Ami Ayalon, Gilead Sher and Orni Petruschka
The struggle in the Middle East is not between barbarians and freedom seekers, nor between those who sanctify life and those who sanctify death, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserted in his recent address to Congress.
Rather, it could be better characterized as a struggle between radical messianic groups that are fighting in the name of God, and the majority who aspire to a secure life of personal and national freedom.
The suffering and hatred produced by the Gaza war has blinded eyes on both sides. That’s why this is the time for visionary statesmanship, not for hollow speeches and political games.
Over the last 20 years, the Iranian nuclear threat has been the main driver of Israel’s policy in the region, and of Netanyahu’s attempts to influence American administrations. While hoping that the limited preemptive strike Israel’s air force launched on Hezbollah targets early Sunday morning doesn’t trigger a regional war, the Biden administration must not allow Netanyahu to sway U.S. foreign policy decisions that relate to Iran. Doing so carries the risk of American entanglement in a conflict with unpredictable consequences — even to the point of dragging the U.S. into a destabilizing regional war that could become a ruinous global conflict.
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