Time is Running Out for Israel to Attack Iran

by Kobi Eliraz, former Settlement Affairs advisor to various Israeli defense ministers, translated by Hillel Fendel.

Only just over six weeks remain for Israel to make a brave strategic decision.

[Translator's note: This past April, Iran attacked Israel with hundreds of missiles and drones, and Israel retaliated a week later. On October 1, Iran missile-attacked Israel once again, followed on Oct. 19 by a drone fired by Iran's proxies in Lebanon at Netanyahu's home in Caesaria. Israel's retaliation later that month included the destruction of an active nuclear weapons research facility – but security officials said then that this did not include Israel's response to the drone strike against Netanyahu's home. Though they indicated that further action could be expected, this has not yet happened.]

This week, explaining why he agreed to the ceasefire arrangement in Lebanon, Netanyahu said that one of the reasons was that it "enables us to focus on Iran - and I won't elaborate on that." 

The window of opportunity for Israel to mortally, or at least very painfully, strike Iran is beginning to close. The clock is ticking, and our option for a significant blow will disappear even faster the more the international situation changes and a new United States president takes office. 

Israel stands before a critical moment in which it must make a brave strategic decision, in spite of American and international reservations about - and pressures against - this course of action. 

Even with the ongoing messaging back and forth between Jerusalem and Washington, it appears that Israel currently has a rare opportunity to act in Iran, precisely now during the changing of the guard of the U.S. Administration. 

Iran, which well understands the greatness of the hour and the "complex" situation in which it finds itself, has refrained from responding with power to Israel's latest actions, even though it has often boasted to do so. This is the hour of Israel's test; it must realize that the time has come to change the rules of the game, Churchill-style. 

Great leaders are measured during times of crisis, when a single decision can change the course of history. Winston Churchill was forced to make fateful decisions during the course of World War II – and he sometimes did so against the advice of his own advisors and international allies. He understood that the future of the British nation, and the entire free world, was dependent on his leadership.

So, too, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu now faces a historic test of leadership. The present situation can tolerate neither hesitation nor procrastination, and this is the precise hour for him to make a daring decision. What Israel does now will affect the strategy of the Islamic-fundamentalist terrorist countries and organizations, and thus Israel's security, for many years going forward.

History does not remember kindly, if at all, the leaders who waited. It reserves an honored place only for those who took action, initiated, and led. 

Iran activates regional proxies such as Hamas, Hizbullah, Islamic Jihad, and others in Syria and Iraq. It represents a constant active threat to Israel and the stability of the entire Middle East. The Iranian proxies wait for instructions from Tehran, and Israel knows that if it precisely strikes the "head of the snake," those proxies will receive an equally precise message: "Israel is not playing just for its defense, but rather knows how to initiate and act whenever and wherever necessary."

It is likely that a unilateral Israeli strike of this nature will anger the U.S., but we must remember that there are those in the outgoing Biden Administration, and certainly in the incoming Trump Administration, who would actually support such a move. The appointees of Trump, in particular, who is known for his strong anti-Iran stance, could very well view this action as an opportunity to entrench his future policy vis-à-vis Iran. That is, an Israeli offensive will better position him regarding Iran, and against the Axis of Evil altogether. 

Strategically speaking, a successful Israeli strike will present Israel as a leading power and as an independent force in the regional arena. This will of course strengthen Israel's stature in future negotiations, and will further fortify its status as a military and diplomatic powerhouse. 

History teaches us that military initiatives, such as Operation Opera against Iraq's nuclear reactor in 1981, and Operation Outside the Box against a nuclear reactor in Syria in 2007, can effectively neutralize strategic threats. On the other hand, they also prove that refraining from such activity can be catastrophic. At the current time, a well-timed, precise, and successful strike against Iran will strengthen Israel in every possible arena, from north to south. It will even influence future moves by other countries in the region.

This is the moment when true leadership is measured. Israel must take advantage of the current Iranian sensitivity, and act with determination and wisdom. Any further delay reduces Israel's field of operations and strengthens our enemies. 

Mr. Prime Minister, you have successfully passed historic tests over the past year – and now you face perhaps the most acute one of all. Just as Churchill acted with unwavering steadfastness during the crisis moments of the Second World War, so too you must lead the State of Israel today. If you perform correctly, you will be remembered not only as a leader on the local stage, but as one who changed the balance of power in the Middle East and safeguarded Israel's security for generations to come. Iran well understands its own weaknesses at this time, and precisely for that reason, Israel must strike now while the iron is hot – and relevant.

