There was a time when Israel fought wars using devastating force with the goal of nothing less than a complete, decisive victory over its enemies. But that time has long since passed. The resounding, arguably miraculous victories that Israel achieved in wars like the 1948 War of Independence and the 1967 Six-Day War now seem like ancient history.

Indeed, for the last 30 years, Israel has responded to attacks by its enemies, not with the kind of overwhelming force that it once used to subdue its enemies, but with compromises, concessions, or, at best, very limited, haphazard military operations. This strategy has led to one disaster after another.

In the 1990s, Israel agreed to the Oslo Accords and relinquished control over most of the Gaza Strip and nearly all major cities in Judea and Samaria. In return, Israel got the Second Intifada, during which Palestinian terrorists senselessly murdered one thousand Israelis. In 2000, Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon. In return, Israel got the Second Lebanon War, which Hezbollah started by bombarding Israel with rockets as they entered Israeli territory, killed eight IDF soldiers and abducting two more. In 2005, Israel withdrew completely from the Gaza Strip. In return, Israel got nearly two decades of rocket attacks, the abduction of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, and finally, the October 7 massacre, the worst atrocity committed against the Jewish people since the Holocaust.

Israel desperately needs a return to the strategy of achieving absolute victory over its foes. And as the expression goes, "There's no time like the present," when Israel is now facing war on multiple fronts.

Unfortunately, there is a lot of pushback against such a strategy, both within and outside Israel. Push-back from naïve members of Israel's political class, now orchestrating the mass demonstrations calling for a ceasefire that would keep Hamas in charge of Gaza and not guarantee the liberation of all remaining hostages, setting the stage for another catastrophe resembling October 7.

These demonstrations are counterproductive, to say the least. They only encourage Hamas to extract more concessions from Israel. Furthermore, according to a recent poll by the Jewish News Syndicate (JNS), 55% of Israelis believe that the demonstrations are being held not to free the hostages but to overthrow the government.

Besides, most Israelis are not in the mood for further compromise or concessions. Indeed, 62% of Israelis polled by JNS oppose a ceasefire deal with Hamas, and 61% agree with the sentence: "Only military pressure on Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and planned military actions including hostage rescue operations can lead to the release of the hostages."

There is also pushback against a strategy of decisive victory from Israel's Western allies, particularly its strongest ally, the United States. The Biden Administration has repeatedly said that Israel cannot defeat Hamas. Wrong. Biden and company just don't want Hamas defeated because destroying the terrorist group would interfere with their agenda of appeasing Iran, the leading sponsor of global terrorism – the tyrannical regime to whom Biden has given billions of dollars in sanctions relief. Money that Iran has used to accelerate its nuclear weapons program and fund its terrorist proxies –Hamas, Hezbollah, and Yemen's Houthis.

Throughout his term in office, Biden has acted like British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain did before World War II. Chamberlain believed he could appease Hitler. Thus, he let Nazi Germany have a chunk of Czechoslovakia as part of the infamous Munich Agreement, which he held aloft in his hand proclaiming, "peace for our time," believing he had stopped Hitler from making any new conquests.

Six months later, Nazi Germany took over all of Czechoslovakia. And six months after that, the Nazis invaded Poland, triggering WWII. So much for peace in our time. Appeasement and compromise did not convince Hitler and Nazi Germany to choose peace over conquest, nor will either tactic persuade Iran and its proxies – today's Nazis – to do so.

Fortunately, once WWII began, the Allied powers strived for absolute victory over Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. Indeed, they inflicted such devastation upon both countries that when the war was finally over, the populations of each country realized that continuing to support their respective ruling regimes was futile and would only lead to disaster. Thus, after Germany and Japan surrendered, their populations offered no further resistance and eventually chose leadership committed to democracy and peace. Eighty years later, Germany and Japan are vibrant democracies, not to mention economic powerhouses.

Similarly, Israel must pursue no less than a decisive victory against its enemies, beginning with Hamas and Hezbollah. Recent poll data from the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR) actually shows that the devastation Israel has already inflicted on the Gaza Strip is beginning to change the minds of its people and their support for Hamas. This change was originally not recorded as Hamas had doctored PCPSR polling data to inflate their support. But now, thanks to the efforts of Israel's finest in the IDF, we know the truth.

