While walking down the street in Israel, one is literally surrounded by heroes; modest and anonymous civilians who a moment earlier were on the front lines. Over the past 40 day war our heroes fought against the Islamic Republic of Iran and her proxy forces in the air, on the sea, and on the ground creating a new reality not only in the Middle East but no less for the United States and Europe.
One of these many heroes known to me personally is a pilot who flew thousands of missions alongside his fellow pilots under operational conditions that are truly inspiring and unprecedented in modern combat aerial history. I wish to thank him and his comrades for their service, fearlessness and modest audacity to complete “mission impossible". I also wish to thank the hundreds of thousands of ground forces that have been on the front lines for over the past two years and some of them who have paid the ultimate price and sacrifice.
As the late Rabbi Sacks has written: Throughout modern history, nations of the Middle East have sought to justify their hatred of Israel and of the Jewish nation. In the middle ages, it was religion. In post enlightenment Europe it was science. Today, it is human rights.
This is why Israel, the only fully functioning democracy in the Middle East with a free press and independent judiciary is regularly accused of the five crimes against human rights; racism, apartheid, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing and attempted genocide. Despite this blood libel that has enlisted millions of supporters throughout the world, Israel has been able to be a partner within a coalition that understands the danger that Iran poses not only for Israel but for all of Western civilization.
The current 40 day war with Iran has entered a period of cease-fire and the number 40 has special significance in Jewish history: the Jewish nation wandered in the Sinai peninsula for 40 years before entering the Land of Israel. Moshe went up to Mount Sinai for 40 days before coming down with the holy tablets and the Ten Commandments. The number 40 has always symbolized throughout Jewish history a leap, a springboard for better days and a fulfillment of historical destiny.
The current war against Iran is a direct, predictable, and almost inevitable continuation of Israel's wars throughout history. This is not new, this is not the first time, and it will not be the last. Ever since the days of Jabotinsky's "Iron Wall" and Ben-Gurion's security doctrine, Israel has relied on three basic principles: warning, deterrence, and decisiveness. It is no coincidence that the word is "decisiveness" - not "victory." Since the 1920s, Israel has operated from a difficult but consistent premise: final victory is not an option. It is frustrating, it is corrosive, and it is not intuitive - but it is not Israel’s fault either.
Ben-Gurion said at the Mapai Council in 1948: "The Arab enemy can lose once, twice, three, ten times - and still exist. He will live on his land, he will lick his wounds, he will try to mobilize new forces and be able to fight again. Our victory does not solve the question. Even if we strike them with a decisive blow, they will remain in their place, the hatred will not cease and they will wait for the next opportunity... We are a small people, we are currently in the country of six hundred thousand people. Facing us stands an Arab world of thirty million. The ratio is one to forty. We can strike them, but we cannot conquer them. We can defeat them again and again, but we cannot destroy them. They will always remain there, and they will always be able to come back and try again. Our victory cannot be final in the sense that it will eliminate their existence or their desire to fight us, because the small settlement does not have the power to subdue an entire world."
Some will say that this has been a consistent failure of the Israeli leadership for generations; unable or unwilling or not knowing how to translate a military achievement as decisive as it is into a political achievement. And some will say - and to a large extent rightly - that it takes two to tango. As Ben-Gurion said: "We know that our will alone is not decisive, neither in the entire world nor in the corner of the world where we live." Israel can want peace as much as it wants, but as long as hundreds of millions of people in our region are raised on an educational, religious, and cultural infrastructure that presents Jews as the devil and an existential enemy - lasting peace simply will not be achievable, no matter how much we want it".
Therefore, the achievement of the 40 day war against Iran should be measured not against theoretical fantasies of "total victory" - which is not at all achievable, at least according to the greatest leaders and thinkers of Israel throughout the ages - but against realistic alternatives. And from such a perspective, there is no doubt that today is strategically significantly better than yesterday. Yesterday we faced a coordinated existential threat: tens of thousands of terrorists in Gaza, tens of thousands of terrorists in Lebanon, thousands of terrorists in Judea and Samaria (Aka the 'West Bank'), thousands from Syria, and numerous heavy, fragmenting cluster missiles from Iran - in a coordinated surprise attack.
That was the plan. This was the alternative. This alternative was replaced by the reality of a defeated, humiliated, weak, and marginalized enemy. From such a realistic perspective, which distinguishes between real alternatives, one can draw a lot of encouragement.
Our modest and anonymous heroes on the front lines in the skies, on the seas, and on the ground, with the people of Israel proudly standing behind them exhibiting never-ending resiliency, have had the privilege of being part of creating this reality. Our heroes have shown not only our enemies but the nations of the world sitting on the sidelines, what it means to be Jewish, what it means to be a proud Israeli, what it means to be a true military professional, and what it means to be the best at what you do.
This is an historic moment - a moment that will shape the character of Israel for decades to come. While I look at the world and see countries crumbling, identities being erased, nationalism becoming a dirty word - in Israel the opposite is happening. Our sense of mission, the understanding that we only have one country the State of Israel, and the knowledge that we are all in the same small boat - have made us stronger than ever.
Iran’s plan to threaten the existence of Israel from seven surrounding fronts has backfired, but the Iranian campaign is far from over. The 40 day war has dealt a heavy blow to Iran’s nuclear project and ballistic missile capacity, exposed Hezbollah’s strategy in Lebanon and underscored Israel’s regional clout - but these gains will emerge further down the line, while the next round is already taking shape.
Ron Jager grew up in the South Bronx of New York, making Aliyah in 1980 and serving for 25 years in the IDF as a Mental Health Field Officer in operational units. Prior to retiring was Commander of the Central Psychiatric Clinic for Reserve Solders at Tel-Hashomer. Since retiring has been involved in strategic consultancy to NGO’s and communities in the Gaza Envelope on resiliency projects to assist first responders and communities. Ron has written numerous articles for outlets in Israel and abroad focusing on Israel and the Jewish world.