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Source: https://www.israelhayom.com/2026/06/10/israel-has-no-choice-but-to-risk-open-conflict-with-trump/
When Israel Has Insisted on Its Sovereign Security Needs, It Has Earned Respect
(Israel Hayom) Amb. Michael Oren - Ever since President Dwight D. Eisenhower demanded that Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion halt the Israel Defense Forces' campaign against Egypt in Sinai in 1956, and later withdraw from Gaza, the U.S. has consistently forced Israel to stop fighting and agree to a ceasefire. That was true in the 1967 Six-Day War, which Israel wanted to continue for an eighth day; in the 1973 Yom Kippur War; in both Lebanon wars; and in all our operations in Gaza. Historically, U.S. presidents not only ordered Israel to stop fighting, they also opposed its decision to go to war in the first place. Yet Israel's leaders determined that our basic security was at stake and decided to act, despite the risk of a rift with Washington. Ironically, every time Israel defied the White House and went to war, in 1948, in 1967, and in the 1981 strike on Iraq's nuclear reactor, we earned America's respect. Every time we surrendered to pressure and showed restraint, in 1973 and in the 1991 Gulf War, we earned America's contempt. Hizbullah will undoubtedly violate any ceasefire and continue attacking us. As in the past, Israel will have no choice but to act to defend the north, even if doing so risks not only war with Iran, but also an open confrontation with President Trump. With its eyes wide open to the potential cost, Israel must show that it is a sovereign country with an unshakable duty to defend its territory and its citizens. In the end, if history is our guide, Trump will respect us for it. The writer was Israel's ambassador to the U.S., 2009-13.