Less than three years ago, in March 2022, I stood on stage at the Negev Summit near Ben-Gurion's grave and shook hands with the foreign ministers of Egypt, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and the United States. We signed agreements to establish working groups and joint regional ventures. We were in the midst of an economic boom, and our military power was at its peak. It was a moment of Israeli strength.
A year ago, on October 6, 2023, our enemies declared, "This is the moment to attack Israel; it will never be weaker than it is now." The judicial overhaul, the legitimization of Kahanism, the attack on democracy, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Yariv Levin's government, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s disregard of all warnings—all of these led us to Israel's weakest moment.
When was Israel attacked? When did our enemies think they had an opportunity? It was at the moment we became less of a law-abiding state, less liberal, less faithful to our promise to adhere to the values of our Declaration of Independence. The timing of the October 7 massacre was not coincidental. At the moment we were the least democratic, we also suffered the worst and most horrific attack in our history. Israeli deterrence failed.
When has Israeli deterrence been successful? When have our enemies looked at us and seen a strong and powerful country that they should be wary of? What caused the Arab world, and the Western world, just three years ago, to look at Israel and say, "These people cannot be defeated!" What did they see?
The answer is that they saw technological sophistication. They saw the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and the Weizmann Institute of Science. They saw an unparalleled alliance with the Americans, based on shared values. They saw how this alliance was reflected in the building of our military power. They saw the best air force in the world and the world's first laser missile defense system. They saw a hi-tech economy that enabled us to maintain and develop our army. They saw a strong, creative, and patriotic middle class consistently prepared to enlist in the reserves. They saw foreign investments flowing into Israel. They saw the only model of a nation in the world that truly works: a liberal democracy with technological superiority.
They also saw a country not led by fear and paranoia, but by originality, courage, and optimism. We believed in ourselves, we believed in each other, and therefore, they believed in us too. We thought that freedom, human rights, and the rule of law were the source of our internal strength, and they looked at us and saw that we were truly strong.
Israel's sources of strength
Our enemies only understand power, which is their main weakness. We understand science, technology, international relations, and strategic thinking. We understand what the country our children will live in 50 years from now should look like. We understand that democracy is not just better than a radical, messianic theocracy—it is also stronger. We must be the most creative, the most liberal, the most curious, and the most tolerant. That is our source of strength. There is no other.
What is especially worrying is that even a year after the disaster, we have not learned any lessons. Even today, Ben-Gvir, Bezalel Smotrich, and the messianic group surrounding them are proposing to repeat the same mistake that made us weakened—completely abandoning the foundation of Israeli strength. They tell us, "Let’s speak the only language understood in the Middle East. Let’s drop nuclear bombs on Gaza, and let’s starve children because no one in Gaza is innocent."
Let's put the morality of this aside for a moment—forget that this rhetoric goes against the moral Jewish mindset—because it also doesn’t work. It doesn’t deter Hamas, it doesn’t deter Hezbollah, and it doesn’t frighten the Iranians. The only ones scared by this rhetoric are our allies around the world. Our enemies are delighted by it. The BDS movement is thrilled because we’re doing their work for them. The Iranians, the terrorist organizations, the antisemites on TikTok and university campuses—they’re happy. Every time Israel acts like its enemies, their job becomes easier.
Hassan Nasrallah was killed by advanced munitions fired from an American-made aircraft, piloted by one of the people David Amsalem called "anarchists," and who Shlomo Karhi told to "go to hell." Well, they went to hell, killed Nasrallah, and came back. They went to defend the only state the Jewish people have, out of commitment and belief that they are defending a good and just nation fighting against religious fanaticism, not on behalf of it.
These pilots tell to themselves that they are not fighting for the government—they are fighting for the country. But this disassociation will not hold for much longer—not for the world and not for Israeli society. A government that casts aside the police, the courts, respect for the law, and human rights also casts aside its technological advantage, its international support, entrepreneurship, and investments—all the foundations of Israeli strength.
Israel's virtues and superiority
In a messianic Israel that "speaks the language of the Middle East," there will be no hi-tech industry. It won’t be getting F-35s from the Americans, and it won’t win. There will only be bloodshed and loss. There will be nothing left. Democracy is not a weakness; it is a source of power. The decision to be the only democracy in the Middle East did not come from not understanding where we live, but precisely because we did understand. We looked around us and understood that the only way to confront and defeat the radical forces that want to destroy us is to be the exact opposite of them.
Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, Syria, and Yemen are much better than us at being ignorant, backward, and fanatic. Religious wars and revenge come naturally to them. We are better than them at being progressive, sophisticated, and technologically advanced. We are better at forming alliances with the strongest countries in the world. We know how to build a strong state and society based on ideals like freedom, civil rights, and equal opportunities. If we are like that, we can win, and they stand no chance against us.
The State of Israel was born after the Holocaust. Zionism is the most awe-inspiring event of the 20th century because it was the greatest victory of hope over despair. We didn’t sink into bloodshed, we didn’t waste our lives on revenge. We built, created, and developed something amazing. We didn’t just fight to survive, we also fought for the values we believe in. That’s what we must do now as well. The first step should be a new government. It will allow us to return to our roots, to be Zionist, liberal, patriotic, and democratic. Because that is our worldview, because those are our values, because that is the only way to win.