A Chance for Real Change in the South

by Elad Kalimi, Deputy Mayor of Sderot, translated by Hillel Fendel.

Motivation in Sderot is high, but the IDF must continue to press in northern Gaza and clean it out of terrorists in order to restore security to the residents of Sderot and environs.

With the re-election of Donald Trump as President of the United States, we find ourselves in an awkward position, to say the least. Precisely when a real opportunity is finally about to open up for Israel to act more freely against Hamas, and even vanquish it, the political pressure from the lame-duck Democratic administration against our government is intensifying. The Democrats are clearly seeking to register a political "achievement" in the name of the Trump-Harris administration before it fades limply away into history this coming January 20^th.

This past year of our relations with the United States have been very difficult. In the midst of our very costly war with ruthless Hamas and Hizbullah, the Biden Administration threatened to emplace an embargo and sanctions against Israel if it did not follow its advice to run the war the way the President and his staff wanted. Biden representatives constantly intervened in Israel's security cabinet meetings, and the Administration forced Israel to allow huge quantities of "humanitarian aid" into Gaza with the clear knowledge that Hamas was either selling it for astronomical profits or store-housing it for years to come.

And all this was taking place while the Israeli hostages remained starving in Hamas dungeons, on a diet of a slice of bread a day. Ever since the war started, the Americans have hindered our efforts and steps, reducing the chances for a strong blow against Hamas and exerting most of their pressure against us.

Dare we hope that in two months' time, the above will all be just a bad dream, and that we will finally get our hands around the terrorists' necks and bring about a real change in the military picture between Israel and those who wish to destroy us?

And this brings us to the city of Sderot, where I live. The need for a fundamental change in the way our military forces work in Gaza is directly connected to the fate of Sderot and the populace of the entire western Negev. The military maneuvers in northern Gaza, pushing myriads of Gazans southward in order to sift out the terrorists, are a welcome move – but hardly enough. Northern Gaza must be totally cleaned out so that Israel will be able to take full control of the region and thus restore a sense of genuine security to the Jewish residents. The scenes of hundreds of northern Gazans scouting out our homes from the windows of their homes just across the border is simply intolerable, and will greatly harm the process of rehabilitation that we are trying to undergo.

Sderot and environs lost 30 residents on or after Oct. 7, and a host of others were killed here since then in various battles and attacks. We are dealing with the fragments of the painful reality that this war has left us, working to rebuild our lives with strength and hope. But even in the midst of the rebuilding, we are suffering from delays and impediments in our daily lives. For one example, the Sderot-Tel Aviv train line is still not in operation, for fear of sniper fire from nearby Gaza. Only in the merit of the ongoing pressure of the mayors and local council heads, of the residents in general, and of the wise decision by Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich to refuse to allocate 800 million shekels to protect the railway tracks – did the IDF finally realize that the responsibility for safeguarding the area is not on the government's shoulders, but rather on theirs – and that this requires total military control of northern Gaza. Once they acted on this strategy, the number of shootings and attempted terrorist attacks dropped significantly. This proves, of course, that targeted action achieves its objectives, and that we must continue to press. There can be no compromise at the expense of the security of the residents of the south.

The catastrophic events of Oct. 7^th left deep scars upon every resident of Sderot. I personally lost close friends, such as Kobi Prienta and Shilo Cohen, as did many others, and the pain accompanies us every moment of the day. But it is precisely the difficulties, and the searing memories, that bring out from us the strengths to march this city forward. Our vision is to turn Sderot into the pearl of the country, a city that will produce a new generation of resilient residents, with personal and communal vitality, who strive and work for high-quality lives of vision, education, and community life. Thus we will turn Sderot into a city that not only survives, but flourishes.

But the most important thing is to continue forward militarily, without removing our foot from the gas. We must continue to fight firmly and confidently against both Hamas and Hizbullah. This is not only a military struggle, but one for the hopes of all of us – one that is based on our strong stances and desire to return to normal life. With all the challenges we face, I believe that it is possible, and imperative, to counter the threats that face us, and guarantee our residents that which they deserve: long-range security and quiet.

Needed: Israeli Strategic and Military Independence

by Rabbi Eliezer Shenvald, translated by Hillel Fendel.

The Patriarch Abraham had the right idea in purchasing the Machpelah Cave and not accepting it as a gift. This is an important lesson for the State of Israel to relearn today. 

Strategic alliances with other countries are an important component of any nation's overall national security. They are very necessary especially in today's era of globalization, with the frequent formation and collapse of international coalitions, and when even distant enemies must be faced and dealt with.

