As Israeli citizens run to bomb shelters again and again from Lebanese fire, and as a new deal with Iran takes shape in Washington, one question sharpens: Will Israel shape its own security future, or wait for others to do it?
It’s easy to get swept up in daily headlines. Another barrage from Lebanon, another strike in Dahieh, another senior terrorist eliminated. But the real picture is far broader. Hezbollah is a serious threat, but it’s not Israel’s strategic problem. Neither are the Houthis or Shiite militias. They’re all arms of Iran, which for decades has built a ring of fire around Israel to wage war through proxies.
So the real question isn’t how to respond to more fire from Lebanon. The question is whether Israel is ready to make clear that responsibility for the war waged by its proxies rests first and foremost with the regime in Tehran.
The American negotiations with Iran and the campaign in Lebanon aren’t two separate events. They’re the exact same campaign. If Iran keeps its nuclear program, its missile array, and the proxy network it built across the Middle East, no tactical achievement in Lebanon will change the strategic reality.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance said recently that even the world wars ended in agreements. He’s right. Except those agreements were signed only after the aggressor was defeated. Germany, Japan, and the Ottoman Empire didn’t get a chance to recover militarily during negotiations. History teaches that stable agreements are signed after a decision, not instead of one.
After nearly three years of war, Israel doesn’t have the privilege of folding just when the future of the Middle East is being decided. We paid a heavy price in blood. Thousands of families lost loved ones, hundreds of thousands of citizens bore the burden of reserve duty, and the Israeli economy took a severe hit. All that price wasn’t paid to return to square one, with Iran keeping most of its capabilities and continuing to threaten Israel through its proxies.
Precisely because of this, if Israel is fated to confront the American administration, it’s better that it be over the most important question for its security and future. Better an argument with our great friend over the Iranian threat than quiet agreement that allows that threat to grow. If there’s a diplomatic price to pay, it should be for Israel’s existential interest, not for one tactical confrontation or another in Lebanon.
This isn’t a call for confrontation with the United States. On the contrary. The alliance with the United States is a top strategic asset, and it must be preserved. But friendship isn’t dependence, and alliance isn’t surrender of independent judgment. History teaches that nations respect allies who know how to stand up for their vital interests.
Hezbollah is an arm. The Houthis are an arm. Hamas is an arm. Iran is the head. After nearly three years of war, Israel can’t settle for striking the arms and accept the continued strengthening of the head.
This is also a test for the prime minister. For decades, Benjamin Netanyahu presented Iran as the greatest strategic threat to Israel. He warned against its nuclear program, its military buildup, and the proxy network it built around us. The events of October 7 and the war that followed demonstrated how real that threat is.
Mr. Prime Minister, if the struggle against Iran is indeed your life’s political and security work, the hour of testing has arrived. This isn’t the time to settle for managing the war against the proxies while their patron continues to grow stronger. This also isn’t the time to accept regional arrangements that could perpetuate the Iranian threat.
Israel must not be the Czechoslovakia of the twenty-first century. It must not discover that others decided for it what its security borders will be and what threat it’s allowed to confront.
There are moments in history when a nation must make clear that some issues aren’t open to negotiation. We’re in such a moment. Israel should strive for cooperation with the United States, but if it’s required to stand its ground against its greatest friend, it’s better that it be over the most existential issue facing it. Not over Iran’s proxies, but over Iran itself. After nearly three years of war, Israel doesn’t have the moral right toward its fighters and citizens to settle for less than that.