The world thinks Israel is collapsing. Reality suggests otherwise.
With resurgent antisemitism sweeping the world and Israel in the diplomatic firing lines, it's easy to lose sight of this — but the Jewish nation is stronger now than at any point in its long history.
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This is a guest essay by Nachum Kaplan, who writes the newsletter, “Moral Clarity.”
You can also listen to the podcast version of this essay on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify.
On Sunday, Israel’s Defense Ministry announced the delivery of the first operational high-power laser interception system, named “Iron Beam.”
The system, which has successfully intercepted rockets, mortar shells, and drones during extensive testing, will be absorbed by the Israeli Air Force and integrated into the country’s multi-layered air defense array alongside Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and Arrow systems.
The United States, Britain, Russia, China, Germany, and Japan are also developing laser defense systems, but Iron Beam is currently the only one that has moved beyond test firings to operational field use, according to Israel’s Defense Ministry.
Even then, this is just one example of how the Jewish nation is stronger now than at any point in its long and storied history, including the First and Second Temple eras. It is easy to lose sight of this, with resurgent antisemitism sweeping the world and Israel in the diplomatic firing lines, but it is our most remarkable achievement.
For over three millennia, the Jewish People have endured exile, persecution, and near-annihilation, yet we have not only survived; we have thrived. Today, Israel stands as a testament to Jewish resilience, ingenuity, and unbreakable will. Militarily, economically, and technologically, the Jewish People have never been stronger.
This is not mere optimism; it is an incontrovertible fact. The ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judah, though grand in their time, were ultimately fragile, falling to Assyrian and Babylonian conquest. The Second Temple period ended in Roman destruction and exile. However, modern Israel is a regional superpower and a major world power.
To appreciate Israel’s strength fully, consider the previous two Jewish commonwealth’s weaknesses. Their demise also holds important lessons for Israel and Jews today.
The First Temple period was one of glory and collapse. King David united the tribes; Solomon built the Temple. Yet, within a generation of Solomon’s death, the kingdom split. Israel (the Northern Kingdom) fell to Assyria in 722 BCE. Judah barely lasted another century before Babylon razed Jerusalem. This happened because of internal divisions: The tribes fractured, weakening collective resolve. It’s a salient reminder to Israelis today, and Diaspora Jews, to stay united.
First Temple Israel’s alliances with Egypt and Assyria also proved fickle. Israel is discovering again that many historically friendly countries — such as the UK, Canada, France, and Australia — are undependable fair-weather friends.
Then there was moral decay. Prophets such as Isaiah and Jeremiah warned of corruption, idolatry, and social injustice, yet the people did not repent. The First Commonwealth had moments of greatness, but it lacked the unity and long-term strategic vision required to endure. After the Babylonian exile, Jews returned under Persian rule, rebuilt the Temple, and later established the Hasmonean dynasty. But again, disaster struck.
King Herod’s grandeur masked growing Roman control and Israel was soon little more than a corrupt vassal state. Sectarian strife — violence between Pharisees, Sadducees, and Zealots — weakened Israel’s ability to resist Rome. It ended in catastrophe. The Great Revolt from 66 to 73 CE ended in the Temple’s destruction. Jewish military leader in Judea, Simon bar Kochba, led a rebellion from 132 to 136 CE, resulting in genocide and exile.
The Second Commonwealth had spiritual vigor, but it lacked the military and political cohesion to survive Roman might. Modern Israel is different. The Jews and Israel have learned from our history. Israel has greatly surpassed its previous incarnations.
In antiquity, Judea was a modest agrarian society. Its wealth was concentrated in the Temple and its surrounding trade areas. Today, Israel boasts a $500-billion economy, which is a staggering figure for a tiny nation with barely 10 million people. It’s home to more startups per capita than any other country. It is a venture capital hub, and a global leader in cybersecurity, biotech, agritech, medicine, and many other fields. More Israeli companies are listed on America’s NASDAQ Stock Exchange, the tech world’s favorite equity funding exchange, than there are companies from all of Europe combined.