Whereas 57% of Gazans supported Hamas back in December 2023, just 31% supported the terrorist group in March of this year. But perhaps what is most encouraging is that in contrast to December last year, when 56% of Gazans supported armed resistance, just 28% said the same in March of this year. In fact, by March, more than two-thirds of Gazans favored either political negotiations or non-violent resistance to Israel to achieve Palestinian aims. This is clear evidence that what happened during WWII, when the German and Japanese people began realizing the futility of supporting their respective genocidal regimes, is now happening in Gaza.

Recent history shows that strong military pressure, not concessions and appeasement, leads to peace. In fact, the use of strong military pressure is what has allowed Israel to achieve peace with some of its Arab neighbors. After decades of suffering devastating losses in wars with Israel, several Arab states concluded that trying again and again to destroy the Jewish state was futile. Thus, they gradually pursued peace with Israel. First, Egypt in 1979, followed by Jordan in 1994, and then the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan in 2020-2021. In all these cases, Israel did not make unreasonable concessions that would place its security at risk.

Only through strength has Israel defeated its enemies and achieved peace in the past, and only through strength will it continue to do so now.

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Over 1,500 new immigrants from around the world participated in a festive musical prayer service organized by OU Israel to mark the 57th anniversary of Jerusalem's reunification during the Six-Day War. The event was held Wednesday morning on the Haas Promenade in Armon HaNatziv, overlooking the Old City and Temple Mount.

Rabbi Avi Berman, executive director of OU Israel, emphasized the significance of the gathering, stating, "I stand and look at the city of Yerushalayim during this festive prayer and see three things that deeply move me. First, the site of the Temple that we all pray will be rebuilt soon. Second, the skyline of Yerushalayim and all the cranes building the city, remind us of the verse God builds up Yerushalayim; 'He gathers the dispersed of Israel.' Third, to see over 1,500 people in the crowd, including so many recent olim, who all came today to give thanks for this miracle of the ingathering of exiles. This is an uplifting time for me every year."

#WATCH: 1500 new olim from around the world participated in a festive prayer service organized by the @OrthodoxUnion at the Armon Hanatziv promenade overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount.

OU Israel pic.twitter.com/SIAjilmnXK

— Israel National News - Arutz Sheva (@ArutzSheva_En) June 5, 2024

 The prayer service was led by Rabbi Noam Koenigsberg. Attendees included OU Executive Vice President Rabbi Moshe Hauer, who traveled from New York, Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Arieh King, and Yehuda Naftali, director of the Jerusalem municipality's Israel Heritage Department.

This marked the ninth year OU Israel has organized this special event aimed at assisting English-speaking immigrants in having a successful integration experience through its various programs.

Rabbi Hauer reflected on the liberation of Jerusalem 57 years ago, saying, "With God's kindness, we merited the return of the Jewish people to the Old City and the Western Wall. Today, we stand here overlooking where the Holy Temple stood, and we thank God for the victory and pray for help in winning this war. May it be that next year we will be able to pray together with those who had been taken hostage and with all of Klal Yisrael at the Holy Temple."

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Israel's capital saw throngs of revelers descend on its historic center on Thursday, singing celebratory songs of unity and holding blue-and-white Israeli flags to mark the anniversary of its reunification during the 1967 Six-Day War. 

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Angi Walch, a staunch supporter of Israel who is a leading advocate for the Jewish state in Germany, arrived in Israel just so she could take part in the annual flag march for the first time. She brought a flag in her backpack. 

Walch, who has participated in many pro-Israel events in her home country, could not stop smiling. With clear joy, she told Israel Hayom, "The most moving thing for me is just seeing that the Jewish people have returned to their homeland and that Jerusalem is in the State of Israel. This is one of the happiest and most special moments I have ever witnessed."  

Eyal Shapira came from the community of Efrat in Gush Etzion, together with his wife Edith and their three children. "It was important for me to have the kids see the city and its history; so that they see the entire nation celebrate." Edith added, "Jerusalem is ours. It's amazing to think how far we have come. This should not be taken for granted." 

Yotam, 16, lives in Eilat. He came with his friends who study with him at a yeshiva in Dimona. "We come here every year. This flag march has a special vibe to it," he said. Yehonatan Libar from Talmon said," We are here to show our presence in Jerusalem – our capital. We want to unite the people to celebrate in Jerusalem.'. 

