77 imperatives for an Israeli victory Ruthie Blum

Posted By on May 4th, 2025

https://www.jns.org/77-imperatives-for-an-israeli-victory/

This year, Israel marked Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha’atzmaut with an additional reminder of its enemies’ genocidal intentions. Before Memorial Day mourning made way for Independence Day celebrations, multiple wildfires spread across a large area between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

Though an investigation into the initial blaze was inconclusive, with the conflagration being attributed to a combination of climate conditions and hikers’ negligence, there’s no question that arsonists stepped in to heighten the crisis. For one thing, some perpetrators were caught on video, and three suspects were arrested for questioning.

For another, Arab social media was abuzz with calls to go out and “burn Israel to the ground.” With jihad in the air, even the slightest desert breeze—certainly a dry heat wave with high winds—can wreak major havoc.

And as the country’s firefighters, with the help of police and soldiers, battled the flames, the Houthis spent the days launching missiles at Israel from Yemen. Thankfully, neither led to a loss of life.

The same can’t be said about 19-year-old Israel Defense Forces Sgt. Niv Dayag from Ramat Hasharon, however. He was killed on Thursday in Gaza.

Meanwhile, the IDF was striking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon; tackling hostile activities in Syria; preparing for a confrontation with Iran; taking out terrorists in Judea and Samaria; and amassing troops to step up military pressure on Hamas.

This is how Israel marked its 77th birthday. Not with quiet reflection followed by cheerful fanfare, but under attack on all fronts, including that involving civil strife.

The latter, as usual, was characterized by a media chorus, echoed by a certain vociferous sector of the public, demanding an end to the war and ridiculing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for reiterating the goal of “victory.”

As a tribute to this bittersweet milestone, the following is a list of 77 reasons—one for each year since the establishment of the state—for the existential necessity of victory. Indeed, winning the war will:
  1. be the best answer to the Hamas invasion and massacre on Oct. 7, 2023.
  2. rehabilitate the public’s shattered sense of security.
  3. provide the bereaved with the comfort that their loved ones didn’t die in vain.
  4. honor the memory of those raped, brutalized and slaughtered 19 months ago—and throughout Israeli and Jewish history.
  5. create deterrence—not the false sense of it that was rampant prior to Oct. 7.
  6. heal societal rifts born of malaise.
  7. unite the bulk of the populace around the concepts of Jewish survival, sovereignty and strength.
  8. silence radical voices blaming Israel for its own victimhood.
  9. revive Zionism as a modern ideal.
  10. boost morale in the ravaged periphery.
  11. give meaning to the sacrifices of the reservists who dropped everything to defend their country.
  12. reaffirm that Jewish blood isn’t cheap.
  13. calm internal chaos and confusion.
  14. provide clarity to a society often struggling with identity.
  15. turn grief into national purpose.
  16. counter the humiliation of having been caught by surprise by enemies believing Israel was weak.
  17. restore trust in the military and security apparatuses.
  18. drown out the din of defeatists.
  19. enable real rebuilding of the north and south of the country.
  20. inspire a new generation to strive for leadership positions.
  1. put to rest the claim that it requires relinquishing the hostages.
  2. show Israel’s enemies that they are no match for the Jewish state.
  3. cut the oxygen to terrorist leverage.
  4. serve as an example to the world about defeating evil, not negotiating with it.
  5. illustrate that beating foes bent on Israel’s destruction is a moral imperative, not simply a military one.
  1. send a message to the mullahs of the Islamic Republic that the Jewish state is not up for elimination.
  2. convey to Hezbollah that Israel won’t tolerate terror anywhere near its borders.
  3. hamper proxy warfare.
  4. dismantle the dream of a terror crescent from Tehran to the Mediterranean.
  5. open the door for normalization with Saudi Arabia.
  6. strengthen the existing Abraham Accords partners.
  7. embolden the anti-Iran axis.
  8. expose Qatar as the terror-sponsoring outlier that it is, not a “peace” mediator.
  9. encourage moderate Muslims to reject jihadist ideology.
  10. reestablish Israel as the region’s powerhouse.
  11. enhance existing economic partnerships and pave the way for future ones.
  12. force Hamas’s supporters and enablers to recalculate.
  13. accelerate intelligence cooperation with Arab partners.
  14. put the Palestinian Authority on notice that inciting and funding terrorism has dire consequences.
  15. douse the fantasy of a “two-state solution.”
  1. attest to the corruption and antisemitism of the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice.
  2. stifle the United Nations and make it even more irrelevant than it already is.
  3. separate genuine allies from hypocritical “friends.”
  4. vindicate unwavering backers of Israel and those who woke up to reality after Oct. 7.
  5. teach the West that it can’t take its freedoms for granted and turn a blind eye to Islamist infiltration.
  6. make a mockery of “progressives” parroting the pro-jihad narrative.
  7. prove that liberal democracies can—and must—defend themselves.
  8. constitute a shout-out to Europe that appeasement is suicidal.
  9. underscore the propaganda behind the slogan “from the river to the sea” and the ignorance of fellow travelers chanting it at protests.
  10. shame the legacy media for its complicity in antisemitic violence and blood libels.
  11. promote the principle of preemptive self-defense.
  12. amplify Israel’s voice in international diplomacy.
  13. rejuvenate Israel’s position as a global leader in counterterrorism.
  14. reinforce Israel’s military alliances.
  15. highlight the mendacity of “human rights” groups that single out Israel for condemnation.
  16. give backbone to Western leaders under pressure from radical-leftist mobs.
  17. demean the BDS movement.
  18. tarnish attempts to equate Israel with genocidal jihadists.
  1. bind Diaspora Jews to Israel through pride, not “constructive criticism.”
  2. demonstrate that “Am Yisrael Chai” is not a meme; it’s a mission.
  3. teach Jewish students not to cower on campus.
  4. reawaken Jewish resilience.
  5. realize the vow of “Never Again.”
  6. enhance the conviction that peace is achieved through strength, not surrender.
  7. intensify Jewish identity.
  8. reduce the secular-religious divide.
  9. drive home that Israel is a shield for Jews and the West.
  1. call attention to the struggle between good and evil.
  2. confirm that civilization can’t bow to barbarism.
  3. sever the temporary-ceasefire cycle.
  4. cause Israel’s enemies to reconsider their next attacks.
  5. spur optimism among Israelis unable to envision a post-war reality.
  6. stain the jihadist blueprint.
  7. signal to Israeli kids that serving in the IDF is not just a duty; it’s a privilege.
  8. validate the Israeli government’s unwillingness to retreat.
  9. command the world’s respect.
  10. instill a crucial dose of Israeli self-respect.

Pessimists are failing to note—or purposely obfuscating—the accomplishments made thus far on and beyond the battlefield. This is partly the result of impatience, a well-known Israeli trait.

More importantly, it’s because 59 of the 251 captives are still in Gaza, up to 24 of whom are hanging on for dear life. The tragic irony is that concern for their welfare is responsible for the pace and precision of IDF movement in the Strip.

But speeding things up by capitulating to the monsters committing the torture is not an option. Nor would doing so guarantee the release of all the hostages; it would only ensure the next mass murder and kidnapping of innocent Israelis.

At a time like this, Winston Churchill’s words come to mind: “If you’re going through hell, keep going.”

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