Exactly 100 years ago, in his seminal essay, “The Iron Wall,” revisionist leader Ze’ev Jabotinsky wrote these words: “As long as the Arabs feel that there is the least hope of getting rid of us, they will refuse to give up this hope in return for either kind words or for bread and butter.”
Sadly, we witnessed this on many occasions over the last century and in ferocious and bestial form on October 7.
The rape of women, the murder and beheading of children, and the kidnapping of old women have left us in shock and horror, unable to fathom the ideology that led to these and many other atrocities.
What we have to understand is that the key to this conflict is hope.
For too long, we have scoffed at the incitement emanating from Hamas and Fatah which not only call for the elimination of the Jewish state but constantly drum into their followers that it is possible and will happen soon.
Many still believe the Jewish State is on borrowed time
On the 75th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel, the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research found that 66% of Palestinians believed that Israel would not celebrate its 100th anniversary. Only 27% thought that the Jewish state would still exist in 25 years.
This well-publicized poll was met with a collective shrug by all who read it.
We did not take it seriously because, to many in Israel, it is fantastical. The idea that the State of Israel, something that we have yearned for 2,000 years will not exist in just over a generation is, to most of us, pure fantasy.
The point shouldn’t be, however, whether it is realistic or not, but whether it is widely believed by our enemies.
The Palestinians believe it, and as a result, they actively work towards its realization. This is what drives every stone thrown, every bullet shot, every rocket launched, and every terrorist attack for generations.
It is also certain that when those monsters of October 7 set out to rape, maim, kidnap, and murder, they believed that their actions were hastening the end of Jewish sovereignty in its ancestral and indigenous homeland.
Theirs was an act imbued with a horrific grotesque frenzy, mixed with hope and belief.
It is certain that every single one of these mass murderers believed that Israel was on its way out, and they were bringing this dream a step closer.
We must send a message that we are here to stay, period.
To prevent this and every other type of terrorist act in the future, our goals of the war cannot just be to destroy Hamas rule in Gaza and bring back all of the hostages, it must also be to send a strong and resolute message to all Palestinians that the Jewish State is permanent and will not fall.
Not in 25 years, not in 250 years, nor beyond.
While we operate in and around Gaza, our enemies in Tehran, Beirut, and Ramallah are watching. They are waiting to see how a bloody and bruised Israel reacts to one of the weakest in their alliance.
The state of Israel must ensure such a resounding victory over Hamas and Islamic Jihad that it will reverberate around the region.
It must finally adopt the Iron Wall strategy, which is, in Jabotinsky’s words, a “strong power that is not amenable to Arab pressure.”
Jabotinsky understood that Arab acceptance will only come after they see and feel sheer Jewish force. They will come and seek peace only when they witness the resolute and permanent nature of our power. In other words, they will be forced to give up on their goal and dream of ending the Jewish State.
We have sought to do this in the past through concessions, compromise, and peace agreements. We have tried “kind words” and offering “bread and butter”, and they have all been thrown back in our faces.
As Jabotinsky ended the “Iron Wall” essay, “the only way to reach an agreement in the future is to abandon all idea of seeking an agreement at present.”
First, we must force the recalcitrant Arabs to give up their dream of eventually destroying the State of Israel and fight Palestinian violent rejectionism using all of our force, and when this has been achieved, then, and only then, can we start to talk about some type of long-term agreement.
The problem over the last 100 years is that we have got the order wrong, and it has blown up in our faces.
As we are still in shock and trauma over the October 7 massacre, the November 7 anniversary of the publication of the “Iron Wall” should serve as our blueprint for how we act moving forward.
The Iron Wall was not something physical, but an unerring and unceasing security doctrine for the future Jewish State that understood the nature of our enemies and how the conflict must end.
Only an Iron Wall can achieve peace and security for Israel.
It is time to build it.
The writer is the director of the Middle East Forum, Israel office, which directs the Israel Victory Project.