Robert Harris is a news editor who has worked in television and newspapers in the United States, Asia and the Middle East.
The time has arrived to at last rid ourselves of the Moslem government in Iran, that has not for one day, since coming to power 45 years ago, stopped in its efforts to exterminate Israel.
Writing in 2003, former Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Ephriam Sneh said that if Iran obtained nuclear weapons it would result in “a daily existential threat. Most of Israel's economic and intellectual assets are located in a narrow coastal strip between Haifa Bay and Ashkelon. Two nuclear bombs could render Israel a burned-out third world state.
“Such a threat would seriously affect national morale, people's readiness to build their futures in the country, and the key decisions taken by Israeli governments.”
Today, Hezbollah is pointing 160,000 missiles at Israel from Lebanon, and until October 7 Hamas had 30,000 armed soldiers, currently Iran is arming Arabs in Judea and Samaria, along with something called Houthis, also commanded by Iran, who are shooting missiles at Israel.
But in fact, all of these armed groups are Iranian army divisions, organized, paid for and led by military officers from Tehran.
Israel’s repeatedly waging war and losing precious soldiers in Gaza and in the north, while leaving Iran intact, is the equivalent of US and British soldiers in World War II defeating the Hungarian Nazi army and then returning home without destroying the Nazis in Germany. The war never would have ended.
Obviously, the only way to at last end Tehran’s genocidal policy to exterminate all Jews in Israel is to eliminate the government of Iran.
The Iranians thing that they can overwhelm Israel’s missile defenses by launching many missiles at once. What if the Iranians were to simultaneously launch 50 nuclear armed missiles at Israel? How many would get past Israel’s defenses?
And let’s not kid ourselves. The Iranian attack on Israel on April 13 was not a serious attempt to harm Israel. It allowed the Iranians to boast that, for the first time, they attacked mainland Israel, while also evaluating Israel’s air defense systems. And based upon their performance, perhaps it was shocked by the result, but perhaps it also rid itself of an obsolete generation of drones and missiles. Israel, too, took the measure of Iran's capabilities that night.
Further, the Iranians purposely gave the west plenty of time to bring together US, British, French and Jordanian military assistance to shoot down the Iranian drones and missiles.
In a real attack, there may only be minutes to respond and Israel will have only itself to rely upon.
In recent years, the disintegrating West has allowed Pakistan and North Korea to instantly gain military parity by obtaining nuclear arms, and we see now that the West never had any intention of stopping Iran from becoming a nuclear power.
Indeed, despots world over have learned that nuclear arms are the ticket for totalitarian regimes to remain in power, seemingly forever.
And if Iran becomes a fully nuclear armed nation, the surrounding Arab states would have no choice but to counter Iran by purchasing missiles and nuclear warheads. Is this really what Israel wants?
Because the West was successful in preventing nuclear war with the communists during the cold war, the ignoramuses who run Western foreign policy believe the same model can contain Iran. Painfully, we have learned that those who believe a nuclear Iran can be contained are suicidal idiots.
Day after day, since the creation of Iran in 1979, the Iranians have chanted “Death to Israel.” Their public is ordered to walk on Israeli flags on sidewalks, their school children sing of killing Jews.
And let’s not forget that just as 80 percent of Arab Moslems support the Hamas pogrom of October 7, Iran knows they can expect to be crowned the heroes and leaders of the Moslem world if they strike Tel Aviv with a nuclear bomb.
A nuclear Iran means an Iran which cannot be stopped by any other country. Iran will have a free hand to sponsor terror worldwide, close down international skies and waterways, and even export nuclear arms technology.
Scenarios have been published detailing how Israel might strike Iranian nuclear sites. The extremely complex mission will consume the greatest of Israel’s resources, could cost the lives of pilots and, in the end, will accomplish little as Iran rebuilds everything Israel destroys.
The Iranians are Persians, a great people. In other words, they are not Arabs, but they have been taken over by the Islamic Republic led by the mullahs. The mullahs learned from Israel’s destruction of nuclear facilities in Iraq and Syria. If Israel destroys an Iranian underground nuclear arms facility, they will rebuild it even better.
So what will save Israel from the Iranian threat? Using the weapons we now possess.
In a single strike, the leadership of Iran must be removed, followed by simultaneous strikes on all Iranian military bases that pose threats to Israel, including Iranian infantry, air force, navy and missile bases.
Following this, if the Iranians do not surrender and instead seek to retaliate against Israel, more Iranian targets, including all oil facilities and other cities, must be destroyed.
Critically, we have the power to wage war without losing any precious soldiers. After all the Jewish dead buried since October 7, that must be a priority.
And Israel must not allow interference from any other nation as we fight for our existence. We must say in a clear voice that we are not a vassal state.