Uri, 16, said: "I am excited to be here at this event. There is a special atmosphere. It is really uplifting to be here." David arrived from Carmiel in northern Israel, wrapped in the Israeli flag and hoisting the Jerusalem flag. "I am extremely excited by this; it is just such a great feeling. The people of Israel are here on this day, feeling the unity and history of Jerusalem. It feels as though I am born again."

The annual event took place amid heightened tensions with Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, just days after the recent flare-up in Gaza. The flag march kicked off from the city center and then continued into the Old City through the Nablus Gate and onto the Western Wall. Several skirmishes between Arabs and Jews were noted during the events. 

Earlier in the day, several Jewish groups ascended Temple Mount, including a cabinet minister and several lawmakers from the Coalition. This prompted condemnation from Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. 

Jerusalem Day ended with a state ceremony at Ammunition Hill, a site that saw some of the fiercest fighting during the Six-Day War. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog delivered speeches at the event. 

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Germany is suspected of instructing its diplomats in Israel not to take photographs in the Old City of Jerusalem, which they consider "occupied Palestinian territory." 

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Israel Hayom has learned that on two occasions in the recent past, diplomats staying at the King David Hotel in the capital refused to take photographs with the walls of the Old City in the background. 

The hotel is located in the heart of Jerusalem and sits along what used to be the demarcation line before the 1967 Six-Day War. The walls of the Old City are well visible from the location and diplomats usually make a point to include them in photographs. 

On both occasions, the German diplomats said the matter went against instructions and preferred a different background. 

Germany recognizes Israel according to the 1949 borders following the War of Independence and considers land seized in the Six-Day War – which includes Jerusalem's Old City, the Western Wall, the Temple Mount, east Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and the Golan Heights – "occupied territory." 

German diplomats are instructed not to visit these sites, considered "occupied under international law." 

According to Israeli diplomats who met with their German counterparts in Jerusalem in the past, the instructions much be fairly new as no such behavior was observed before. 

Responding to an Israel Hayom inquiry, the German Embassy in Tel Aviv said its diplomats were not restricted in the sites they could visit and photograph. It did, however, say that it advised its official delegations so in accordance with the "federal government's position regarding the status of east Jerusalem and the occupied territories – a position based on international law."

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Israeli police faced off with Palestinian protesters Sunday in another night of clashes in east Jerusalem, a day before the annual Jerusalem Day parade, a celebration of the city's reunification in the 1967 Six-Day War.

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The late-night skirmishes raised the likelihood of further clashes Monday during the annual Jerusalem Day celebrations. The Israel Police greenlighted the parade Sunday, despite days of unrest and soaring Israeli-Palestinian tensions at a flashpoint holy site and the nearby neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, where Jewish and Palestinian families are waging a court and eviction battle.

Addressing a special cabinet meeting ahead of Jerusalem Day, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel "will not allow any extremists to destabilize the calm in Jerusalem. We will enforce law and order decisively and responsibly."

"We will continue to maintain freedom of worship for all faiths, but we will not allow violent disturbances," he said. At the same time, he said, "We emphatically reject the pressures not to build in Jerusalem."

This year's parade coincides with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, a time of heightened religious sensitivities, and follows weeks of clashes.

Maj. Gen. (ret) Amos Gilad, who formerly served as Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories as well as holding many other high-ranking security positions, told Army Radio that the parade should be canceled or at least kept away from Damascus Gate, saying "the powder keg is burning and can explode at any time."

Kan News said said the final route of the parade had not yet been decided.

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Kfar Nefach on the Golan Heights has recently been the subject of popular discussion thanks to a popular new drama series about the Yom Kippur War that airs on Channel 11. But last month, Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologists excavating on the Golan discovered a rock that was inscribed with the name "Kfar Nefach" – in Greek – some 1,700 years ago.

The rock was dug up as part of preparations to lay a water pipeline. The Nefach-Kidmat Zvi pipeline is planned to serve as the main water supply for IDF bases on the Golan Heights, as well to the town of Katzrin.

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Students from the Maayan Baruch and Kela-Alon pre-military academies and local volunteers took part in the dig that uncovered the rock carved with Greek letters. It had been used to cover a grave. Dr. Danny Syon of the IAA and Professor Haim Ben David of Kinneret Academic College decoded the writing.

