“On this day, Simchat Torah we must set aside our joy and mourn our losses. We must put our differences aside and unite and fight for our families, our homes and our homeland.” — Michael Oren, Israel’s Ambassador to the U.S. (2009-2013)

Like America after 9-11, Israel is united.

Yet, in both countries, nihilists question their nation’s moral legitimacy. They also favor radical judges who no longer interpret law, but make it. But Israel Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu overreached with his judicial reform plan. And his opposition also overreacted. A couple of weeks ago, even the brilliant historian Michael Oren seemed to suggest a connection between the Yom Kippur War a half century ago and “LGTBQ rights” today (he forgot the trendy “+” ).

But Oren is also right. Although Netanyahu’s tenuous coalition relies on the growing ultra-orthodox parties, they must not force their religious observance or turn back the clock on women. This war reminds us that Israel is a small nation; its survival requires a universal military. Instead of refusing to serve, halakhic Jews should be inspired by their legendary rabbi and foremost Talmudic scholar, the heroic IDF General Shlomo Goren.

Oren is the author, among his several books, of the definitive work Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East. If you haven’t read it, get it. American born and educated, and the son of a U.S. Army infantry officer who served in World War II and the Korean War, Oren emigrated to Israel in 1979.

In a later book Ally: My Journey Across the American-Israeli Divide,Oren described his frustration as Israel’s ambassador in dealing with President Barack Obama and his State Department sycophants, given Obama’s obsessive infatuation with the Muslim world and his alienation of moderate Arabs — amidst his destructive engagement with Iran. In 2015, when Oren was touring the U.S. to oppose Obama’s disastrous deal with Iran, he told me of his apprehension about the possibility of what we now know as “Israel’s 9-11.” Even then, he spoke of a Gaza attack in the South, perhaps coordinated with the huge number of Hezbollah rockets in Syria and Lebanon to attack the north, as part of Iran’s proxy war to destroy Israel, and the concern about what might be called “GPS arming,” and the doomsday scenario of an Iran nuclear capability. And we saw this weekend some form of “smarter rockets.” Oren also was concerned about the obvious — no matter the latest generation of Iron Dome or advanced tech, any defense system has its limit and can be overwhelmed. (READ MORE from Arnold Steinberg: Reflections on Putin’s Invasion)

The Israel U.S. Alliance

Obama, who insisted on putting “daylight” between the U.S. and Israel, created an Iranian “deal” to postpone and ultimately accept Iran’s nuclear capability (that deal should have been legally contested to require two-thirds U.S. Senate approval) that not only sold out our ally Israel but drove a wedge between America and our Arab friends, including Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, Obama and Biden both directly or indirectly interfered in Israeli elections. This recalls Bill Clinton, who favored Ehud Barak for Prime Minister, and Clinton’s reckless proposal for Israel to give back the Golan Heights to Syria. After the First Gulf War, Palestinian “leader” Yassir Arafat was discredited, his Palestinian organization weak; but instead of supporting Israel, Clinton restored Arafat, a terrorist, a crook and a pedophile to stature and power.

All this is nothing new. Former President Jimmy Carter in 1979 enabled the fall of the pro-Western Shah of Iran. With all his faults, the Shah not only was our loyal friend, but he was — at the height of the Cold War — a bulwark against the Soviet Union. He was far from perfect, but in the Middle East which has been charitably called “a bad neighborhood,” the Shah was a reformer open to change. Yet, thanks to the disingenuous “human rights” supporter Carter, Iran — once vibrant and dynamic— now is the quintessential repressive state, backward in time. Where the Shah’s wife was respected and influential, women in Iran are oppressed. And thanks to Carter who betrayed the Shah, the Iranian coup launched the Islamist revolution that has pursued intimidation, violence, and terrorism for more than four decades since. Carter, who just turned 99, masqueraded in his later years as a revisionist historian, in fact, a virulent critic of Israel.

Donald Trump has numerous faults and deep flaws. But it’s a wonder a failed district attorney in another broken American city isn’t prosecuting Trump for the Abraham Accords. In fact, that triumph is a milestone that repudiated the worldview of Carter, Clinton, Obama, Biden, and the State Department Arabists who said the Middle East is all about something called “the Palestinian problem” — never defined precisely. The Democrats long claimed they favored — but then opposed — what Trump did, recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Democrats insisted Jerusalem had to remain negotiable, but Trump took it off the table, creating reality.

Trump had as U.S. Ambassador to Israel his friend and lawyer, David Friedman, who chronicled in his book Sledgehammer how Trump backed him against the State Department. Remember, there is only one Israel, but many Arab nations with ambassadors and state department “desks.” Rather than being captive of the cliche of more than half a century — that U.S. policy in the region should be “even-handed” — Trump told Friedman that Israel is an ally and the U.S. supports a friend.  What a concept!

