The 1967 Six-Day War ended with what many people considered a miracle. It allowed Israel to do what it could not do during the War of Independence 19 years earlier: Liberate Jerusalem and unite the capital; take control over the ancient parts of our homeland in Judea and Samaria, and get defensible borders.
But the Cold War at the time, and the fact that Israel's stunning victory happened so fast, made it virtually impossible to translate the decisive military a new geopolitical reality that favors Israel.
It took dozens of years until the scope of the victory finally dawned on Israeli leaders, and only then did they start to harness the victory, with baby steps.
Israel annexed Jerusalem, then it extended sovereignty to the Golan Heights, and built communities in Judea and Samaria. But this has been a drawn-out process. In fact, even today, some on the Left think they can make Israel go back to the pre-1967 lines, or what former Foreign Minister Abba Eban referred to as "the Auschwitz borders."
The notion that Israel should withdraw from the West Bank was a folly that was promoted during the 1990s.
The rationale behind the Oslo Accords was that they were in Israel's interest. But the concessions only inflicted major casualties on Israel and undermined our right to the land in the eyes of the international community.
History proved to be stronger than the Left and international pressure. Thanks to the residents of Judea and Samaria and successive right-wing governments (and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's careful stewardship over the past decade), Israel managed to survive.
The eight years of President Barack Obama were particularly difficult. Had Netanyahu not been able to withstand his pressure with such skill, Israel could have been badly bruised.
Now Israel is once again at a historic crossroads. There is no daylight between Jerusalem and Washington on the cardinal issues.
With Donald Trump in the White House, we should harness this unique moment in history to cement the victory of 1967 and reap actual gains from that war.
How symbolic is it that the latest political drama that saw the Knesset dissolve and call early election happened close to the anniversary of the Six-Day War.
Let's not forget that the person who brought about this situation is none other than Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Lieberman, who considers himself a champion of the land of Israel.
The fall of 2019 was supposed to present us with an unprecedented opportunity to apply Israeli sovereignty to Judea and Samaria, but instead, we will be bogged down by the new election over the coming months.
By the time a new government is sworn in the 2020 campaign will have already begun. With Trump fully consumed by the race, the likelihood of him agreeing to Israeli annexation during such a sensitive period will be significantly lower than it is today.
Lieberman decided to prefer his own political calculations to the nation's. Let's hope his successful thwarting of a new right-wing government will not result in a historic missed opportunity.
