Let’s have an honest conversation about Israel’s place in the world.

The world benefits enormously from Israel, even if it refuses to admit it. It’s time we stop apologizing for existing and begging for fairness.

photo: Shraga Kopstein/Unsplash

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On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was effectively forced to express that Israel “deeply regrets” the “tragic mishap” at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, following an Israeli strike that allegedly killed at least 20 people.

Contrast that with what we don’t see. I can’t recall Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas offering any apology after Israeli law enforcement arrested several Palestinians in Tel Aviv in connection with an alleged terror plot on Sunday.

And I certainly don’t recall Saudi Arabia issuing an apology for 9/11 — even though 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudi citizens. Somehow, in the international discourse, this isn’t cause for global shame or perpetual condemnation.

These double standards raise a fundamental question: Why is Israel perpetually held to a higher, almost impossible standard of accountability? Why is Israel expected to apologize at every turn, to beg forgiveness, while others escape scrutiny for acts of infinitely greater consequence?

It’s time we start having an honest conversation about what this means for Israel and its place in the world.

Some Jews, especially in the diaspora, seem overly concerned about Israel’s “image” because of the Israel-Gaza war — a war that Hamas and its allies in Gaza started, not Israel, oh by the way.

But, honestly, who cares about Israel’s “image”?

Israel’s job is not to win popularity contests; it’s to protect its sovereignty and its people, and to secure its future. The opinions of activists sipping lattes in New York and London mean nothing when Israelis are cleaning up their children’s spilled blood, burying their dead, and racing to bomb shelters. Strength and security matter more than hashtags and op-eds. Always have, always will.

Perhaps the answer lies in a bold, unapologetic shift: Maybe Israel should embrace a form of pragmatic isolationism — not retreating from the world, but standing firm in its independence and engaging only on its own terms.

Because here’s the truth: Israel doesn’t need the world to survive, let alone thrive. It never has. From the earliest days of Zionism, this has been the story of Jewish self-determination. Zionist pioneers didn’t wait for permission or aid; they drained swamps, built cities, and created an economy from scratch. The miracle of 1948 was not that the world allowed a Jewish state, but that Jews, tired of asking for permission to live, created one anyway.

That DNA of self-reliance has carried through every generation since. When early kibbutzim needed to grow crops in desert sand, Israelis invented drip irrigation. Even to this day, Israel grows 80 percent of its own fruits and vegetables.

When hostile neighbors threatened survival, Israelis developed one of the most advanced militaries in the world — homegrown tanks, missile systems, and defense strategies that are now sold and shared with global allies. When the world’s tech giants were still in their infancy, Israel was already pioneering microchips, cybersecurity, and medical breakthroughs that today underpin global industries.

This is why Israel is called the “Start-Up Nation.” Per capita, Israel leads the world in venture capital investment. It is a global hub for biotech, agrotech, AI, and fintech. Its economy has grown steadily for decades, even through global recessions and wars.

Yes, Israel receives military aid from the U.S., but even that is a business deal — not charity. Every dollar spent is reinvested into American defense contractors, while Israel continues to export its own defense systems and intelligence tools back to the very nations that claim to lecture it.

Let’s be clear: Israel is a net contributor to global stability and progress.

And yet, despite being one of the most innovative, humanitarian, and forward-thinking nations on earth, Israel is endlessly vilified. Maybe it’s time to flip the script.

Imagine a world where Israeli innovations — Waze, Intel chips, Iron Dome systems, breakthrough biotech, banking cybersecurity, even the sensors that make driving cars safer — came with a simple prompt before you could use them: “Do you endorse the genocidal chant, ‘From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free’?” If your answer is yes, access denied. No apologies.

People have been losing their minds about the possible ban of TikTok because of the Chinese government’s obvious influence, but somehow Israel is ridiculed up the you-know-what even though it has its hands in many technologies — and builds them responsibly. If you insist on boycotting, divesting from, and sanctioning Israel, maybe Israel should return the favor. Only with sharper teeth.

The irony is that many of the loudest voices calling for boycotts and sanctions against Israel are typing those words on devices powered by Israeli microchips, navigating to their protests with Waze, protected by banking firewalls built in Tel Aviv, and living longer because of life-saving drugs and medical devices developed in Israeli labs. The hypocrisy is staggering: They want the benefits of Israel’s genius without accepting its obvious right to exist. Maybe it’s time more folks understood that respect is a two-way street, and that you don’t get to demonize the source of your progress while enjoying it.

It’s also worth noting where antisemitism has historically been almost nonexistent: China and India. Ask the average Chinese or Indian citizen what they think of Israel, and you won’t hear lectures or condemnations; you’ll hear admiration. They see Jews as successful, innovative, and disciplined — a people to emulate, not demonize.

And they’re right. These are societies that understand history, that recognize that every nation that has persecuted the Jews has eventually collapsed. From Rome to Spain, from the Russian Empire to Nazi Germany, the story is always the same: Persecute the Jews, decay from within, and vanish from history’s stage.

