The first phase of President Trump’s much-publicized 21-point Gaza peace plan is, for all intents and purposes, complete. The world watched as all living Israeli hostages were released, and all but one of the bodies of the dead were returned. For a brief moment, there was a sense of closure, a sense that, perhaps, the impossible had been achieved. But as anyone familiar with the region knows, in the Middle East, closure is always temporary, and the next phase is always more c

For anyone in Israel with children in the Bnei Akiva youth movement, you know that this week is “Shabbat Irgun.” You know this because you have barely seen your children for the past seven days. They have been at the clubhouse – “ snif ,” in Hebrew – painting murals on the walls, learning their dances, their plays, and for some, their bicycle acrobatics. On Saturday night, the newest – the youngest – “tribe” gets their name, a name they will keep forever. I know this because

On September 2, 1945, aboard the USS Missouri, Japan signed an instrument of unconditional surrender. There were no negotiations, no concessions, no “confidence-building measures.” The message was clear: the war was over, and Japan had lost – completely. That moment marked the beginning of a transformation that turned a militaristic empire into a peaceful democracy. It happened because the Allies understood that evil ideologies cannot be managed; they must be eradicated. Fast