In the current war, Israel's alliances have certainly proved themselves. Our friendship with the United States saved us from the mistakes we made in allowing our supplies of armaments, weapons and combat equipment to dwindle. We were also helped by quiet arrangements with our neighbors, such as Jordan, to intercept the ballistic missiles and UAV aircraft/drones fired at Israel from Iran.

On the other hand, as is known, the U.S. embrace of Israel was actually a type of bear hug. It created a measure of Israeli dependency on the U.S. that actually left us vulnerable to demands that we not fulfill our military and strategic objectives along the way to defeating Hamas and returning our hostages.

There is a well-known principle that "countries don't have friends, only interests." Of late, there was most definitely a conflict of some of these interests between Israel and the U.S., particularly the then-upcoming elections. As a result, America threatened, more than once, to withhold arms shipments to Israel critical for the continuation of its campaign [to destroy, or at least subdue, terrorism in the Middle East]. This was a repeat of what happened 50 years earlier during the Yom Kippur War, when the Americans prevented us from preemptively attacking the Syrians and Egyptians; the ensuing war ultimately cost us over 2,650 soldiers' lives.

We must always remember the great difference between an alliance of friendship and goodwill, on the one hand, and a relationship that leads to one party's dependence on the other, rendering it a type of protectorate. For Israel, this is of course undesirable and undermines our sovereignty.

One of the fundamental principles in the security philosophy outlined by Ben-Gurion in the early days of the State was that Israel must always retain its independence in everything having to do with military strategy and armaments. "It is incumbent upon us to know and recognize," he said in 1951, "that when it comes to our security, we must always rely only on ourselves." We must ensure that given the tremendous threats upon us, we will always have the wherewithal to respond effectively and sufficiently without the need to resort to others' help.

We must always be able to make sure that the IDF has the weapons it needs, with production lines that can increase their output in times of emergency. The IDF must always have sufficient manpower for a number of highly-trained and battle-ready attack-force divisions that are prepared for every eventuality. It must also maintain supplies and spare parts that will last it for the duration of whatever battles are on the horizon, and beyond.

To our great sorrow, this was not at all the picture when the current war started. For many years, we enabled ourselves to develop a dependency on American defense aid money [which must, by the terms of the agreement with the Americans, be spent in the U.S.], leading to a degeneration of some of our own local defense industries. This of course creates the harmful dependency of which we are speaking. According to various reports, we permitted ourselves to reduce our supplies of equipment essential for an extended war, relying on our American friends to supply us when needed, as indeed they finally did – almost too late – in the Yom Kippur War.

Reports are that immediate steps are being taken to change our thinking in this regard and ensure that we will not be caught short-handed again. Still and all, if we ever again need weapons and armaments, we must know that it is better to purchase them than to receive them as "gifts."

It has been reported that on Trump's "Day One," right after his inauguration on Jan. 20, he has promised to remove all restrictions on the supply of military equipment and ammunition to Israel. This is certainly good news, but it must not cause us to revert to our dependency on the United States in areas of military goals and weapons. The Trump Administration will be a good test case to see if we have truly internalized the lessons of the current war in terms of relying on the goodwill of others.

Let us note that our Patriarch Abraham was a great strategist, with long-term vision. He forged a strategic alliance in Be'er Sheva with King Avimelekh for generations to come (see Genesis 21, 22-31), with the goal of ensuring their secure and lasting stronghold in the Land of Israel.

It was for this reason that Abraham, as we read in this week's Torah portion, refused to accept the Machpelah Cave and the field of Hebron as a gift from Ephron the Hittite. He insisted on paying full price, for various reasons according to the Medrash – and one of them was that when one receives a favor or gift from another, the former becomes a form of debtor to his benefactor.

"How much more so is this true," explained a venerable sage of the previous generation known as the Steipler Rov, "that one must not allow himself to enter into an unlimited agreement of subservience… and especially if the other is a wicked person…"

King Solomon writes in Proverbs, "One who hates gifts will live" (15,27). This is because he has not allowed himself to develop a dependency upon others. "There are no free lunches," the popular saying goes. 

Hebron and the Machpelah Cave were Avraham's first acquisitions in the Land to which G-d instructed him to go. Thus, these places ,are strategically critical for Jewish sovereignty here forever. Not for naught did all three Patriarchs – Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – establish their residence in Hebron, which was also the first destination of the Twelve Spies dispatched by Moses to the Land. It was also in Hebron that King David founded the Dynasty of Israel. All of this explains why Abraham made sure to buy it and not receive it as a gift. Only in this way would it belong exclusively to the People of Israel, with no chance for the Hittites, or anyone else, to retain any claims to it in the future. 