First we must survive. Later, we can rebuild international relations.
After decades of Iranian nuclear weapons development, what other choices do we have except to strike Iran?
Israel can choose to do nothing now and let Iran determine when the nuclear war begins, or we can act before they have that option.
Iran’s stated goal from day one has been the destruction of Israel, and look how far they have come in 45 years. Are we to watch and wait as they develop even more lethal weapons in the near future?
There is little that Israel can do to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear arms. There is little that Israel can do to prevent progress in Iran’s development of missiles to deliver nuclear warheads. And there is little Israel can do to seek peaceful coexistence with a regime that believes it has a Moslem obligation to destroy Israel.
And when, not if, Iran has a large nuclear arsenal, Israel’s options in how it deploys its own infantry, navy and air force will be greatly reduced.
For instance, using Israeli infantry to put down riots in Jenin could well result in nuclear threats from Tehran. Entering Lebanon in our legitimate defense could also trigger nuclear threats from Iran. Riots staged by Iran at Al Aqsa could cause more nuclear threats. Closing waterways to Israeli shipping, or skies to Israeli airplanes, followed by Israeli military actions, could again result in Iranian nuclear threats. It will be never ending.
And don’t forget what we have learned. When Iran threatens Israel with nuclear holocaust, the New York Times, CNN, BBC, Reuters, Associated Press and Western governments will blame Israel for the Iranian threats, and the woke savages staffing newsrooms will cheer for any Moslem power that can bring about the destruction of Israel and the deaths of all Jews.
A nuclear Iran will also change the military balance in the wider region, as countries seek alliances with nuclear Iran, which will become the greatest Moslem power in the Middle East.
Today we can act to stop this, tomorrow we cannot.
Choosing to strike Iran is a horrifying decision to make --few of us would wish to be the Israeli leaders who were forced by circumstances to push the button.
But what other choice do we have? Some say we need to be patient and wait for the Moslem dictators to be overthrown when the Iranian people rise up against them.
Well, it is over 60 years and we are still waiting for that to happen in Cuba and North Korea. And remember, people in this part of the world are docile and do not overthrow their masters. There are 22 Moslem Arab countries and all 22 are dictatorships. The Moslem public does not seem to be in a hurry to write their own Declarations of Independence.
If we do not strike Iran, what kind of Israel will our children and grandchildren inherit from us? Ephriam Sneh says future generations of Israelis will have the Iranian existential threat hanging over their heads every day.
What about the Iranian threat to the Zionist enterprise? Today’s miracle of a successful Israel….economically, militarily, technologically…could all be undone by threats from a nuclear Iran. How many Jews will think twice before coming with their beloved families on aliyah? If the threat of Iran is ever-present, will Israel be able to attract the human capital and foreign investment that it needs to fuel its engine of progress?
Now is the moment when we can prevent that diminished future.
After October 7, voices are being heard in Israel that claim defensive measures are not enough to protect against Arab terror. Rather, our enemies must be stopped before they create terror armies.
So what does that mean about how Israel must act to put an end to a terror regime in Iran that will soon field nuclear arms?
Another reason to at last end the government of Iran is because of their involvement in the October 7 pogrom. This week, Israel killed some Iranian officials based in Syria who planned and financed the massacre. Every member of a government that helped in the butchering of Jews must be hunted down and exterminated.
And remember from years past that all the Arabs on our northern border and in Gaza first launched only a few missiles at Israel, waiting to see what our response would be. And when Israel could not deter them, our enemies progressed from launching just a few missiles to tens of thousands of missiles.
Iran has now fired their first missiles at Israel. They, too, will determine that they can terrorize Israel with increasing numbers of missiles.
For 45 years Israel has sought to avoid directly confronting Iran. But Iran has crossed a red line, as it has the ability to assemble a few nuclear warheads. And Iran is now waiting to see how the West responds, before moving on to assemble hundreds of nuclear bombs.
In 1948, the majority of the Jewish Agency executive opposed Ben Gurion’s initial proposal to declare independence because they thought Israel would be destroyed by the surrounding Arab armies. In 1967, a majority of the cabinet opposed the IDF entering the Old City of Jerusalem because they feared the international backlash that would follow. But we found the strength to overcome our fears and instead created the most important chapter in Jewish history in 2,000 years.
It is time for Israel to act. We have come too far as a people, and we have contributed so much, we have suffered so much, while at the same time proving to ourselves what an extraordinary future we will have, and we simply cannot throw it all away due to our hesitations.
It is time to soberly make the correct decisions and to act.
It is time to be resolutely focused only on ourselves.
It is time for Israel to remove the Jew-hating government of Iran.
It is time to preserve the Jewish people’s future, and in a single stroke save Israel for our children, grandchildren and our future generations.
It is time.