Israel is a unicorn factory with its startups routinely achieving billion-dollar valuations, with giants like Waze, Mobileye, Amdocs, and Check Point reshaping global industries. (I must add, however, that I am yet to forgive Waze for directing me down the wrong road the other day and sending me around in circles. It had me cursing in English, Yiddish, Hebrew, and a few other tongues.)
The First Temple’s wealth paled in comparison. The Second Temple’s economy was ultimately crushed under Rome’s boot. Today, Israel is an economic titan and proof that Jewish prosperity is no longer at the mercy of foreign rulers.
The ancient Israelites were innovators and pioneers in agriculture, architecture, and law, but their technological reach was limited by the constraints of their era. Their descendants in modern Israel have shattered those limits. Israel is a global technology giant. Even countries that do not recognize Israel quietly buy its technology.
In a region plagued by drought, Israel invented drip irrigation and desalination, turning deserts into farmland. Israeli cybersecurity firms protect Fortune 500 companies, governments, and critical infrastructure worldwide. From the Iron Dome to drone warfare, Israel’s defense innovations have rewritten the rules of modern combat.
If you are reading this on a smartphone, it is almost certain that it contains Israeli technology, which poses something of a problem to the idiots who want to boycott, divest from, and sanction Israel. They are welcome to do so, and they seem unaware that, if they really did this, they would no longer be living in modernity.
The First Temple had Solomon’s grandeur, and the Second Temple had Herod’s expansion, but neither had the power to defend themselves against annihilation. Today, Israel is a major military power with the world’s most effective defense forces.
The ancient Israelites knew war. David felled Goliath, the Maccabees overthrew Greek oppression, and Bar Kochba led a revolt against Rome. But each of these victories was fleeting, followed by catastrophic defeat.
No more.
The Israel Defense Forces is the world’s most battle-tested military, having triumphed against impossible odds in 1948, 1967, and 1973. The IDF’s stunning victory in its recent 12-day war with arch-enemy Iran, without a single Israeli combat casualty, is an achievement that matches the 1967 Six-Day War — showing the world that messing with the Jews is a very bad idea. Israel struck Iran’s nuclear sites and ballistic missile facilities, largely eliminating the existential threat the Islamic Republic posed.
Unlike the scattered Jewish rebels of antiquity, today’s Israel possesses nuclear deterrence, a silent but unshakable guarantee of survival, and a truly formidable conventional arsenal.
Its intelligence capabilities are like something out of “Mission Impossible.” Its assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was stunning, given that the Mossad got to him in a Tehran safehouse, no less. Israel’s exploding pager operation that sent Hezbollah to its knees, and created a panic during which Israel killed longtime Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, is right out of a spy novel. Israel’s targeting of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corp’s commanders and a dozen odd Iranian nuclear scientists showed Israel knew the movements and whereabouts of some of the world’s most security-conscious people.
Technological innovation underpins Israel’s military might. From the Merkava tank to the Arrow missile defense system, Israel’s military technology outpaces its enemies and also produced a booming defense export industry.
The First Temple fell to Babylon. The Second Temple fell to Rome. By contrast, Israel has spent the past 24-plus months decimating its enemies. Iran has been humiliated; its proxies in Gaza and Lebanon have been smashed, and Israel’s regional military dominance is stronger than it has ever been.
Jews have always had a question mark hanging over their survival. Unlike other hates, antisemitism often comes with extermination as the goal; pogroms, expulsions, and the Holocaust reinforced the image of the Jew as the eternal victim. No longer. Israel’s existence and success have transformed the Jewish psyche. No more cowering. No more reliance on the mercy of kings or caliphs. The Jewish People now wield our own sovereignty, our own army, and our own destiny.
