I live in Yad Binyamin having made Aliyah 19 years ago from London. I have an amazing wife and three awesome kids, one just finishing a “long” stint as a special forces soldier, one at uni just married and one in high school. A retired partner of a global consulting firm, a person with a diagnosis of PSP (Progressive Supranuclear Palsy) and an advocate.
I have just published 4 books on Amazon and my blog on PSP can be seen at www.benlazpsp.com
The Iranian regime is holding a victory parade at 6 PM in Engelab (Revolution) Square, and I think it reveals everything you need to know. By most estimates, they lost their nuclear capability and a significant portion of their expertise and senior leadership. Victor’s of this nature truly don’t really need a parade.
Israel, by contrast, is already immersed in intense debates about the future, grappling with grief over those killed, the urgent need to secure the hostages’ release, and navigating our relationship with Trump.
It has been a brutal 12 days, and like most Israelis, I am tired and saddened that we must keep fighting these wars simply to exist. I’m not particularly concerned with who won or lost—it’s clear Israel succeeded in neutralizing Iran’s ability to threaten us with a nuclear strike, at least for a while, and we showed our combat capability to the world. But we move on to the next challenge: securing the hostages’ return, dismantling Hamas, and learning from this war to prepare for future threats, which will inevitably come.
Yet, we are a democracy, stronger than ever, and no one will forget how we dismantled the Iranian regime’s capabilities within hours, just as we did with the pagers in Lebanon. We tussled at the end with the President but the tweet we should remember is the one that was the goal of everything we did and I remain grateful for US support.
A victory parade? We don’t need one. It would be an insult to those who lost their lives, and we haven’t truly “won.” Instead, we’ve reminded the world and the region that we are prepared to do the tough work when necessary—for our survival and when the world needs it. To endure in this region, we must be strong, and we’ve clearly demonstrated that.
I extend my deepest gratitude to all those who executed this campaign. I pray it brings us closer to a better future.
And no, I don’t need a victory parade, thank you very much.