I am so impressed! So well said! The West needs to see the big picture and Bibi needs to lead the way!
I also hope that Israel will see the support around them and that Christians can see that we are next! Israel is holding the line for us too. And all the world is praying for you!
I have always been fairly neutral on Bibi. I think he has been a good leader in many ways. The vitriolic hatred of Bibi is not something I fully understand. Many commentators explain this as a sort of class struggle/old guard vs. a newer more right wing religious culture, beginning with Menachem Begin leading the Sephardi traditional Jews vs the Ashkenazi elites. It’s complicated. I believe your argument that Bibi should take responsibility and ultimately leave politics would go a long way towards uniting the country. Practically, I don’t see how any of the others would have fought this war differently. If anything, the criticism from within is that he should be more aggressive, and not bow to the Americans. But those other guys would have been more cowardly than Bibi has been.
In short, I appreciate your ideas. And I don’t believe one has to live here to have an opinion.
Bibi is probably the worst thing that has ever happened to Israel. He aligns with Haredis whose children don't serve in the IDF and radical, racist Kahanists who also didn't serve and whose sons sit out the war in Yeshiva, while Yair Netanyahu sits out the war in Miami Beach. BUT this war cannot end either officially or "temporarily" as in previous conflicts, without Israel controlling ALL access points into Gaza. Were Israel to concede to the unbelievably unreasonable request to leave the Philadelphi, Hamas will stop firing on Israel, Sinwar will declare victory and remain in control of Gaza, re-arm for the next 10/7 and keep all of the remaining hostages as they kept Shalit for over 5 years. Israel will have no international support to go back into the corridor even under the guise of rescuing the remaining hostages. You can argue that Israel doesn't need that support but consider if Kamala becomes President. The UK has already suspended arms sales. As Jason argues, without some sort of mea culpa, Bibi has no moral foundation for making the argument that the defeat of Hamas must come before anything else.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Scott. I am not sure I agree with how bad Bibi is as much as he may be a scape goat for other very real issues. I wrote an article on my perspective about the ultra-orthodox serving you might be interested further down.
Bibi has been PM for 16 of the last 28 years, longest serving PM in Israeli history. During that time Israel's enemies have gotten stronger and more aggressive, Iran is weeks if not days away from nuclear breakout and the country suffered the largest mass murder of Jews since the Holocaust. Vast amounts of territory within the country are now uninhabitable. Existential threats exist in every direction and Israel is thoroughly incapable of defending itself without vast and continued amounts of US military support.
Not sure how bad Bibi is? Exactly how low is the bar you have set for political achievement?
The Israeli economy has also grown and there are lots of parts of the Israeli story that are flourishing. Was early Israeli history without conflict? I think we need to be realistic about what it takes to survive in the Middle East as the only Jewish nation on Earth and expecting peace without struggle may not be possible unfortunately, at least in the decades to come.
Jason - I absolutely love what you wrote. I'm not fully understanding of Israeli politics, but I do not believe Netanyahu has Israel as his #1 priority. If he could, as you suggest, remove any question of his running for office again, and "be willing to make the tough calls", I would have more faith in him. I have been completely blindsided by the full court press of international antisemitism, but I recognize that misinformation and propaganda has been taking over America, especially as how wealthy Arabic countries fund endowed professorships all over America for at least 40 years now.
Thank you Sharon, appreciate you sharing your thoughts. The money flowing into American universities from essentially foreign terror states is alarming and a big part of the problem for sure.
I mostly agree with you, but not being Israeli I feel it isn't my place to provide advice to Israeli leaders, or to criticize Israelis whether they be on the right, left, or middle. We all have our better angels and a bit of the devil, and the devil side of me regrets Israel is too just a nation to not react to the wanton murder of each hostage by killing hamas prisoners held in Israel. For every one Israeli or Jew held hostage and killed, ten hamas prisoners suffer the same fate. But my better angels tell me that is a crazy and horrible thought, and of course Israel is too righteous to ever contemplate such retribution.
