Since the 13th of June, Israel has been waging a military campaign against Iran, whose leaders have for long stated their clear intention to bring about my country’s annihilation, its destruction.
As I write these words from Chisinau, in the midst of this campaign, my thoughts are thousands of kilometers away – with my family, friends and colleagues back home in Israel.
So, I am writing this op-ed not only as a representative of my country but also as a parent, whose daughter is currently serving in the IDF, a husband and a citizen of the State of Israel, that has for 77 years since its independence been fighting for its survival in a hostile region.
In my mobile phone, as on all phones in Israel, there is an application of the Home Front Command which sends alerts calling on citizens in areas potentially under threat from Iranian ballistic missiles to be prepared to head quickly to bomb shelters. This application enables me to stay connected to my family and friends during these trying moments, and to make sure that all hurry to the shelters and are out of harm’s way.
Israel is acting in self defense against a brutal, barbaric terrorist regime. Israel has launched its military campaign in order to remove an imminent existential threat. It had to be carried out now because Iran was already at the “eleventh hour” in its race towards nuclear weapons and mass production of tens of thousands of ballistic missiles.
Iran is not just a menace to Israel but to the entire region and beyond. It aims to impose on its neighbors a demented ideology, it oppresses its own people, supports and arms terrorist organisations which serve as its proxies, incites hatred and basically thrives on violence. In the words of the Chancellor of Germany “this is the dirty work that Israel is doing for all of us. Otherwise we might have faced months or years of terror from this regime, and possibly with a nuclear weapon in hand”. In other words – Israel’s victory will contribute to regional stability and will be advantageous for all democracies.
The recent attack by the USA on Iran’s three main nuclear enrichment facilities, for which Israel is extremely grateful, has made it abundantly clear that for the western world, rogue regimes should not be allowed to threaten global stability without impunity. It demonstrates that this is a test not only for Israel, but for the free world as to how it responds to extremism and terror.
I would like to take this opportunity to express our thanks to the Republic of Moldova for holding the moral high ground and stating that Israel has the right to self defense in the face of ongoing intentional launching of missiles by Iran against populated civilian areas in Israel, including on a medical facility, with the clear aim of killing as many innocent civilians and breaking the moral of our people. Personally, I have found here moments of connection, when Moldovan friends and colleagues give words of encouragement namely: we stand with you, you are in our thoughts.
To those who claim that political and diplomatic means should be applied now to defuse the situation between the two sides Israel and Iran, I say that this proposition is completely detached from reality, at best. How is it possible to even consider embarking on a political process when the Iranian Ayatollahs openly state that their ultimate goal is to wipe Israel from the face of the earth?
But these Ayatollahs which are now hiding in bunkers due to Israel’s military success in neutralizing all Iran’s defense systems and thus enabling our Air Force to operate freely in order to destroy strategic targets. They completely underestimated Israeli military capabilities, as disregarded the resolve and the resilience of the Israeli people proven time after time since our independence in 1948.
Indeed, our independence was not delivered to us on a silver platter, but rather through blood, sweat and toil in the face of annihilation, only three years after the Holocaust. Since our independence, we have lived in a constant state of war. I recall having experienced moments of great anxiety. During the Six Day War in 1967, I could hear the sounds of Jordanian bombs in the distance and the noise of Israeli cannons firing back, just two hundred meters from my home. I distinctly remember the expression of fear on the face of my father when we heard the expression of awe when we heard on the radio during the Yom Kippur War in 1973 that Egyptian soldiers had taken hold of most of our positions in the Sinai Desert. From my military service in Northern Israel, on the Lebanese border, I have vivid memories of the whistling noise of Katyusha rockets and the sights of combat, to which one can’t really get used to.
My personal experiences are not in any way unique. They are similar to those of all Israelis. And like my fellow citizens, I am proud of the fact, that despite of the threats to our very existence, we have managed to build a vibrant nation built on strong democratic foundations, absorbed millions of immigrants from around the world, and have with scarce natural resources, turned to human capital. Israel has become a world leader in many technological realms, sharing our knowledge and expertise with many other countries.
We are a peace seeking nation and our hand has always been outstretched to peace, even when it meant making substantial concessions. So we continue to hope and pray that one day, not in the too look distant future, the friendship between the two ancient peoples of Israel and Iran will once again flourish and thrive.
As this article goes to the print, a cease fire has been announced. Israel has achieved all its goals during this military campaign and the existential threats to my country have been lifted. It is our hope that the Iranian regime has learned its lesson and will from now on renounce its intention to bring about the destruction of Israel. Hopefully, there is a bright future ahead for the Middle East. There is nothing more that all Israelis crave for more than peace and the prosperity of all peoples in our region.