The result, in large part due to Jared Kushner, is that the Arab world realized that (a) Israel will not be driven into the sea; (b) the Palestinian leaders and Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran are the principal obstacles to peace and prosperity in the region; (c) a bright future requires friendship and partnership with Israel.

The first U.S. Embassy response Saturday morning, now taken down, was for Israel to “show restraint” —  a precursor to criticizing how Israel will respond, and eventually the inevitable U.N. Security Council resolution to condemn Israel.  After that, we always hear — via CNN, NPR, BBC, NYT, WaPo, LAT — about the “cycle of violence” — equating Israel’s response to the terrorism to the terrorism itself. Already,  Bill Clinton’s Secretary of Defense William Cohen has called for “proportionate response.” You don’t deter bad guys by killing an equal number to your dead.  (READ MORE: Is Ally Support for Israel Firm?)

Hamas launches rockets from nurseries, schools, hospitals; Hamas SOP:  maximize the death of their own people and children, who are mere props. For Israel to avoid those casualties, it must incur more casualties, with a large-scale ground incursion against terrorists who don’t value human life, even their own.  Even the technique to go house-to-house by going through interior walls can be a death-trap for many IDF soldiers.

And there’s the same punchline among Western media — we must solve the Palestinian “refugee problem” (from the 1940s).  But most of them have left or died from aging. The hardliners nurture generations of new “refugees” who live in contrived poverty. Israel left Gaza years ago. Gaza could be prosperous but Palestinian leaders choose victimhood and squalor, and Hamas rules Gaza with violence. Without Iran’s funding and logistics, Hamas and Hezbollah would have to scale down. But Obama favored engaging, rather than isolating Iran, and so does Biden.

Netanyahu spent more time with Putin and had a better relationship with him than with Obama; Putin has had a curious attachment to the Jewish state. But ever since Israel (with hesitation) backed Ukraine, Putin has been aloof. We may know sooner than later:  Will the Russian military command in Syria continue to allow Israel air attacks on Hezbollah there? Putin appreciates that Iran has been providing drones for his war in Ukraine, but perhaps Putin has his hands full, without engaging Israel in the sky above Syria.

Biden’s (“rock solid and unwavering”) reaction to the attack on Israel was surprisingly coherent, which means he probably was on medication. We don’t know, because the legacy media won’t insist on full medical disclosure. And then we have Kamala Harris. At least she is not insisting that the IDF expand its pronouns, or other nonsense Biden is imposing on the American military.  Good officers are not reenlisting, and recruitment goals are missed.  The IDF remains focused, but Israel has a small population, with compulsory military service; the total call-up of reservists takes men and women away from their family and jobs and jeopardizes the economy.

But what of the Republicans? The Speaker of the House of Representative is not a ceremonial post. It is, among its manifold and serious responsibilities, next in line (after Harris) for presidential succession.  Kevin McCarthy had grown in the job. If the Mideast War started ten days ago, Kevin McCarthy during this crisis would not have been challenged. Thanks to the narcissistic Martian Matt Gaetz, the Republicans appear implausible to lead, let alone assume the presidency.  And self-promoter Gaetz is already sending email appeals (“I stood up to the entire Swamp and removed Kevin McCarthy as Speaker…SAVE GAETZ…rush an emergency donation.”)

“The terrorist attack on Israel today is an assault on Western Civilization,” Sen. Tim Scott said.  But students today are not taught about Western civilization, or they are taught it is built on white supremacy.  They don’t know their nation’s origins — its founding is rooted in the Hebrew Bible and Christianity.  So Israel is more than a strategic ally. (READ MORE: Hamas Attacks Israel on the 50th Anniversary of the October 1973 War)

Biden rebuked Netanyahu for his judicial reform plan and in recent months ostracized him. Biden’s theme is that democracy is threatened, and presumably Netanyahu in his parliamentary system, is an autocrat. Never mind that the Biden Administration’s collusion with Big Tech to control freedom of speech and its using the Department of Justice and FBI to suppress information during an election comprise the real threat to democracy.

Even as Saudi Arabia and Israel were making progress, Senate Democrats insisted that any agreement must include concessions by Israel. But Hamas doesn’t want a Palestinian state; it fights a permanent religious war to exterminate Jews. We will be told this war is Israel’s fault, because (a) Israel doesn’t treat people in Gaza humanely. But Hamas rules Gaza, brutally; and (b) Israel is an “apartheid state” but the nation’s Arab residents have equal rights and live better economically that most Arabs elsewhere.

Sen. Tim Scott is right to say Biden’s policies invited this war.  The White House said the $6 billion the U.S. provided to Iran for a few hostages has not been spent, so the money is not funding Iran’s proxy Hamas to wage this war. But money is fungible, meaning that the “humanitarian” funds enable Iran to divert that same amount from its budget for food/medicine to the terrorism/killing budget.

