For Israel’s security, help us stop the war.

Weekly surveys in Israel find that a large majority wants the war in Gaza to end as soon as possible and understands that this is the only way to bring back the hostages, that there is no reason to continue risking the lives of our soldiers and the hostages, and that the war does not advance Israel’s security but rather the survival of Netanyahu’s government.

Demonstrations are filling the streets in protest of Netanyahu’s cynical use of the war as a tool to maintain his extreme right-wing coalition and to continue the attack on our democratic institutions.

News outlets and social media were swirling this past week with reports of anti-Hamas protests in Gaza. People were pondering with excitement if these protests mark a shift in Palestinian society. Such signs are indeed welcome. However, these protestors have been subject to a month-long inhumane blockade of aid and are now in the crosshairs of renewed Israeli military operations.

For me, this situation is very personal. As the father of a reserve combat officer who has been on active duty most of the time since October 7th, and as a grandfather to a six-month-old grandson whose father also served in the reserves as a commander in a combat unit for countless days, it is apparent to me that both of them will be called back to life-threatening reserve duty again if the war does not end.

To be clear, though I am deeply opposed to this current government, I am a proud Israeli. I was an officer in the IDF and joined the Israeli Foreign Ministry in 1993 and served in the embassy in Washington and as the Consul General to New England before returning to Israel to assume the role of Senior Adviser to then-President Shimon Peres, z”l.

I carry on to this day in service to my country, as Executive Director of J Street Israel–fighting for both an Israel and a US-Israel relationship that reflect our Jewish and democratic values–and as a volunteer who has supported many hostage families since October 7th.

I have traveled across the United States numerous times over the past 18 months, speaking with many in the American Jewish community. All wring their hands out of concern for the hostages, asking what more they can do to help bring them home. And leaders in the Jewish establishment, unfortunately, resort back to the conventional playbook they have been relying on for decades–unquestioning public support for Israeli government policies and a blank check for US foreign aid–even repressing the obvious fact that unconditional American support for a futile and misguided war is bad for Israel and bad for the Jewish people.

Let me be plain: Yes, Hamas started this war. Yes, Hamas should unconditionally release all of the hostages and relinquish its arms and control over Gaza. But that is sadly not our reality. Hamas is a vile terrorist organization, while Israel is a democratic nation-state. I would hope the expectations for the two and how the US manages each would be different.

With that reality understood, what has the traditional strategy since October 7th afforded those of us who wish to see an end to this war with all hostages released and much-needed aid and relief provided to Gazan civilians?

During President Biden’s term, Netanyahu, who we learned has been propping up Hamas for years to avoid meaningful peace-making progress with moderate Palestinians, had a true friend in the White House who bolstered Israeli security and even leveraged American military might to back Israel up in the region. Yet Netanyahu sent IDF troops into Gaza with no exit strategy. He rejected any replacement options to fill the vacuum that would be left from Hamas’ absence. And the relentless IDF bombings and incursions have diminished Israel’s standing around the world, ostracizing us from important parts of the international community. Netanyahu’s intransigence would eventually lead to tougher rhetoric from Biden–though with no real teeth to it–and arguably more hostage deaths that were avoidable.

Enter President Trump, who can be described as a yes-man for Israel and yet also brought a brief renewal of hope with the ceasefire. But now we find ourselves with the war ramping back up, hostages still in captivity, and a cruel humanitarian aid blockade being imposed on Gaza by Netanyahu. IDF soldiers are returning to combat when not all other options have been exhausted. As an Israeli patriot and reservist’s father, I find it inexcusable that this prime minister finds the lives of our troops as disposable as his actions signal them to be.

So what do we do? What can Israel’s friends in the US do when the Israeli government deliberately harms Israel’s security?

Even among members of Congress, there are still too many who do not understand that Netanyahu views their support as a blank check to advance political and personal goals. Whether it is out of ignorance or willful blindness, they are harming Israel’s security when they continue to prevent any attempt to clarify that American aid is intended for purposes other than promoting Smotrich’s annexation agenda, Ben Gvir’s violation of minority rights, and Netanyahu’s political and legal survival.

The US Congress should continue to support Israel’s security, which faces real and significant threats. However, as Congress does with any aid the US provides to any other country in the world, it must ensure that it genuinely aids its security and that its use aligns with American interests and values.

The Pavlovian attempts to paint as “anti-Israel” any Congress member who tries to promote such policy measures does a disservice to Israel and the bilateral relationship I have spent my career supporting.

As a Zionist in every fiber of my being, I call on everyone for whom the future of the State of Israel is important to understand: There is no moral justification for providing a blank check for a war that kills hostages, that kills young soldiers, and that continues to kill hundreds of uninvolved people in Gaza and severely damages Israel’s legitimacy.

We can debate the effectiveness of various proposals and policies. But we must refrain from knee-jerk reactions that frame as ill-intended any strategy that runs counter to Netanyahu’s extreme, out-of-touch government. Israel deserves better. The hostages deserve better. And the US-Israel relationship deserves better.