The Prophet Isaiah's Vision Coming True – Let's Do It!

by Ziv Maor, Editor-in-Chief of the news broadcasts at Galei Israel radio station, translated by Hillel Fendel.

A cursory glance at the new residents in the palaces of our Syrian neighbors, currently known as "the rebels," leads more to feelings of concern than of optimism. This is because of our long-standing acquaintance with the Arab enemy, and our general perception that the Arabs continue to be the same Arabs and the sea that they wish to push us into is the same sea…

To this is added the knowledge that our new neighbors have frightening associations with ISIS and Al-Qaeda. And even more worrisome is the fact that Julani and Shar'a, the two new sheriffs in the neighborhoods, are long arms of the Turkish enemy octopus.

If we look at Syria as a square on the checkerboard of the Middle East, we can note that there is a Qatari-Jordanian-Syrian-Turkish contiguity. This is a critical route for the entire region that can provide oil from Qatar to Europe. In the developing Middle East, the diplomatic engine will no longer be the "Palestinian problem," but rather, who will control the European gas market. For while on the one hand, there is this pipeline that can open in the wake of the fall of Assad, but there is also a developing and competing maritime axis of Israel-Cyprus-Greece.

Despite all, many experts are expressing very non-cautious optimism in light of the events. Shar'a himself declared that he does not see Israel as an enemy country, and Israeli expert Dr. Mordechai Kedar speaks of key Sunni figures in the rebellion who say they plan to open a Syrian embassy in Israel's capital of Jerusalem. Ziv Jenisov, an independent journalist who spent much time in the areas of the battles in Syria in 2018, has related that when he whispered to some Sunni rebels that he was Israeli, their admiration was palpable. And demographer Prof. Yaakov Feitelson has been speaking about Syria's return to the days before the 1916 Sykes-Picot Agreement [which defined the respective spheres of control of Great Britain and France following the expected downfall of the Ottoman Empire]. In those days, each ethnic group in what was to become modern-day Syria lived securely in its own area: the Alawites along the coast, the Druze south of Damascus, the Kurds in the northeast, and the Sunnis everywhere else.

Two important ethnic groups in Syria, the Druze and the Kurds, are supporters of Israel. The Kurds have expressed pro-Israeli sentiments for many years. The Druze indeed remained loyal to Assad, despite his oppression of them, but the spontaneous joyous reactions to his overthrow in the Druze villages in the Golan leave room for optimism that the Syrian Druze will join their brethren in Israel.

Time for a New Conception

The events that have so suddenly overtaken us are an opportunity to take a hard new look at a certain long-running Western, left-wing approach – and throw it out the window. This approach, or conception, holds that sovereignty is a binary situation: Either there is sovereignty, or there isn't. It has been a fundamental element of the twisted Israeli policies towards Judea and Samaria since the first intifada. That is, it is commonly held that either there will be two states between the Jordan and the sea, or one state, which will either be binational, or a Jewish-run apartheid. Any middle ground is not even considered, but rather denounced as an unstable temporary solution that will perpetuate the conflict forever.

The revolution in Syria invites us to introduce a new word into our vocabulary, which can not only help us formulate a new solution to the problems of the Arabs of the Land of Israel, but can also serve as a key to a reorganization of the entire Middle East. The word is: suzerainty. It generally refers to the partial control of an area, or even a country, by another country. There are many regions in the world that enjoy a certain measure of independence, but at the same time entrust certain important functions associated with sovereignty in the hands of a different country (usually a stronger one). The classic example of such is the state of relations between Puerto Rico (and also Guam) and the United States. There is also suzerainty between Montana and the U.S., between Belgium and the European Union, and between Flanders and Belgium.

The Left, and anti-Semites around the world, define Israel's position in Judea and Samaria as a "conqueror" or "occupier," thus distorting the meaning of "occupation" in international law. In practice, the more accurate term for Israel's presence in Judea and Samaria is "suzerainty." A deep understanding of the concept of suzerainty, and of the ways in which it is implemented in various areas of the world, opens before Israel a wealth of possibilities in the new Middle East that is currently taking shape. Internalizing Israel's suzerainty means understanding that Israel is a regional power and can use its power unapologetically to fortify its status and interests.

This is how it can look: Judea and Samaria will be recognized immediately as an integral part of the State of Israel; its Arab residents who remain here will receive Israeli citizenship; and Arab Palestinian nationalism will be outlawed. The Arab cities will have the status of local autonomies, run by the families that already run many of their affairs. The Gaza Strip will retain, for now, the status that the Palestinian Authority currently enjoys, with Israel overseeing its education network (to prevent anti-Israel incitement and the like). Perhaps in a few decades from now, Gaza will be ready to join Israel.

The Druze and the Kurds in the new Syria will exist as autonomies, with their own armies and with military guarantees from Israel. Southern Lebanon will be governed by Druze and Maronites (Christians), who will also enjoy Israeli military protection. Israel will open a gas pipeline to Europe, thus subordinating the economies of Lebanon and Egypt. Israel will also be able to leverage, without compunction, its control over the drinking water that it supplies to the Kingdom of Jordan, and will be free to enforce Israel's political interests over King Abdullah.

Who doesn't know the Prophet Isaiah's famous prophecy: "Nation will not lift a sword against another nation, and they will never again wage war." But when it is understood as a simple vision of peace and serenity, it is being taken out of context. Just a few verses before it, which are somewhat less well-known, the true and complete prophetic vision is laid out:

"And it shall be at the end of the days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be firmly established at the top of the mountains, and it shall be raised above the hills, and all the nations shall stream to it. And many peoples shall go and say, "Come, let us go up to the Lord's mount, to the house of the God of Jacob, and let Him teach us of His ways, and we will go in His paths" – for from Zion shall the Torah come forth, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And He shall judge between the nations and reprove many peoples, and they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks…"

Thus we see that even the Prophet says that the condition for regional peace is suzerainty of the Holy Temple mountain over the neighboring peoples. G-d has opened the way for us – let us go forth and ascend it.

