinton.

Back then, Obama told voters, ”If you supported me in ’08, if you supported me in ’12, if you think that I’ve done a good job, if you believe that Michelle has done a good job – everything that we’ve done over the last eight years will be reversed with a Trump presidency. And everything will be sustained and built on with a Hillary Clinton presidency.”

Well, there never was a Hillary Clinton presidency, and there will not be a Kamala Harris presidency either. And it is not just because both were flawed candidates. (In Harris’s case, this is the understatement of the century.)

It is because more than half of Americans rejected the notion that Obama had “done a good job,” and they were not interested in “sustaining” his policies.

They didn’t want another four or eight years of stand-ins for Obama on top of his own eight years in the White House and his four surrogate years via President Biden.

No longer able to buy the Democratic message 

They did not buy the Democratic message that everything was swell in America and that all that was needed was a competent Democrat to advance Obama’s superior approach. They didn’t buy the assertion that Obama was America’s leading tutelary figure.

If you’re not familiar with how iconic and messianic Obama is still considered by the progressive “elites” of America and how dominant he still is in Democratic backrooms, see David Samuels’ July essay in UnHerd, titled “The true President of America’s Fifth Republic: Obama, not Biden is the nation’s new Lincoln.” Just who did you people think was running things for the past four years? “It’s me,” writes Samuels in Obama’s voice.

Americans who elected Trump as president in 2016 and again this year were uncomfortable with Obama’s smug assurances of omnipotent everything: That he possessed exceptional insight on every issue, and that he had executed the most-outstanding economic, social, and foreign policy. And that Hillary and Kamala were the repository of this unique wellspring of near-prophetic and superhuman wisdom.

Moreover, it seems that many Americans were turned off by the Democratic-progressive obsession with race, identity politics, quotas, ideological and personal purity tests, and other hallmarks of what is called “wokeism.”

These markers became part of American culture under Obama, ramped up under Biden, and would have roared forward to dictatorially uber-dominate American social and political discourse under Harris.

Championed by the liberal legacy media and radicalized high academia, this discourse was meant to gut the traditional moorings of Judeo-Christian values in American society and to upend long-standing American principles in foreign policy. And so, American voters took down Obama/Biden/Harris, resoundingly.

ON FOREIGN POLICY, think back to Barack Obama’s last UN speech in December 2016. In his swan song, Obama seemed baffled by the stubborn refusal of the world to reform itself in his image and on his say so. How can there still be “deep fault lines in the international order,” Obama wondered aloud, with “societies filled with uncertainty, and unease, and strife?”

Hadn’t his very identity as a man “made up of the flesh and blood and traditions and cultures and faiths from a lot of different parts of the world” served as a shining and irresistible example of blended global peace? How could it be that, after eight years of his visionary leadership, people everywhere were not marching to the tune of Obama’s self-declared superior “moral imagination”?

Unwillingness to project power 

The answer to these painful questions, to which Obama could never admit – nor can Biden – is their unwillingness to project power and confront adversaries.

Both Democratic presidents rejected the traditional and time-tested hard power tools of statecraft. They abjured the use of military force and other forms of raw American power. They knew how to “speak out forcefully” – say, against Iran or the Houthis – but that’s it.

They were simply ashamed of America’s “overbearing” record of decisive global leadership and left America shorn of its ability to shape the world in right directions.

Indeed, they were filled with “contempt” for the notion of America as a moral actor on the world stage (see Ben Rhodes, Obama’s doppelganger, in a 2016 New York Times Magazine interview with the same David Samuels). The words “enemy, “threat,” and “adversary” were not part of their political lexicons. Nor were concepts like “victory” for the West or “beating” the bad guys.

Alas, throughout Israel’s wars of the past year against Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran, the Biden-Harris administration has fetishized de-escalation – apart from Biden’s immediate emotional, appropriately defiant response to the initial Hamas assault on Israel.

In the main, US diplomats have spent the past year begging and panting for “immediate ceasefires,” expressing alarm at the possibility of any “escalation,” and distancing themselves from “involvement” in any Israeli military initiative except pure defensive operations (like blocking incoming Iranian missiles).

And they have feigned dismay at the isolation of Israel while paving the way towards that isolation with demonizing sanctions against settlers and with false accusations about Israel’s “starvation” of Palestinians in war zones.

And so, Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis (as well as Russia, China, Turkey, and other bad actors) have never taken the Democrats seriously, of course. They have ignored the Biden-Harris-Blinken-Sullivan squad’s exhortations to de-escalate, just as Iran laughed all the way to the bank when Obama signed the JCPOA nuclear accord and released tens of billions of dollars to Iran.

Biden continued the bankrolling of Iran via sanctions relief and the release of seized oil revenues. Iran almost certainly would have obtained nuclear weapons sometime during a Harris presidency with little pushback from Washington.

America’s enemies – yes, enemies! – have not feared the US for years, except when Trump applied “maximum” economic pressure on Iran and bumped off IRGC leader Qassem Soleimani.

THE BEST prescription now for an American reset leading to global stability (and improved Israeli security) is a determination by the Trump administration to neutralize the Iranian nuclear juggernaut, counter Iran’s hegemonic march across the region, and thwart Iran’s proxies.

What is needed is a strategic reset based on overwhelming American power and the presentation of a credible US military threat against Iran – at least.

This includes arming Israel with bunker-buster bombs, not on weak-kneed US protestations of non-involvement in Israel’s wars, desperate exhortations towards de-escalation, nor toothless, soft understandings between Washington and Tehran.

If there is a path to peace and stability in the Middle East, it requires enhancing the firepower of America and its allies, not redoubling the pursuit of “de-escalation.”

Few Americans had this specific perspective on Mideast affairs in mind when they elected Trump over Obama/Biden/Harris last week.

But surely, they felt the vibe – that American wokeness and moral self-doubt were insidious weaknesses. And therefore, they ruled that the Obama era finally must end.

Published in The Jerusalem Post, November 17, 2024 and Israel Hayom, November 20, 2024.

**The opinions expressed in Misgav publications are the authors’ alone.**