Thank you for reading and sharing your thoughts. I think Israel would be further demonized, if that’s possible, for expediting the trials and and executions of prisoners right now. I do however think they should stay annexing 1 mile of land a day until the hostages are freed. I also think there needs to be constitutional amendments that limits the power of the government to make lopsided deals to remove the incentives for hostage taking. There are lots of ways we can continue to pressure Hamas.
I also agree Israelis should not be criticized, few understand the complexity and existential nature of the current war. That said, Israel is the canary in the coal mine for diaspora Jews. I believe more diaspora Jews need to make an effort to understand and support Israelis and vice versa. We are stronger together and our fates are intertwined.
Was hamas further demonized for the wanton and cold blooded slaughter of the six hostages a few days ago? On the contrary, there were mass pro hamas protests and celebrations in the streets in Europe and America.
I think we both know and understand that Jews are not held to the same standards and expectations of other ethnic groups. Israel must not only be strong, but also smart. We're all looking for easy answers, but the truth is Israel has tough choices to make and no matter what decisions are made not everyone will be happy. Someone has to make these choices who can balance Israel's short term priorities with her long term sustainability. If not Bibi, who?
Mostly agree with you, though Israel is already being demonized despite the efforts made to minimize civilian casualties. Who cares what the world thinks, if it means winning minds but losing the war and suffering defeat? The point is that Israel is a just and righteous nation so despite what the world thinks, does the right thing.
Both are very similar. I actually think TDS is worse, but maybe I'm just closer to it and my Hebrew is rusty to fully understand the extent of BDS. It's easier to plane other people than to look inward unfortunately and to recognize our own agency to impact outcomes of situations.
It’s scary to think, but there are members of the security establishment in Israel who let October 7th occur on Bibi’s watch — on purpose. Instead of eyes wide open on October 6, Israel wasn’t prepared (as it should have been) because some of Bibi’s lieutenants actually wanted him to fail. It’s a horrifying thought but I wouldn’t put it past any of the blame Bibi crowd.
Hey Sheldon, there were definitely intelligence failures, but I am always very hesitant to attribute malice to incompetence. As far as I know, nothing you're claiming has been proven.
The big picture, “the conceptzia” was flawed. The horror that unfolded was indeed supercharged by widespread incompetence and overconfidence. My point is that the female intelligence soldiers who sit in front of video screens all day and night were sending reports of lots of activity over the border. They were ordered to stand down. The IDF obtained an actual physical copy of the Al Aqsa Flood battle plan and basically ignored it. Yes, malice would be hard to prove. But the IDF doesn’t one day wake up and forget how to do their job, unless there’s someone in the chain of command who sins by omission of critical intelligence being sent up the chain.
I agree there were warning signs and bad assumptions made about deterrence, much like there were before Sept 11 and much like Pearl Harbor. intelligence failures are common and connecting dots in hindsight is much easier.
Israel must digest and do assessments on a huge number of threats all the time and allocate resources accordingly. This is not an easy job. I don’t think anyone is disagreeing there were major failures and bad decisions in the lead up to October 7th, but I imagine the people who were in positions to stop it feel horrible about it.
There will be a time we can go back and over analyze what happened, but right now I’d rather we focus on how to win the war and the return of the hostages.
Hamas has lost the ability to govern. The Egyptian boarder is controlled by the IDF and no new weapons can come in. The only thing Hamas has accomplished is exploiting their people for power and money. You’ve also helped convinced a generation of Israelis and diaspora Jews, including me, to no longer believe a two state solution is possible, and maybe not even peace. Congratulations, doesn’t sound like a victory to me.
Send it special delivery to Bibi now! Excellent Jason! Thank you for thinking so clearly.
I'll send a raven. Thanks for being a part of Maccabee Nation!
Excellent piece.
Thanks Ian. Appreciate you reading our substack.
Great ! Very good !
Thank you for reading it :) Enjoy the rest of your week
I am so impressed! So well said! The West needs to see the big picture and Bibi needs to lead the way!
I also hope that Israel will see the support around them and that Christians can see that we are next! Israel is holding the line for us too. And all the world is praying for you!
