Epilogue – The Lessons of the Hezbollah, Iranian, and Houthi Attacks

This guidebook focuses on October 7 and the ensuing Israel-Hamas war. Telling the history of the Iranian regime’s 45-year obsession with Israel, and its use of “the Zionists,” “the Jews,” and “America,” as the enemies every dictatorship needs, is beyond this project’s scope. But the unprecedented barrages from Hezbollah, the Houthis, Iranian proxies and the Iranian theocrats, illustrate some themes that keep recurring since October 7th:

•  Israel is fighting a multi-front war against jihadists who cross many civilizational norms in their systematic campaign against Zionists, Jews, and the Jewish state, Israel.
• These Jew-haters are also anti-American and illiberal, repudiating fundamental Western ideas and ideals.
• Israel has learned it must be more proactive. It can no longer tolerate massive arms build-ups on its borders, which is why it took advantage of Syria’s chaos to do itself and the world a favor by attacking Syria’s chemical weapons’ depots as well as its conventional arsenal.
• No matter what kind of unprecedented military assault Israel endures, even many of its friends immediately hold Israel to a standard no other country is held to, demanding “restraint” and “take the win” before Israel has an opportunity to counterattack.
• The anti-Zionist propagandists’ war of words echoes and encourages a far bloodier war targeting every innocent Israeli, both Jewish and non-Jewish. The extraordinary defense Israel and its allies mounted against Iran saved countless lives, but the shrapnel from one missile on April 13 gravely injured a 7-year-old Bedouin girl, Amina al-Hassouni.
• Nevertheless, despite facing many enemies on these many fronts, Israel is not helpless – and Israel is not alone. During the Iranian barrages of April 13 and October 1, for example, Israelis once again saved Israel – this time with all systems working exceptionally well, from the intelligence community to the high-tech defenses to Israel’s skilled and courageous pilots and drone operators. Meanwhile, the IDF’s seamless cooperation with its American, European, Jordanian, and Saudi Arabian partners on those nights – and at many other times that were unreported – offers tremendous hope.

Such international synergy suggests that we will win this civilizational battle – and, with vision, grit, and moral clarity, emerge from these dark days with the global forces of enlightenment strengthened and now including more and more Arab brothers and sisters.