Sen. Scott was also right to propose the Sixth Fleet, and while those deterrent forces will be in harm’s way, we’re not talking about U.S. boots on the ground, unless U.S. special operators try to rescue Americans in Gaza, an unlikely prospect. The ultimate question is whether the Biden Administration’s laudable support of Israel will be conditional. Secretary of State Antony Blinken already is talking about the “Palestinian problem.”

So what happens now?

The IDF will not merely decapitate Hamas senior leaders but assassinate lower levels as well. If the West Bank erupts, it will be closed. If Hezbollah attacks from the North, the IDF will respond swiftly, with destruction. The anti-Israel hysteria on American campuses and BDS movement will be on hiatus, until the IDF is gaining, and then it’s back to Democrats saying Israeli policies lead desperate people to become violent.

The argument over “judicial reform” in Israel will seem trivial. Israel will see unity, in the same way Americans united after 9-11. We’re going to see a difficult and likely protracted war, including the IDF into Gaza. The IDF will not merely decapitate Hamas senior leaders but assassinate lower levels as well. If the West Bank erupts, it will be closed. If Hezbollah attacks from the North, the IDF will respond swiftly, with destruction. The anti-Israel hysteria on American campuses and BDS movement will be on hiatus, until the IDF is gaining, and then it’s back to AOC and the Squad saying Israeli policies lead desperate people to become violent.

What Can We Learn About Israel’s 9-11?

Gaza is not the West Bank. Besides, Israel’s network of human sources in Gaza has depreciated. Hamas has been finding and liquidating suspected informers. Moreover, fewer people know (limited) and only what they need to know (compartment). Drone surveillance and eavesdropping are not dispositive. And the bad actors are not using email, texting, or cell phones. They talk in person, perhaps even with counter-measures. The teams likely trained separately and did not know the scope and size of the operation, where they would infiltrate, or when it would occur.  But only the most brutal were selected — men who could kidnap, maim and kill women and children. It seems the rocket attacks were a diversion and cover for — a distraction from — the terrorist attacks on the ground. (READ MORE: Israel 50 Years On: Blessings and Challenges)

All that said, given Iran’s involvement, it’s curious that Israeli intelligence monitoring Iran did not see this war coming. The eventual Israeli inquiry will be more profound than the post-mortem on Israel’s failure to anticipate the Yom Kippur War a half century ago.

Ironically, the barbarity of Hamas will — for a time — restore Israel’s image as an underdog under siege, not the “occupier” who oppresses.  But Israel does not want to be a victim to gain sympathy.  Recall that on June 22, 1982 when Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin was testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Joe Biden threatened Begin with cutting off aid. Begin said:

Don’t threaten us with cutting off your aid. It will not work. I am not a Jew with trembling knees. I am a proud Jew with 3,700 years of civilized history. Nobody came to our aid when we were dying in the gas chambers and ovens. Nobody came to our aid when we were striving to create our country. We paid for it. We fought for it. We died for it. We will stand by our principles. We will defend them. And, when necessary, we will die for them again, with or without your aid.

This attack on Israel required many months of preparation, miraculous without leaks. The sophistication is beyond Hamas, the execution and timing uncharacteristic. Terrorists prefer symbolic dates, like the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, which started on October 6, 1973. But on the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur occurred nearly two weeks ago. Hamas calculated the Israelis would be complacent afterwards and shrewdly selected the Jewish holiday Simchat Torah which this year occurred on Saturday, the Israel sabbath.

The media refer to “Gaza militants.” But these are not military soldiers observing the rules of war in combat. They are terrorists who murder civilians, not as collateral damage in the fog of war, but intentionally. As Mark Levin noted, people who kill Jews just because they are Jews, we called such people … Nazis; the so-called “two-state solution” is the “Final Solution.” (READ MORE: The Gathering Middle Eastern Storm: Israel’s Dilemma — Part Four)

Hamas doesn’t produce anything except terror. It is funded by Iran, and Biden has found ways to ease sanctions, enabled Iran to sell more oil, and otherwise provided funds to Iran. Biden did away with Trump’s suspension of aid to Palestinian bodies that reward the families of terrorists.  If Israel is attacked, Trump said let Israel decide what to do. We’ll see as this war goes on if Biden, like his mentor Obama, rebukes Netanyahu and withholds U.S. military supplies. In contrast, and omitted from the movie Golda, in 1973 Richard Nixon, himself under siege and facing impeachment, saved Israel (as Golda Meir herself said) with a massive airlift. “Give Israel everything they need,” ordered Nixon in the middle of the night.

Hamas hates America. Will they come for us?

Biden sponsors open borders.

Biden gets up in the middle of the night to eat oatmeal.

He will not run for re-election.