Opinion: Why is it necessary to fight for Israel? Radical enemies have been baring their teeth for centuries

Author: Dan Schuftan
More than 550 people, including several Hezbollah commanders, have been killed in Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon since Monday morning. This should be seen in the context of the multi-front hostility launched against the Jewish state by West Asian extremists since October 7 last year. Hezbollah has retaliated by firing hundreds of rockets, including a missile at Tel Aviv. Because of this, the region is now on the verge of a full-blown war. However, no one wants this. Israel fears heavy loss of life and property in its population centers. Hezbollah fears the destruction of Lebanon. Iran is arming its proxies for another purpose. Iran wants to prevent Israel from striking its nuclear project. At the same time, the US, given its past experiences, is alert about a dangerous conflict in West Asia.

Israel intensifies attacks in Lebanon

Over the past week, Israel has been intensifying its operations against Lebanon. Gaza must now focus on preventing a resurgence of Hamas so that Israeli forces can advance north. For a year, Hezbollah waged a war of hostility that forced 60,000 Israelis to evacuate their homes, at a cost that the terrorist organization could easily afford. Israel is now responding aggressively on the front foot, killing Hezbollah commanders and fighters, as well as targeting its leaders, in order to reduce threats and facilitate the restoration of life in northern Israel, with or without an invasion of south Lebanon.

nobody wants war

The multi-front confrontation is turning into a war that no side wants to be in. The instigators of this war are Hamas and Islamic Jihad from Gaza, their staunch supporters in the West Bank, Hezbollah from Lebanon, the Houthis from Yemen, Shia militias from Syria and Iraq and the regional power Iran that arms and funds them. All of them speak proudly about the destruction of the Jewish state and its people. Their issue is not limited to the occupation or alleged abuses, but to the very existence of Israel.

How are fundamentalists spreading hatred?

Because Iran and its allies are well aware of Israel’s military strength, they have taken the war beyond the conventional battlefield. They spread hatred against Israeli civilians directly in the minds of their own people. By placing their rockets and weapons in schools, hospitals, mosques and nurseries, they give Israel a choice – either join in the killing of Israeli children, or be a factor in the massive loss of lives on the Arab side while disabling their war machine.

Attempts to tarnish Israel’s image

These often pretend they are willing to sacrifice their own citizens so that Israel is embarrassed, criticized, and prevented by its Western allies from responding effectively to radical Arab aggression. This strategy worked to some extent, when the media, international organizations, as well as a legion of confused students and old and new anti-Semites blamed the victims of the Holocaust in order to defend themselves.

Israel’s challenge in Lebanon is similar to that in Gaza

Proving that it can incur a cost of war that even a society that does not care about its people cannot bear for long. Israel needs to prove again that it can recover, continue to provide a decent and better life to its people, and defy condemnation.

Jews stand strong despite attacks and threats

After being threatened for more than a century, the Jews proved they could develop ventures in their own homeland even if their enemies stagnated, failed or crumbled. Israel faced an international coalition of Arab countries led by Egypt until Sadat realized in 1979 that Egypt could no longer afford the exorbitant costs of such an operation. The disastrous fallout from the second intifada has kept Palestinians from launching a terrorist campaign in the West Bank since 2004.

Nasrallah and Iran want to stop the war

Gaza has already proven to be a deterrent. Nasrallah and Iran want to prevent a dangerous war because they know that widespread destruction and the loss of millions of people could be repeated in Lebanon, especially in Beirut. Destruction in Gaza was not Israel’s war objective. But the Palestinian insistence on using civilian structures for military bases, armouries, tunnel shafts and booby-traps made it necessary.

How important is this war for democracies!

Hezbollah knows that similar disregard for its own civilian population will result in the same thing in south Lebanon. Should Israel be forced to push Hezbollah militarily away from the Israeli towns and villages in northern Israel that it seeks to destroy? When this war is over, many will realize how vital it has been for all democracies and pluralistic societies. What remains visible is the danger that unscrupulous radicals are finding a way to undermine and destroy strong and developed democracies. If terrorists can do this with impunity, civilized pluralistic societies have no chance.

For such societies, it may be necessary to tie one hand behind their back to preserve their values ​​even in times of crisis. Now the self-proclaimed purveyors of progressive moral values ​​are threatening to tie the other hand too. Israel did what it had to do in Gaza. It will do the same in Lebanon, Yemen and Syria. If necessary, it will do the same in Iran too, at a very high cost. The only choice against the fundamentalists is between harsh measures and disastrous consequences.