I have always been fairly neutral on Bibi. I think he has been a good leader in many ways. The vitriolic hatred of Bibi is not something I fully understand. Many commentators explain this as a sort of class struggle/old guard vs. a newer more right wing religious culture, beginning with Menachem Begin leading the Sephardi traditional Jews vs the Ashkenazi elites. It’s complicated. I believe your argument that Bibi should take responsibility and ultimately leave politics would go a long way towards uniting the country. Practically, I don’t see how any of the others would have fought this war differently. If anything, the criticism from within is that he should be more aggressive, and not bow to the Americans. But those other guys would have been more cowardly than Bibi has been.
In short, I appreciate your ideas. And I don’t believe one has to live here to have an opinion.
Thanks Liba, appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts.
Well said! I hope he reads it.
<3 Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
Bibi is probably the worst thing that has ever happened to Israel. He aligns with Haredis whose children don't serve in the IDF and radical, racist Kahanists who also didn't serve and whose sons sit out the war in Yeshiva, while Yair Netanyahu sits out the war in Miami Beach. BUT this war cannot end either officially or "temporarily" as in previous conflicts, without Israel controlling ALL access points into Gaza. Were Israel to concede to the unbelievably unreasonable request to leave the Philadelphi, Hamas will stop firing on Israel, Sinwar will declare victory and remain in control of Gaza, re-arm for the next 10/7 and keep all of the remaining hostages as they kept Shalit for over 5 years. Israel will have no international support to go back into the corridor even under the guise of rescuing the remaining hostages. You can argue that Israel doesn't need that support but consider if Kamala becomes President. The UK has already suspended arms sales. As Jason argues, without some sort of mea culpa, Bibi has no moral foundation for making the argument that the defeat of Hamas must come before anything else.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Scott. I am not sure I agree with how bad Bibi is as much as he may be a scape goat for other very real issues. I wrote an article on my perspective about the ultra-orthodox serving you might be interested further down.
Bibi has been PM for 16 of the last 28 years, longest serving PM in Israeli history. During that time Israel's enemies have gotten stronger and more aggressive, Iran is weeks if not days away from nuclear breakout and the country suffered the largest mass murder of Jews since the Holocaust. Vast amounts of territory within the country are now uninhabitable. Existential threats exist in every direction and Israel is thoroughly incapable of defending itself without vast and continued amounts of US military support.
Not sure how bad Bibi is? Exactly how low is the bar you have set for political achievement?
The Israeli economy has also grown and there are lots of parts of the Israeli story that are flourishing. Was early Israeli history without conflict? I think we need to be realistic about what it takes to survive in the Middle East as the only Jewish nation on Earth and expecting peace without struggle may not be possible unfortunately, at least in the decades to come.
Jason - I absolutely love what you wrote. I'm not fully understanding of Israeli politics, but I do not believe Netanyahu has Israel as his #1 priority. If he could, as you suggest, remove any question of his running for office again, and "be willing to make the tough calls", I would have more faith in him. I have been completely blindsided by the full court press of international antisemitism, but I recognize that misinformation and propaganda has been taking over America, especially as how wealthy Arabic countries fund endowed professorships all over America for at least 40 years now.
Thank you Sharon, appreciate you sharing your thoughts. The money flowing into American universities from essentially foreign terror states is alarming and a big part of the problem for sure.
Thanks Jason spot f’n on. We need the political will to see this through. Channel our collective inner Winston Churchill with a dose of Ord Wingate.
Very well said, I too I'm an outsider, unlike you I never made the attempt to live there .
I do have close family living there.
I you do agree with your thoughts and opinions and your letter to Bibi.
I would add one qualifier that he (Bibi)needs to set in stone the fact that he will not participate in politics after this war is over.
The challenges is that like every other politician, he lies like a rug.
But I think that, that statement might help the Israelis unite behind him , even ones that are dead set against him .
PS I also wish that he would listen a little closer to his security and military people .
They too have a great love for their country , they too have fought and lost family for their country and they too are bright bright guys .
Shabbat Shalom
Thanks for sharing your thoughts with this community. Shabbat Shalom.
