Column: New Jewish Narrative
June 1, 2026
Q. What is worse: low-tech attack drones hitting the north with impunity, no Haredi conscription on the home front, the UN placing Israel on a sexual violence blacklist--or the prospect of renewed Iranian missile attacks?
A. The very fact that we can pose this question says something profound about Israel’s declining fortunes on all fronts. First, the ‘forever war’ continues--currently on the Lebanon front, perhaps soon (again) with Iran and/or Hamas. Second, internal decay is getting worse, spearheaded by the spreading influence of Haredi cults and right messianists. And third, the international community has had enough of Israel’s behavior.
In a normal country, this would be understood as a national emergency. But not in Israel, where at the heart of a national calamity is a government that refuses to examine its mistakes of October 7, 2023 in order to formulate new strategies for the country. Instead, it falls back on three failed strategies that express the public’s understandable humiliation and fury but offer little hope:1) grab more enemy territory: 2) destroy more enemy dwellings; and 3) assassinate more enemy leaders, whether Iranian, Hezbollah or Hamas. Look where that has gotten us.
Turning to the Iran front, US President Trump is apparently about to do a deal with Tehran that essentially fulfills none of Israel’s vaunted war aims regarding both Iran and Lebanon: no dismantling of Iran’s military nuclear program, no cessation of Iran’s support for proxies like Hezbollah, and of course no collapse of the ayatollahs’ regime.
There is a difference between the Iran threat, an existential security concern for Israel, and the issues mentioned in our introductory question above, which reflect a lower level of threat. The drones, the Haredim and the UN blacklist do not affect the everyday lives of most Israelis most of the time. In contrast, Iranian and Hezbollah (and earlier, Hamas) missiles continue to this day to instill fear throughout much of the country even as people do their best to lead ‘ordinary’ lives.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Netanyahu has ceded to Trump veto power over Israel’s military initiatives. Accordingly, add to the list Israel’s loss of even tactical independence vis-à-vis its Islamist enemies. And the man in the White House making tactical decisions for Israel (cross the Litani River in Lebanon? Punish Hamas for not disarming? Kill another Iranian leader?) happens to be the most incoherent decision-maker in US presidential history. Netanyahu’s buddy . . .
Yossi Alpher's Death Tango: Ariel Sharon, Yasser Arafat and Three Fateful Days in March
"Anyone seeking to understand how Israelis and Palestinians traded the hopes of Oslo for something approaching hopelessness is well-advised to read this book. With penetrating analysis and elegant prose, Yossi Alpher has told the gripping story of three days nearly two decades ago that continue to haunt would-be peacemakers. Yossi’s faithful readers will not be disappointed with his latest effort."
Ambassador Frederic C. Hof, Bard College
"A riveting account of the crucial days in March 2002 when the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was profoundly changed for the worse. The peace camp has never recovered from those wrenching days, and we live now without any hope of a just settlement. Alpher is a highly respected expert who has spent decades studying this conflict from both sides."
Bruce Riedel, Director of the Brookings Intelligence Project
"A critical assessment of a key period in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict never before presented in such detail. The best and most capable players at the executive and political levels proved unable to forge any resolution, final or partial, because both parties continued to maintain an insurmountable gulf between themselves. This is a MUST read for anyone daring to tackle the future of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and of Israel-Arab relations in general."
Efraim Halevy, former Head of the Mossad (1998-2002)
Oraib Khader and Avi Bar-On are youngish Palestinian and Israeli bachelors with security experience, readiness to do business with one another, a shared fondness for women and money, and total cynicism about the lack of peace between their two peoples.
Oraib and Avi can never become true friends: the cultural and political gaps are too wide. But as they confront a failed peace process and a bleak peace future, they readily become business partners: shady business that exploits a lot of naïve international peace aspirations.
As Oraib sums up on a visit to Sarpsborg, Norway, where the ultimately-failed Oslo peace talks were held, “There is a lesson here for those who still doggedly and hopelessly pursue a two-state solution in the Middle East. Get smart. Get out of the Israeli-Palestinian peace business. Step back and let the Jews and Arabs screw one another while making money.”