Can Israel Really “Finish the Job?”

On the streets and coffee shops in Israel these days the common refrain that is heard is, “We would prefer not to see any more of our soldiers die, but this time we need to finish the job.”

It sounds so simple, doesn’t it?  But is it possible?  Can we really finish the job and, what would it cost us as a country?  I’m not sure we can or should.

As a layperson without all of the facts (actually, truth be told, it is not clear to me that anyone has all the facts), here is what we can all probably agree on.

• We have a long-running issue with insurgencies on two of our borders, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, both of whom are supported and funded by Iran.
• As an insurgency, Hezbollah seems not to be constrained by anyone except Iran, as the Lebanese government, in which Hezbollah actually has representatives, seems powerless to rein in a terrorist group wreaking havoc in Lebanon itself.
• Hamas to the south of us, after having its infrastructure virtually wiped out by Israel during the war that followed October 7^th, also seems not to be constrained by anyone, not even Qatar, which provided and may even be still providing them with funding and armaments, or even the Iranians who also provide funding and support.
• Iran, which is what diplomats like to call a “proper country” of 90 million people with a functioning government, is a theocracy hellbent on eliminating the world’s non-Muslims as well as those Muslims with whom they disagree religiously, all in the name of fealty to Allah. Israel is simply the first of the countries they wish to destroy.

This being the case, there is no practical way to neutralize these insurgencies diplomatically.  All the efforts in this regard for the last 78 years have led us nowhere.  Yes, there have been momentary periods of relative quiet but those intent on destroying us have found a way to survive.  Even President Trump, in his moments of self-reflection, probably understands that after 100 days of war with Iran, the US actually has no leverage with which to neutralize the Iranian threat.  None!

If diplomacy does not work, what about militarily, using today’s new catchword when speaking about armed conflict, employing kinetic action?  That would probably work.  However, to be effective, Gaza would have to be totally leveled and all of its inhabitants permitted to leave or be killed.

In Lebanon, all of the areas where it is known that Hezbollah keeps their people and armaments would have to be levelled as well without letting people know in advance which areas are scheduled to be targeted. There would be no point in doing this if Israel is going to let the enemy know sufficiently in advance of a strike for them to able to escape and regroup elsewhere.

As for Iran, Tehran itself would need to be levelled while IRGC people in other areas of the country would need to be killed.

Logic (forget humanity for a moment) tells us that this is the only way.  For example, not actually finishing the job in Afghanistan made it possible for the Taliban to return to power.   Not finishing the job in the last almost three years in Gaza made it possible for Hamas to regroup, reorganize and continue to operate.  In Lebanon, regardless of how many Hezbollah operatives were killed in pager or follow-on cell phone explosions, not finishing the job allowed new leadership to take over and re-establish Hezbollah as a power, now in a position to both attack Israel and scuttle the Israeli-Lebanese peace talks under way in Washington.

So, truth be told, that’s how to finish the job….level the place and kill the enemy.  That’s what the allies did in Germany and Japan to end World War II.  60 million people had to die; the two countries were brought to their knees and the victors then agreed to assist in rebuilding both societies, but the allies finished the job.

However, the world in 2026 is not what the world was in 1945.  The united front that the Allies, represented by the leadership of the US, Britain and the Soviet Union, identified fascism as the common enemy of humanity’s progress.  Concomitantly, the personal leadership of the individuals involved was held in high enough regard for the free world to trust their judgement and support them.   No such construct exists today.

While the logic needed to decide how best to finish the job is perhaps within us, we cannot do this alone and no country, not even our best friend, the US, will support us if we really decide to finish the job.

So, what’s left for us? Perhaps a middle ground.  I tend to return to a talk I heard by Elyakim Ha’etzni (the German-born secular Zionist lawyer who lived in Kiryat Arba on principle and served in the Knesset from 1990-1992) some 30 years ago as part of a course offered at the Hebrew University.  He said that making peace with our neighbors who are religiously motivated to destroy us is simply not possible, nor is it possible to defeat them.  What we can do is make temporary truces, knowing that every so often the truce will break down, we will need to fight, overwhelm the enemy and agree to another truce.   That is the only way to survive here.

Former US Secretary of State in the Nixon administration Henry Kissinger was of a similar mind in his approach in this part of the world to making peace with our enemies, preferring a series of truces rather than trying to negotiate a permanent peace.

I disagreed with him, but after the passage of time it is clear that we may need to redefine what finishing the job means in the Middle East, and the US will need to do the same with Iran (Iran is too big for us to deal with, quite frankly…..we can degrade their defensive capabilities but probably not much more than that).

We here could probably negotiate agreements with both Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon to put a stop to the fighting for the mutual benefit of all of us.  Of course, both groups will then regroup over time and rearm and we will do so as well.   We will also need to upgrade our border security to make sure an October 7^th style attack cannot happen again.  My guess is that by now we understand what needs to be done even without a state commission of inquiry which, of course, should still be empaneled and their recommendations acted upon.

Will we have finished the job?  Not in the classical sense.  But the killing will stop, people on both sides can begin to rebuild their lives and Israel can get back to doing what it does best, developing advanced technology for the benefit of all humanity, even for those who hate us. And, of course, providing a relatively stable environment for our people to live and thrive in fulfillment of the good Lord’s promises to us centuries ago.

One last point needs to be mentioned. Since October 7, 2023, more than 1,150 Israeli soldiers and security personnel have been killed in combat, border clashes, and operational accidents. This includes casualties from the initial Hamas massacre, the subsequent ground operations in Gaza, and engagements along the northern and eastern borders.  Was their sacrifice worth it?

It is, of course, an impossible question to answer and there is little consolation that can be offered to the bereaved.  However, a common consensus among military ethicists and the public is that the sacrifice of a soldier’s life creates a permanent moral debt for the society they defended.  To make good on that debt and validate the sacrifice it is our obligation to ensure that society remains “worth defending” by upholding the freedoms, peace, and justice for which the soldiers fought and died.

That is our obligation, and we are mandated, as well, to make sure no more die unnecessarily.  Let us hope we are up to the task.