"The inscription, which mentions the name Kfar Nefach, was carved into a rock used as a boundary marker. These stones were carved in the time of the Roman Emperor Diocletian, around 300 CE, on the borders of villages for tax purposes. This is the first boundary market from the central Golan Heights that bears a name that has survived until today. Nefach was the name of the Syrian village that was here until the Six-Day War, and the name of the IDF's Camp Nefach, which is still here," the researchers said.

According to researchers, names usually survived thanks to continued settlement that preserves them from one generation to another. However, they said, no such continuous population existed at Nefach, which was unpopulated from the Byzantium era, 1,500 years ago, until the modern era, with the exception of the Mamluk period in the 13^th to 15^th centuries CE.

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Israel said on Tuesday the United States is effectively lifting a ban on US funding of Israeli scientific research projects conducted in Judea and Samaria and the Golan Heights.

There was no immediate Palestinian comment on the move, announced a week before the fast-approaching US presidential election Nov. 3, in which opinion polls show incumbent President Donald Trump trailing Democrat Joe Biden.

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Past scientific accords with the US government stipulated that Israeli research projects receiving US grants could not be carried out in areas that came under Israeli administration in the 1967 Six-Day War.

The Trump administration last year effectively backed Israel's right to build Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria by abandoning a long-held US position that they were "inconsistent with international law."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman will sign amended scientific cooperation agreements at a "special ceremony" in Judea and Samaria on Wednesday, Netanyahu's office said in a statement.

The revised agreements "will expand scientific cooperation between Israel and the United States to Judea and Samaria and the Golan Heights," the Israeli statement said.

Under the Trump administration peace plan announced in January, Israel would retain control of most of its communities in Judea and Samaria.

In May, Trump recognized the Golan Heights as Israeli territory. He has also challenged recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital and moved the US Embassy to the holy city.

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"Palestinians currently live under conditions analogous to Black Americans under Jim Crow – they deserve better," states the campaign website of Heidi Sloan, who is running for the Democratic nomination in the state's 25^th Congressional District, which is currently served by Republican Rep. Roger Williams.

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Sloan calls for ending US assistance to Israel "until the occupation of Palestinian territory is ended."

The term "occupation" initially applied to Palestinian areas the Israelis oversaw after gaining land (eastern Jerusalem, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, the Golan Heights, and much of the Sinai) in the 1967 Six-Day War – land the Arabs refused to negotiate as part of the Khartoum Conference in 1968, signified by "Three No's" in reference to Israel: no peace, no recognition, no negotiations.

Ever since then, the word has been used by anti-Israel groups in the attempt to delegitimize Israel.

Yet as with most terminology used in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, no clear definition exists, even after the Palestinian Authority has overseen Arab-majority sections (known as Area A under the Oslo Accords) of the West Bank since 1994 and Hamas has run Gaza since 2007 (taking it away from the PA after Israelis withdrew in 2005). Egypt negotiated with Israel to get the Sinai back in 1982 as part of direct negotiations with Israel.

Still, some consider all of Israel to be "occupied" territory.

"We call for the removal of illegal settlements in the West Bank, an end to the blockade of Gaza, freedom of movement for Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza, and that Palestinians living in Israel are guaranteed full rights under the law," states Sloan's website.

"I oppose any laws that attack our First Amendment rights to criticize Israel or participate in the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement."

She continues, "The US must work together with the UN and the international community, not unilaterally, to negotiate a lasting peace in the region built on justice and self-determination."

A member of the Democratic Socialists of America, which supports BDS, Sloan, a community organizer and farmer, isn't the only Democrat running in the race. Julie Oliver, who lost to Williams in November 2018, is running again.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman attended the event along with three other visiting American ambassadors as well as US President Donald Trump's Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt, and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).

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The City of David Foundation unveiled what it called "the pilgrimage road," a 2,000-year-old main thoroughfare from Roman-era Jerusalem that served visitors to the ancient Jewish Temple. The multiyear project to excavate beneath the mostly Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan cost over $100 million, with donors including Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, Republican megadonor Sheldon Adelson and Oracle founder Larry Ellison.

Adelson attended the event, as did Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's wife, Sara.

Visitors will be able to "touch history" by walking in the footsteps of ancient pilgrims through a 350-meter (380-yard) stretch of tunnel along the ancient street that ran uphill to the Jewish temple, the City of David Foundation said.