When you read much of the mainstream media and listen to Left-leaning Western governments criticize Israel, it is easy to think that Israel is diplomatically isolated, but that betrays a myopic understanding of international relations. Besides, the news media would have us believe that it is what the West thinks that really matters. That is just wrong. It is typical Western self-centeredness. Of course, the West is important, and Israel’s relationship with the U.S. is obviously by far Israel’s most important. What really matters, though, is Israel’s relations with its neighbors — because they are the ones who pose a threat.
On that front, things have never been better. When Israel was recreated in 1948, not a single Arab country recognized it or supported anything but its destruction. Today, Israel has diplomatic relations with Egypt, Jordan and, after the Abraham Accords in 2020, with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco. Lebanon and Israel have been holding direct talks (the first time since 1983) about curtailing Hezbollah. And do not say it too loudly, but Saudi Arabia allowed Israeli warplanes to fly through its airspace en route to attacking Iran and its nuclear sites last summer.
Israel has also become strong enough to push back against the United Nations, that carbuncle of organization that Israel should quit immediately. I was so happy when Israel banned the terror-ridden UN agency for Palestinians that I got a little carried away on the arak. Israel is finally treating the UN with unbridled contempt it deserves.
There has also been a Jewish cultural renaissance. Hebrew, once confined to prayer books, is a thriving national tongue. Israeli films win Oscars and other major prizes, and its authors enjoy international acclaim, despite the Western arts world being grotesquely antisemitic and trying to cancel them.
All this success has replenished the Jewish nation. Israel’s Jewish population has surpassed seven million, more than were lost in the Holocaust. While Europe shrinks, Israel’s fertility rate outpaces most developed nations. Nothing shows a country’s confidence in its future more than a high birthrate.
The First Commonwealth ended in exile. The Second Commonwealth ended in massacre. But the Third Commonwealth is a phoenix that cannot be burned.
Israel may be politically divided, but the unity after the October 7th attacks and kidnappings, and during its recent war with Iran, has been staggering. Jews unite when it counts. Israel’s technological advantage over its enemies, which people have been saying for 50 years cannot be sustained, is greater than ever. The Jewish People have entered our greatest era. No longer subjects, but sovereigns. No longer supplicants, but innovators. No longer victims, but victors.
After 2,000 years of exile, the Jewish People returned to our homeland, and made such a success of it that they can be said to have conquered history. Am Yisrael Chai. The Jewish People live, and we are stronger than ever before.
The world should be commending Israel, not praising the archaic destitutes that call for its annihilation.
I wholeheartedly support Israel and its people in all of their endeavors.
Uplifting sure, but we should NEVER get overconfident. The Romans, Greek, etc were all major powers whose overconfidence always betrayed them. It worries the hell outta me that so many Jewish kids know NOTHING of their history nor heritage and buy into all these lies about us and for that matter, Palestinians. I mean someday they may even tell us that Jesus was a Palestinian. THESE are threats we MUST take seriously. However Nachum, you make one very true point about Oct 7 bringing all of us squabbling Jewish groups together as one. It's the point Yigal Allon made in 1977 when he spoke at my Jewish school in Montreal: "At some UN "peace " conference in New York in the 60's, one of the Arab ambassadors asked my why 300 million Arabs couldn't defeat a measly 3 miliion Jews. I replied 'because you're doing it all wrong. You keep trying to kill us (he them showed his hand with fingers spread coming together into a fist) and what happens is we Jews stop fighting each other like this and come together like this. You wanna destroy Israel? Leave us alone completely and we'll do it for you". If Hamas had ever read Sun Tsu, who's first rule of war is "know your enemy better than they know themselves", they would have NEVER attacked on Oct 7th, or anytime else. Guaranteed that we would all STILL be fighting each other over Netanyahu to this day. I hate to say it, but there's a teensy weensy little thank you to Hamas for being so bloody imbellic, stupid and ignorant of who we Jews are.