The international establishment, with its long history of being wrong about such matters, didn’t think it could be done. Just two months ago, Foreign Affairs magazine heralded in the title of an article, “Israel Is Fighting a War It Cannot Win.” And only weeks ago, as world leaders gathered in Manhattan for the meetings of the General Assembly of the United Nations, France, the United Kingdom, and Canada, among other nations, took the extraordinary step of recognizing Palestine as an independent state, throwing in the towel on Israel. Publications around the globe offered dreary assessments of Israel’s war against Hamas as a lost cause, and as both a military failure and as the reason for a humanitarian crisis. It seemed that everything was stacked against Israel.
But Israel always possessed significant advantages in its war with Hamas.
The Israeli population is singularly committed to peace and to protecting innocent life, and has remained resolute that the hostages – including the bodies of those whose lives were brutally extinguished by Hamas – must be returned.
National resolve matters very little, though, without a strong leader. In this area, Israel is blessed by the steadfast leadership of Binyamin “Bibi” Netanyahu, the long-serving prime minister who always articulated clear war aims.
Israel, with a total population of less than 10 million, was fighting an unfair war against a terrorist regime that follows no laws or human decency in its plot to destroy Israel. Declining public support around the world, made much worse by biased media, made Israel’s war more complicated and even lonelier.
But Israel had another advantage in this war.
As President Trump made clear in his speech celebrating the peace deal before the Knesset earlier this week, Israel had a secret weapon in this fight. The strength of the United States, with its friendship to Israel and its arsenal of the world’s most devastating military weapons, made the peace deal possible.
Hostages who had been written off as dead by most of the world are now reunited with their families. And a war that seemed to have no end has, thanks to President Trump’s leadership, ended with a ceasefire, the return of hostages, and a peace deal that defines Israel as the winner.
President Trump’s speech highlighted the best of America. Beginning with George Washington’s 1796 Farewell Address warning to his young nation to “steer clear of permanent alliances,” the United States for much of its history has avoided what Thomas Jefferson later called “entangling alliances” – and, in so doing, has also famously avoided becoming involved in foreign conflicts. That is not to say, however, that Americans shy away from standing for what is right, or for aiding our friends and allies – we do not. The president reminded the world of what it means for the United States to be a partner. He also reminded the world that the United States is capable of the most dazzling diplomatic feats, as this deal his team brokered certainly was. And our diplomacy is backed up by our impressive military, as the world saw when President Trump directed that military to strike decisively against Iran’s nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan in June.
President Trump was optimistic in his outlook for the future of Israel, and, even more broadly, for that of freedom-loving people around the globe. As important as it was to send a signal to our allies in London, Paris, and Berlin, among others, that we are back, it was just as important to send that same message to our adversaries around the world – because they weren’t just paying attention in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, they were also paying attention in Tehran, Beijing, and Moscow.
President Trump showcased the best of America – our resolve, how seriously we view alliances, and, yes, our military might and our willingness to deploy it in the service of a just cause. America remains that shining city on the hill, a beacon of hope for the rest of the world, and the foundry of freedom. President Trump was at his best delivering this speech.
The world is a safer place when America is at her finest. And President Trump’s speech was a powerful demonstration for the world of what peace through strength means.
Jenny Beth Martin is Honorary Chairman of Tea Party Patriots Action.