I mostly agree with you, but not being Israeli I feel it isn't my place to provide advice to Israeli leaders, or to criticize Israelis whether they be on the right, left, or middle. We all have our better angels and a bit of the devil, and the devil side of me regrets Israel is too just a nation to not react to the wanton murder of each hostage by killing hamas prisoners held in Israel. For every one Israeli or Jew held hostage and killed, ten hamas prisoners suffer the same fate. But my better angels tell me that is a crazy and horrible thought, and of course Israel is too righteous to ever contemplate such retribution.
Thank you for reading and sharing your thoughts. I think Israel would be further demonized, if that’s possible, for expediting the trials and and executions of prisoners right now. I do however think they should stay annexing 1 mile of land a day until the hostages are freed. I also think there needs to be constitutional amendments that limits the power of the government to make lopsided deals to remove the incentives for hostage taking. There are lots of ways we can continue to pressure Hamas.
I also agree Israelis should not be criticized, few understand the complexity and existential nature of the current war. That said, Israel is the canary in the coal mine for diaspora Jews. I believe more diaspora Jews need to make an effort to understand and support Israelis and vice versa. We are stronger together and our fates are intertwined.
Was hamas further demonized for the wanton and cold blooded slaughter of the six hostages a few days ago? On the contrary, there were mass pro hamas protests and celebrations in the streets in Europe and America.
I think we both know and understand that Jews are not held to the same standards and expectations of other ethnic groups. Israel must not only be strong, but also smart. We're all looking for easy answers, but the truth is Israel has tough choices to make and no matter what decisions are made not everyone will be happy. Someone has to make these choices who can balance Israel's short term priorities with her long term sustainability. If not Bibi, who?
Mostly agree with you, though Israel is already being demonized despite the efforts made to minimize civilian casualties. Who cares what the world thinks, if it means winning minds but losing the war and suffering defeat? The point is that Israel is a just and righteous nation so despite what the world thinks, does the right thing.
Bibi derangement syndrome is more insane than trump derangement syndrome. The delusions are nuts. The stakes for Israeli security are so much higher.
Both are very similar. I actually think TDS is worse, but maybe I'm just closer to it and my Hebrew is rusty to fully understand the extent of BDS. It's easier to plane other people than to look inward unfortunately and to recognize our own agency to impact outcomes of situations.
Accountability.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/israeli-intelligence-commander-resign-being-231701471.html
It’s scary to think, but there are members of the security establishment in Israel who let October 7th occur on Bibi’s watch — on purpose. Instead of eyes wide open on October 6, Israel wasn’t prepared (as it should have been) because some of Bibi’s lieutenants actually wanted him to fail. It’s a horrifying thought but I wouldn’t put it past any of the blame Bibi crowd.
Hey Sheldon, there were definitely intelligence failures, but I am always very hesitant to attribute malice to incompetence. As far as I know, nothing you're claiming has been proven.
The big picture, “the conceptzia” was flawed. The horror that unfolded was indeed supercharged by widespread incompetence and overconfidence. My point is that the female intelligence soldiers who sit in front of video screens all day and night were sending reports of lots of activity over the border. They were ordered to stand down. The IDF obtained an actual physical copy of the Al Aqsa Flood battle plan and basically ignored it. Yes, malice would be hard to prove. But the IDF doesn’t one day wake up and forget how to do their job, unless there’s someone in the chain of command who sins by omission of critical intelligence being sent up the chain.
I agree there were warning signs and bad assumptions made about deterrence, much like there were before Sept 11 and much like Pearl Harbor. intelligence failures are common and connecting dots in hindsight is much easier.
Israel must digest and do assessments on a huge number of threats all the time and allocate resources accordingly. This is not an easy job. I don’t think anyone is disagreeing there were major failures and bad decisions in the lead up to October 7th, but I imagine the people who were in positions to stop it feel horrible about it.
There will be a time we can go back and over analyze what happened, but right now I’d rather we focus on how to win the war and the return of the hostages.
Amen
This lion has become a lamb in front of Hamas, hahahaha
Hamas has lost the ability to govern. The Egyptian boarder is controlled by the IDF and no new weapons can come in. The only thing Hamas has accomplished is exploiting their people for power and money. You’ve also helped convinced a generation of Israelis and diaspora Jews, including me, to no longer believe a two state solution is possible, and maybe not even peace. Congratulations, doesn’t sound like a victory to me.