After 77 years, is this the opening for peace?

For Israelis and the Jewish people, the magnetic pull of hope, optimism and even euphoria are back. More than 30 years of heinous terror, annihilation threats, and nuclear nightmares directed by the Tehran regime appear to be almost gone. Almost overnight, the IDF, Netanyahu and Trump (yes, the ones so many loved to hate) are delivering an impossible victory of deliverance. We follow every development as more and more weapons and assets of this evil regime are blown to bits.

The mix of terror and relief recalls the events mid-May to early June 1967 (I was in high school in California). We listened & watched very nervously as Nasser marched troops into Sinai and prepared the upcoming war to wipe out Israel. Then, totally by surprise, it was over in a day – the Egyptian and Syrian airforces were destroyed. A few more days, and Israel took Sinai, Golan & re-opened the gates of Jerusalem (Zion) to the Jewish people.

Fifty-eight years later, and we are again — or more accurately still — on the pendulum, swinging wildly between nervous determination and euphoria. Perhaps this time will be different – not a repeat of the pattern that began with the 1948 War of Independence, which ended with defeat of the invading Arab armies and a ceasefire, but no peace. And while 1967 was a great victory, the infamous Arab “three nos” — no recognition, no negotiation, no peace — continued, and we were not any closer to beating swords, boms, missiles and enriched uranium into ploughshares.

Instead, the current war, which actually began with the atrocities of October 7, 20 very painful months ago, might follow the example of 1973 – another horrible war. That one ended with Israeli troops within striking distance of Cairo, which, in turn, led to the first face-to-face talks between Egyptian and Israeli generals, and orchestrated by US Secretary of State Kissinger. Building on that foundation, less than six years later, Prime Minister Begin and President Sadat signed the peace treaty they negotiated.

The more the Tehran regime is weakened and perhaps replaced, the better the prospects for a post-war Middle East in which Iran is no longer an evil empire, and Israel stops being the focus of fanatical hate. The events of the next few days, and the determination of Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Trump to “finish the job,” will decide whether the end of this long war will be another temporary ceasefire, or be remembered for generations as the foundation for a long-awaited and substantive era of peace.