Let's Keep On Winning – and Not Stop!

by Emmanuel Shilo, editor of the Besheva weekly, translated by Hillel Fendel.

1. We hadn't even quite digested the wondrous miracle of our successes against the cruel Hezbollah terrorist organization, when suddenly, we merited to see another amazing series of events: the collapse of the evil regime of our bitter Syrian enemy and the destruction of nearly its entire army.

The work of toppling the Assad dictatorship was done for us by others, leaving us with the job of making the courageous decisions to reap the fruits thereof. Thus, the humongous and costly war machine that Assad's Alawites built, with the help of Russia and Iran, was liquidated in a matter of days with no opposition, in an unprecedented blitz carried out by our air and naval forces.  

These are amazingly great days, in which we are privileged to see the fulfillment of the verse, "Gladden us in accordance with the days You afflicted us" (Psalms 90,15). After the calamitous strike we suffered on Simchat Torah over a year ago, when our rejoicing turned into such grief, we now see that G-d has given our enemies into the hands of our armed forces in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria.

Our joy is far from complete, however. The formidable missions before us have not yet been completed. On all fronts the situation is quite sensitive, and the war rages on as we continue to pay high prices with the loss of additional holy and pure soldiers. But there is no doubt that our situation on Oct. 7th has turned around most concretely. No longer are we beaten and bruised, but are rather carrying out that which King David prayed for: "I will pursue my enemies and overtake them, never turning back until they are consumed" (18,38). We began the year 5785 with the unbelievable beeper attack, continued with the liquidation of the evil Nasrallah, and from there have climbed from one success to the next, from the lowly tunnels of Gaza to the summit of what has long been the Syrian Mt. Hermon – and which is now ours. If until now the Hermon has been "the eyes of Israel," now, with the capture of the higher, Syrian summit, these eyes can see much further.

2. Now that Syria and Hezbollah have fallen and will apparently not be threatening us any time soon, the three remaining great challenges that face us are these: putting an end to Iran's nuclear program, defeating Hamas decisively, and freeing our 100 captives, about a third of whom are known to be dead, from Hamas captivity.

These challenges are not at all simple. But now is not the time to tire, nor may we allow ourselves to suffice with less than the achievement of all three. The major changes that have already happened, and those that can be expected in the near future, enable and obligate us to think big and carry them out.

In less than five weeks, Joe Biden and his administration will finally leave the world stage, and Donald Trump – a friend of Israel in deed, not just in heart – will replace him. Though Biden has long supported Israel, it must be emphasized that his stubborn insistence on more and more humanitarian aid to Gaza – well beyond that which was needed for the Gazan population to survive – was that which allowed Hamas to survive throughout these 14 months of war.

Our own government also failed in this area, in enabling Hamas to take control of the humanitarian supplies, providing for themselves in greater quantities than what they left over for the populace.

The objective of the IDF's continued fighting in the Gaza Strip has been to create a sterile zone clean of Hamas terrorists, in which only those who have been carefully examined will be allowed to enter and receive the necessary supplies directly from our hands without Hamas intervention. This will greatly weaken Hamas, and is thus important for Israel.

Hamas is willing to make a deal now to release our hostages because it knows that when Trump becomes President again, the terms for any deal will be much worse for the terrorists than they are now. Still, we are far from guaranteed that Hamas will agree to release all the hostages, for it wishes to continue to torture at least some of them and the entire Israeli society. But even if Hamas does agree, it will be at a terribly high price for Israel, including the release of hundreds of dangerous terrorists from Israeli prison who will try to carry out the next wave of kidnappings. Israel may also be forced to end the war now, which itself will be a victory for Hamas. If this is the endnote of our 14 months of war and casualties, our accomplishments on the other fronts are likely to be endangered, as it will provide encouragement to the Shiites in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and our other enemies to continue their war against us.

3. We must therefore try to hold on and hold out until Trump takes over, when we will be able to see our hostages come home without suffering the defeat described above. If there are those who see the current weakening of Hamas as an "opportunity" to reach a terrible agreement with Hamas, they would be advised to remember those who saw the weakening of the PLO as a reason to sign the Oslo Accords – which brought us tens of thousands of uniformed terrorists and the establishment of the Palestinian Terrorist Authority.

True, it is hard to continue to stand strong in the face of the suffering of the hostages, the anguish of their families, and the pressure of the media, who are once again emotionally and shortsightedly trying to push us into a disastrous deal like that which freed Gilad Shalit. But now is the time for the government to show leadership, exercise reason, think about the nation and not just individuals, and focus on the long term beyond today and tomorrow.

We, the religious-Zionist public, must also behave responsibly. The left-wingers who have always wanted "Peace Now" and now want "Hostages Now," are looking to us to help them swing the pendulum. We must remember our commitment to true victory, and not lend our voices to capitulation. Similarly, we must not be tempted to fight for Hareidi recruitment, which is liable to lead – as the left-wingers’ hope – to the downfall of the only government that is striving for Israel's true victory.

Another challenge that we must overcome is the judicial establishment, ensconced in its ivory tower and unable to rise to the greatness and importance of the occasion. We know that there is no one else in the Israeli political establishment who can wage the war as well as Netanyahu – and yet they insist that he spend hours every day testifying about champagne and cigars. It is truly too bad that even those who hate him cannot realize that we need him to run our multi-front war for the entire country much more than we need him trying to defend himself from trivial accusations.