Mr. Trump: Let's Start with Canceling the Personal Sanctions, and Continue From There

by Shai Alon, Beit El Mayor, translated by Hillel Fendel.

Donald Trump's historic victory in the US elections opens the door for immediate and welcome changes for the half-million-plus Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria (Yesha). Israel must utilize the circumstances and work for complete Israeli sovereignty in Yesha – and for the removal of the baseless personal sanctions the State Department has imposed upon individual Jews there.

Trump's win received two extra underscores with the Republican victory in the Senate, and what appears to be the same in the House of Representatives. For at least the next two years, therefore, until the mid-term House elections, the situation appears very promising.

In his first term, as is known, Trump displayed very strong support for Israel and its interests. He took a series of measures that greatly upgraded Israel's status in its own land and around the world. His recognition of Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights, and the transfer of the US Embassy to Jerusalem, changed the very ground rules. And the historic Abraham Accords between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain opened the gates for a promising and stable future in the Middle East.

These were not merely symbolic gestures, but full-throated shows of practical support for Israel, in deeds and not only words, that until then had been practically unthinkable.

Unfortunately, Trump was replaced by an outwardly friendly Biden Administration, but which continued, even after Oct. 7^th, to work tirelessly for a two-state solution with our neighbors, Hamas/Fatah, as if nothing had happened.

Now, with Trump's return to the White House for his last four years as President, it is incumbent upon us to know how to open this window of opportunity, for the benefit of the settlement enterprise in Yesha and to strengthen Israel's hold over the entire Land of Israel.

As mentioned, the recent months and years under Biden were not at all simple for Israel. His administration's approach was close to a direct continuation of the confrontational line taken by the Obama regime before Trump's first victory. It will be recalled that Biden was Obama's VP then, and it is a fairly open secret that Obama played a large, behind-the-scenes role in the Biden-Harris administration as well.

The now-outgoing US government's conception of what the Middle East must look like stood many times in stark contrast to Israel's view, interests, and core values – and even many times to the United States' core values. We found ourselves having to deal with foreign pressures not only preventing us from decisively defeating Hamas, but also forcing us to restrict Jewish construction – enacting almost a de facto freeze – in Judea and Samaria.

Sanctions
The Biden Administration even went so far as to impose personal sanctions against individuals and organizations active in Yesha on behalf of the Jewish People. This is a disrespectful and even dictatorial move that represents a blatantly brazen intervention in Israel's internal policies. The sanctions were not even only economic. Their objective was rather to restrict the growth of the Jewish communities and signal the essential American opposition to the existence of more than a half-million Jews in these areas.

The severity of these sanctions is such that the routine lives of the affected Jews became intolerable. The incoming Administration must nullify these sanctions on Day One, in order to assure Israel's sovereignty as an independent country, and to enable the residents of Yesha to continue to build their lives in freedom.

We recall Trump's “Middle East Peace Plan,” also known as the “peace plan of the century,” which was unveiled in early 2020 (just around when the Coronavirus was beginning to make its infamous mark around the world). Now, after what happened outside Gaza on Simchat Torah last year, its vision of a Palestinian state alongside Israel is no longer relevant. Between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea there must be only one sovereign state: the State of Israel!

What we must do now, therefore, is to push full steam ahead to promote and advance the establishment of Israel's sovereignty over every Jewish-populated area in Yesha. After 57 years of living here, it is inconceivable that the Jews are still subservient to military orders issued by the official governor, namely, the IDF Central Command. The IDF's civil administration over Yesha must be abolished, and the Jewish populace here must be a totally integral part of the State of Israel under the law.

With President Trump in office, the matter of security in Yesha can also face historical changes. We cannot overlook the fact of the PA military mechanisms that possess huge amounts of armored vehicles and weapons, which in an instant can turn into a threatening scenario against Israel, as happened in the second intifada - and as we are witnessing these very days in the shooting incidents by PA police officers.

The sense of security here, and the very lives of the residents of Yesha, are in constant danger, and this situation cannot continue. The military bodies of Fatah and of the other terrorist organizations must be disarmed, and the area must be completely cleansed of the many illegal weapons that abound. Only Israeli forces may possess weapons and have security authority in the area.

These are absolutely necessary moves that can only be implemented when President Trump assumes his old-new office. We wish him the best of success!

The Mission: To Avoid the Lebanese Swamp – and Bring Peace

by Maj. (res.) Gilad Ach, Chairman of "Reservists of the Victory Generation" and Director of the Ad Kan organization, translated by Hillel Fendel.