India and China are smart enough to know better, and they want partnerships — real, mutually beneficial partnerships. Compare that to the West, where endless “debates” over Israel’s legitimacy rage on, even as Western societies crumble under their own contradictions and weaknesses.

And then there’s the favorite Western parlor trick: threatening Israel with arms embargoes, as if Israelis would suddenly be left defenseless. It’s laughable. The same country that developed the Iron Dome, the Merkava tank, advanced drones, and some of the world’s most sophisticated cyber-defense systems isn’t going to crumble if a European parliament decides to posture for applause.

The truth is, Israel has long been on the cutting edge of weapons technology — often decades ahead of its allies — and has even exported that knowledge back to the very countries now wagging their fingers. Threatening Israel with embargoes isn’t leverage; it’s theater. Israelis will just do what we’ve always done: Innovate, adapt, and build what we need ourselves, only better than before.

I was reminded of this absurdity recently when speaking to a professor from Texas Tech University. He said to me: “I can’t believe that a country borne out of genocide is basically committing genocide against another people.” I thought to myself: “I can’t believe you have the title of professor. What an embarrassment to academia.”

It is astonishing that “educated” people parrot propaganda that wouldn’t withstand 10 minutes of honest scrutiny. But this is what happens when narratives are shaped not by rigorous research, but by Hamas operatives posing as journalists and networks like Al Jazeera laundering their lies for a global audience.

The moral high ground has always belonged to Israel, though we rarely claim it. When earthquakes strike in Haiti or Turkey, who shows up? Israeli medics. When disaster ravages Nepal, who builds field hospitals and delivers supplies? Israelis. When African nations need agricultural expertise to feed their populations, who steps in with training and technology? Israel.

We do this quietly, without demanding loyalty or even recognition, because it’s the right thing to do. Yet when it comes time for people to acknowledge that Israel is a force for good, what do we get? Resolutions at the United Nations condemning our existence and op-eds from self-righteous academics lecturing us on morality.

So maybe it’s time for Israel to stop chasing the validation of societies that will never offer it in good faith. Let the West play its games of moral equivalence while it teeters on its own extinction. Let Europe debate its identity crises. Let the U.S. continue its obsession with performative outrage.

Just yesterday, I read about a Jewish patient scheduled for surgery at a London public hospital who was stunned to discover that the surgeon preparing to operate on her was wearing a pro-Palestinian badge, a clear political statement. After the organization British Lawyers for Israel filed a formal complaint with the hospital’s board, the incident made headlines as yet another in a growing list of cases where Jewish patients in the UK have been forced to receive care from medical professionals openly displaying anti-Israel or pro-Palestinian symbols.

Think about that for a moment: In one of the world’s supposedly most advanced healthcare systems, patients are being subjected to a toxic mix of politics and prejudice in what should be the most neutral, humane environment imaginable.

You know where this nonsense doesn’t happen?

In the great State of Israel.

At Israeli hospitals, you’ll find Jewish doctors, Arab doctors, Christian doctors, Druze nurses, and Muslim surgeons working side by side, focused solely on saving lives. No one cares what religion you practice or what politics you hold when a patient is on the table. Doctors and nurses simply do their jobs: They heal. Loud-mouths love to lecture Israel on morality, but maybe they should take notes instead.

And, seriously, why should Israelis concern themselves with so-called Western “allies” who bash Israel at every turn, even as large swaths of their own societies spiral into dysfunction and embarrassment?

Israel has other options.

The Global South is rising. Partnerships with nations in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America are expanding. The Abraham Accords showed what’s possible when nations set aside their ideological baggage and focus on mutual benefit. India is deepening ties with Israel across defense, tech, and agriculture. Even China, a global superpower, sees value in collaborating with Israeli innovation.

This isn’t isolationism in the sense of retreat or withdrawal. It’s selective engagement, strategic autonomy. Israel will engage, but only with partners who act in good faith, who respect our sovereignty, and who see the value we bring to the table. And if the West decides to turn its back, Israel will be just fine. In fact, it will thrive, because nothing sharpens the Jewish mind and spirit like being underestimated and pressured. History has proven this over and over again.

Imagine an Israel 20 years from now: economically stronger, technologically unmatched, culturally vibrant, and diplomatically aligned with nations that appreciate its value. Imagine an Israel that no longer seeks approval but commands respect, that continues to contribute to the world without tolerating its double standards. That is the future isolationism — not weakness or fear, but strength and clarity.

Israel was reborn out of necessity, forged in the crucible of hostility and indifference. We have built a nation that feeds, heals, protects, and inspires far beyond its borders. The world benefits enormously from a strong Israel, even if it refuses to admit it. Maybe it’s time we stop apologizing for existing, stop begging for fairness, and start acting like what we are: a nation that owes nothing, but commands everything.

Maybe Israel should embrace isolationism. Not to wall itself off, but to stand unapologetically tall — confident, independent, and ready to welcome partners on equal terms, or not at all.

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