This was wonderful. The IDF are the most extraordinary army. Watching them as they bought the final hostage home, made me cry. Surely they are the best of the best. Israel will NEVER fall. 🙏
I love almost all of this post, Jonathan. Only one sentence rattles me: "Governance proposals emerging from Washington reflect this pragmatism.” I can only paraphrase the old wish to say, “From your pen to G-d’s eyes”.
I don't see anything positive on the horizon because I don't expect anything to really change. Trump has no master strategy and cannot think beyond making "deals". The world is perfectly content to let the Palestinians be controlled by a death cult dedicated to destroying Israel. They will not ever stand by Israel to actually defeat the enemy. Not ever. And sad to say Trump is likely as good as foreign alliance will get. The next Democrat will almost certainly be completely against Israel and put enormous pressure on it to immediately create a sovereign terror state. The time was and maybe still is now for real permanent change of the paradigm but the sands are running out of the hour glass.
Now the other goal: destroy Hamas. There are a lot of players standing in the way of doing this, too many to count, but it has to be done. Otherwise, like a hydra, the heads of Islamic terrorism will regenerate. This is because as long as there are so-called 'Palestenians' in Israel there will be terrorism.
I liked Trump's idea to just move them all far away, out of rocket range, where they can kill each other -- but everyone nixed that idea (Arabs, international community), and now there is this Gaza reconstruction plan. It has the stated goal of disarming Hamas, but how?
Netanyahu has asserted that full reconstruction will only happen after verifiable demilitarization is complete. In other words, the IDF will have to continue to fight Hamas and this is only a lull. I don't have high hopes for the "International Stabilization Force" and Palestenian police force, but hope to be proven wrong. Ideological deradicalization is a good idea - but how long will that take?
All of this will take a long time and be costly in money and lives. It would be so much better to simply move them all. They forfeited the right to stay in Israel by supporting Oct 7th.
I would like to see Jewish settlers move into Gaza and Judea-Samaria en masse. Proposed areas for re-settlement have been: Sinai (rejected by Egypt which doesn't want them), Jordan (doesn't want them), African nations (Sudan and Somalia said no. Somaliland has considered it." Reports in May 2025 suggested the Trump administration was working on a plan to permanently relocate 1 million Gazans to Libya, offering $30 billion in frozen funds in exchange for an agreement." I hope that happens. I'm afraid that the war against terrorism will go forever, otherwise.
"Turkey hovering uneasily on the edge of hostility and opportunism" clearly shows their perfidy and with friends like that who needs enemies? The US needs to leave the NATO alliance and before we do Turkey should be thrown out as a matter of course. What is Turkey gonna do, fully ally themselves with Russia or Iran who are their historic enemies? Glad to hear of the full recovery of those, dead or alive, who were seized on October 7th.
Johnathan, I love your articles. They are so moving. This story captures so much emotion, and I am thrilled that we got our last soldier out.
I have a different perspective about the hostages. It really felt to me, and my friends that the government had given up on them. I am extremely grateful for the Trump administration for getting the hostages out, and bringing them home.
Regardless, I am relieved that everyone is back home, and an appreciate your writing.
This was wonderful. The IDF are the most extraordinary army. Watching them as they bought the final hostage home, made me cry. Surely they are the best of the best. Israel will NEVER fall. 🙏
Excellent, excellent article. Just reading it brings me joy and some comfort, thank you
I love almost all of this post, Jonathan. Only one sentence rattles me: "Governance proposals emerging from Washington reflect this pragmatism.” I can only paraphrase the old wish to say, “From your pen to G-d’s eyes”.
I don't see anything positive on the horizon because I don't expect anything to really change. Trump has no master strategy and cannot think beyond making "deals". The world is perfectly content to let the Palestinians be controlled by a death cult dedicated to destroying Israel. They will not ever stand by Israel to actually defeat the enemy. Not ever. And sad to say Trump is likely as good as foreign alliance will get. The next Democrat will almost certainly be completely against Israel and put enormous pressure on it to immediately create a sovereign terror state. The time was and maybe still is now for real permanent change of the paradigm but the sands are running out of the hour glass.
Now the other goal: destroy Hamas. There are a lot of players standing in the way of doing this, too many to count, but it has to be done. Otherwise, like a hydra, the heads of Islamic terrorism will regenerate. This is because as long as there are so-called 'Palestenians' in Israel there will be terrorism.
I liked Trump's idea to just move them all far away, out of rocket range, where they can kill each other -- but everyone nixed that idea (Arabs, international community), and now there is this Gaza reconstruction plan. It has the stated goal of disarming Hamas, but how?
Netanyahu has asserted that full reconstruction will only happen after verifiable demilitarization is complete. In other words, the IDF will have to continue to fight Hamas and this is only a lull. I don't have high hopes for the "International Stabilization Force" and Palestenian police force, but hope to be proven wrong. Ideological deradicalization is a good idea - but how long will that take?
All of this will take a long time and be costly in money and lives. It would be so much better to simply move them all. They forfeited the right to stay in Israel by supporting Oct 7th.
I would like to see Jewish settlers move into Gaza and Judea-Samaria en masse. Proposed areas for re-settlement have been: Sinai (rejected by Egypt which doesn't want them), Jordan (doesn't want them), African nations (Sudan and Somalia said no. Somaliland has considered it." Reports in May 2025 suggested the Trump administration was working on a plan to permanently relocate 1 million Gazans to Libya, offering $30 billion in frozen funds in exchange for an agreement." I hope that happens. I'm afraid that the war against terrorism will go forever, otherwise.
"Turkey hovering uneasily on the edge of hostility and opportunism" clearly shows their perfidy and with friends like that who needs enemies? The US needs to leave the NATO alliance and before we do Turkey should be thrown out as a matter of course. What is Turkey gonna do, fully ally themselves with Russia or Iran who are their historic enemies? Glad to hear of the full recovery of those, dead or alive, who were seized on October 7th.
Johnathan, I love your articles. They are so moving. This story captures so much emotion, and I am thrilled that we got our last soldier out.
I have a different perspective about the hostages. It really felt to me, and my friends that the government had given up on them. I am extremely grateful for the Trump administration for getting the hostages out, and bringing them home.
Regardless, I am relieved that everyone is back home, and an appreciate your writing.