The recipe to do so is straightforward, but requires courage.

After more than a month since the beginning of the IDF's campaign against Hizbullah in Lebanon, anyone who took part in the ground offensive can agree on the following facts:

1.    The enemy was significantly weaker than what we expected. In fact, in most of the villages there was hardly any resistance, and whatever military opposition we encountered was overcome fairly quickly.

2.     Our offensive was east-to-west, not deep into more northern Lebanese territory. We sought to "visit" all the villages that are relatively close to Israel, without going to the second-tier villages.

3.     Actually, these weren't exactly villages. The amount of weapons, tunnels, and anti-tank missiles that we found in every house in the Shiite towns and villages, as well as rocket launching pads directed at Israel from every corner, giving them total control over our northern communities, rendered these "villages" genuine military camps, camouflaged by a "combat supporting" civilian populace.

If the Hizbullah leaders – especially the now-deceased Sheikh Nasrallah – had had the time or the notion to order this tremendous military array to attack Israel, the amount of dead and kidnapped Israelis we could have suffered would likely have been much greater than the numbers we experienced on Simchat Torah a year ago.

4.    Lebanon is, indeed, a poor country – but the plethora of large houses, luxury cars, and private swimming pools that we saw, as well as other indications, attest to the unusual wealth of the Shiite population in southern Lebanon.

5.    The UNIFIL peace-keeping forces and the Lebanese Army are an intrinsic part of the game being played there by Iran. They most certainly saw with their own eyes, or otherwise knew of, the tunnel openings, the tunnel excavations, the launch pads, the mining of the roads, the trucks carrying long-range rockets, the explosive drones, and more and more. They saw and were silent. They saw and cooperated with our enemy.

6.    What Israel owes its Mossad and intelligence community people cannot be expressed in words. The reason why Hizbullah is suffering such great losses now is because of the total state of bedlam and confusion it entered as a result of our ingenious beeper-and-pager attacks, as well as the liquidation of Nasrallah shortly afterwards. Basically, the once-arrogant Hizbullah has turned into a mouse running for its life ever since. It is not even able to arm the charges it itself hid in the fields because it is so busy retreating.

All of these facts lead us to the following simple conclusions:

We must not allow a recurrence of that which we experienced with Hizbullah in the past! We have neither the privilege nor the right to enable Hizbullah to rebuild itself and its monstrous array of threats to northern Israel right over our border!

Yes, there is a national fear of sinking into the "Lebanese swamp." Much of the country is still traumatized by the frequent losses we suffered in the years after the Second Lebanese War.

But in order that we not betray the trust that history has granted us, it is my understanding that we actually have no choice but to quickly execute the following four operations:

1.    We must deepen our ground offensive and take it further north, all the way up to the Litani River. Though it flows mostly north to south, its east-west section flows 10 kilometers north of Tyre, about 30 kilometers north of the border with Israel. We must define the entire area of southern Lebanon from Israel to this section of the Litani as a closed military zone, and as a buffer zone with no residents. It will be enclosed by a fence, which already exists on the existing Israeli-Lebanese border, and IDF outposts will populate the area. This will prevent a ground invasion from Lebanon into Israel, of the catastrophic type we experienced last October 7^th, for many years to come.

2.    We can reach a ceasefire agreement with Lebanon – in exchange for the exile of the entire political echelon of Hizbullah, as well as whatever is left of its military leadership. In addition, all still-living terrorists who engaged in firing long-range rockets at us must be extradited to Israel.

3.    The Christian and Druze leaders in Lebanon must be invited and brought to Israel to speak in the Knesset, and we must help bolster their standing in Lebanon.

4.    With American backing, and as part of the ceasefire agreement, the Lebanese unwritten National Pact that mandates the selection of national leaders according to ethnicity must be abolished. There must also be democratic elections for the Parliament, which will release Lebanon from its Shi'ite-Iranian bear hug. For decades, this system has made Lebanon into a country lacking basic governmental stability. [The present situation is that the president must be a Maronite Christian, the speaker of the Parliament - a Shi'ite Muslim, and the prime minister must be a Sunni Muslim. According to Wikipedia, efforts to alter or abolish this system have been at the center of Lebanese politics for decades. - HF]

These actions are the only ones that can save us from the mistakes we made after the First and Second Lebanese Wars. They can also help save Lebanon from its Iranian captors, and bring quiet to our northern border for many years forward.

We can only hope for, and demand, the necessary courage and maneuverings in the political sphere of the type that have served us so well on the battlefield.