(Free Press) Oliver Wiseman - Haviv Rettig Gur, senior analyst at the Times of Israel, described to me a country clear-eyed about what its objectives are in this war, determined to finish the job, and unlikely to be swayed by outside pressure. He said President Biden understood on day one that he did not have the option to prevent the war. Biden had to choose between a big, multifront war in which Israel feels very vulnerable and fights much more ferociously, or giving Israel a bear hug to make it feel safe and allowed to fight carefully and slowly. He did the latter. Joe Biden saved a lot of Palestinian lives. He also saved a lot of Israeli lives, in embracing Israel. If the Democratic Party's left wing had been in charge, this war would be twice as bad for Palestinians. On Oct. 7, Israelis woke up to the idea that we had completely misunderstood the enemy, their threats, and this immense noose that Iran has built around us. Israel's security situation is better, not worse, now because we now know how bad it is. There is a willingness to fight this war to the end, whatever it takes. The enemy has convinced most ordinary Israelis that they genuinely want to murder us all. If the Israeli public doesn't have a government that gets rid of Hamas, it will replace it with one that does. Israel will get rid of Hamas. Hamas' only choice is the price Israelis and Palestinians are going to pay for that to happen.
2024-01-10 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive