Bibi is Bringing Israel Down

Israel’s attack on Iran is a looming disaster for Israel and all Jews.

By Jeremi Suri

Violent anti-Semitism has long threatened the survival of Jews. One of the central accomplishments of the late twentieth century was to raise widespread awareness of this history and convince millions of non-Jews that anti-Semitism is unacceptable. American, British, and even German support for Israel since the 1960s grew from a commitment to prevent a repeat of genocide – “never again.” Although anti-Semitism remained common at the start of a new millennium, Jews benefited from unprecedented sympathy and goodwill, especially in the United States and Europe.

Extreme Israeli force in Gaza and now Iran has erased most of the sympathy for Jews around the world. It has given enormous ammunition to anti-Semites. It has also given more motivation to haters. When Israelis act like aggressors with massive bombings and denial of food aid to civilians, they become the perpetrators, not the victims. Israeli leaders argue persuasively that they had to use force for self-protection after the horrific Hamas attacks on their country on October 7, 2023, but their brutal retaliation has caused even more suffering. And Israel’s preventive military strikes against Iran were not a response to direct military action by Tehran. Although Israel had good reason to fear Iran’s development of nuclear capabilities, its strikes were acts of war – a war of choice.

Israel looks tough and also erratic, especially after it failed to anticipate Hamas’ October 7 attacks or destroy the terrorist organization, as it promised repeatedly. Israel’s military strikes on Iran appear far short of destroying Tehran’s nuclear program.

The central problem for Israel is that it is too small to survive as a bully; the nation has always needed sympathetic supporters, especially in the United States. Israel’s population is much smaller than that of its enemies, its resources are severely limited, and it is surrounded.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is lashing out, killing many hated figures. These actions, however, isolate and imperil Israel. They unify Israel’s haters and discourage traditional friends from coming to Israel’s defense. They motivate more violence against Israel and Jews. Most dangerous, they empower extremists on all sides who see apocalyptic behavior as the only viable path forward. If regional war becomes inevitable, as Netanyahu seems to believe, then Israel is facing forever battles that will drain the country of its limited assets. That is already happening.

Israel cannot be naïve in its search for peace with those who want to destroy it, but it must not become so belligerent that its efforts at self-defense bring on wars it cannot win. If it is Israel against the world, then Israel will not last very long. If it is Israel against the world, then Judaism is distorted beyond repair.

Jews have always been a cosmopolitan people, connectors between societies. Fortress Israel makes Judaism impossible, even for those behind its walls. Cowering permanently under Iron Dome efforts to shoot down missiles and drones, Netanyahu’s vision of a strong Israel will entail a shaky, insecure life for those living within its borders. They will be virtual prisoners, with few places to travel safely. They will face hate everywhere, sympathy nowhere.

This is not the state Israel’s founders dreamed of. Like Jews in other lands, Israelis must learn to live with and among others, even those who wish them ill. That surely requires self-defense, but it also calls for balance and limits on belligerence. In protecting themselves, Jews cannot create more enemies. Bombing hospitals flagrantly, denying food aid to suffering civilians repeatedly, and launching unprovoked military strikes on sovereign nations – those are actions that accumulate adversaries with minimal benefits to Israel. A future nuclear-armed Iran with rabid Palestinian followers will be even more deadly for Jews than what we confront today. And Israel has no answer except endless war.

Endless war will destroy Israel. It will harm all Jews. We cannot survive as so few fighting so many. We need more sympathy and friends; that has been essential to our progress in any era. Rejecting these historical lessons, the strongest Jewish nation in history is doing more harm to the Jewish people than its founders ever could have imagined.

If the founders like David Ben-Gurion could have foreseen an Israel starving Gazans and bombing Iran, they probably would have given up on a Jewish state. They envisioned an open, multiethnic, multireligious society for Jews and non-Jews. The abandonment of that vision by Netanyahu leaves little reason to believe that Israel can muster the will to sustain itself. Facing more hostility with less inner purpose, the current Israel will crumble faster than we can imagine.

I deeply regret that outcome. It is a tragedy for all Jews – a tragedy partially of our own making.

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Jeremi Suri - Korey Howell Photography

Jeremi Suri holds the Mack Brown Distinguished Chair for Leadership in Global Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. He is a professor in the University's Department of History and the LBJ School of Public Affairs. Professor Suri is the author and editor of eleven books on politics and foreign policy, most recently: Civil War By Other Means: America’s Long and Unfinished Fight for Democracy. His other books include: The Impossible Presidency: The Rise and Fall of America’s Highest Office; Liberty’s Surest Guardian: American Nation-Building from the Founders to Obama; Henry Kissinger and the American Century; and Power and Protest: Global Revolution and the Rise of Détente. His writings appear in the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, CNN.com, Atlantic, Newsweek, Time, Wired, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, and other media. Professor Suri is a popular public lecturer and comments frequently on radio and television news. His writing and teaching have received numerous prizes, including the President’s Associates Teaching Excellence Award from the University of Texas and the Pro Bene Meritis Award for Contributions to the Liberal Arts. Professor Suri hosts a weekly podcast, “This is Democracy.”