But the presence of the American officials sparked new accusations that the US is helping Israel "Judaize" east Jerusalem. The Palestinians severed ties with the White House after Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital in December 2017.

In a statement on Twitter, Greenblatt dismissed the criticism as "ludicrous."

"We can't 'Judaize' what history/archeology show," he wrote. "We can acknowledge it & you can stop pretending it isn't true! Peace can only be built on truth."

The competing claims to east Jerusalem lie at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and are a frequent flashpoint of violence. Palestinian neighborhoods in east Jerusalem also suffer from prolonged poverty and neglect, adding to the tensions.

The City of David Foundation's excavations, located on the steep slope beneath the contested site known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, are part of a popular archaeological and tourist site the group runs in Silwan.

The site contains some of the oldest remains of the 3,000-year-old city, what many believe to be the centerpiece of ancient Jewish civilization. Some even claim it is linked to the Bible's King David.

"Whether there were any doubts about the accuracy, the wisdom, the propriety in President Trump's recognizing of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, I certainly think this lays all doubts to rest," Friedman said at the ceremony.

"Some people, not necessarily friends of ours, are obsessing about my being here," Friedman said, adding the excavation project uncovered "the truth, whether you believe or not … the truth is the only foundation upon which peace will come to this area."

But critics accuse the site's operators of pushing a nationalistic agenda at the expense of local Palestinian residents.

The project's parent group, Elad, helps settle Jewish families in Arab neighborhoods, raising suspicions that its tourism projects aim to erase the line between east and west Jerusalem. The Palestinians view the excavations as part of Israeli efforts to dominate the contested city.

Although Trump has said his recognition has no bearing on the city's final boundaries, the participation of senior American officials at an Israeli ceremony in the heart of east Jerusalem raised fears among the Palestinians that the US is recognizing Israeli control over the sensitive area.

"This is not a US ambassador, [he] is an extremist Israeli settler, with Greenblatt also there, digging underneath Silwan, a Palestinian town," chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat wrote on Twitter.

The new "pilgrimage road" has also drawn criticism from Israeli peace activists and archaeologists. Unlike conventional archaeological excavations, the City of David and the Israel Antiquities Authority burrowed horizontally along the ancient road, stripping away later periods as they went to expose remains from the period associated with the golden age of the second Jewish Temple in Jerusalem.

Emek Shaveh, an organization opposed to the politicization of archaeology in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, noted the lack of scientific publications on the subject and questioned the City of David's methodology. It said the project isolates a specific historical period and "does not enable us to establish with certainty when the road was built and how it fit into the layout of the city of Jerusalem."

Sunday's event came amid simmering tensions in east Jerusalem. Israeli police clashed overnight Sunday with residents of another Palestinian neighborhood, leaving at least 15 Palestinians and two officers wounded, officials said.

The Adelson family owns the company that is the primary shareholder in Israel Hayom.

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Ahmed Aboul Gheit's comments appeared directed at a still unpublished peace plan that US President Donald Trump has dubbed the "deal of the century." As part of the plan, a US-led conference will be held next week in Bahrain on proposals for the Palestinian economy.

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The Palestinian leadership is boycotting the conference, saying Trump's peace plan is likely to be heavily weighted in favor of Israel and to quash their aspirations for statehood in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

While the precise outlines of the draft plan have yet to be revealed, Palestinian and Arab sources who have been briefed on it say it jettisons the two-state solution.

"Whatever is rejected by the Palestinian or the Arab side is unacceptable," Aboul Gheit said during an event at the Arab League.

"What is acceptable from our side as Arabs as a solution is the establishment of a Palestinian state on the June 4, 1967 borders, with Jerusalem as its capital," he added.

Based in Egypt, the Arab League is often seen as a talking shop rendered ineffective by regional rivalries, but it remains the main forum for Arab opinion on international matters.

Saudi Arabia and Egypt are its most influential members.

Aboul Gheit said that Israel's acceptance of an Arab Peace Initiative drawn up by Saudi Arabia in 2002, which offers Israel normal ties in return for withdrawal from territory captured in 1967, was the only acceptable solution for Arab states.

"If [Israel] chooses the only reasonable and accepted way from our side as Arabs, which is the establishment of a Palestinian state ... it will be accepted in the region as a normal regional partner," he said.

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