What would John F. Kennedy do?

On October 22, 1962, at 7 PM Eastern Standard Time, President John F. Kennedy addressed the nation on national television, capturing the attention of every American as hearts pounded with anticipation and fear. Could this be the end of the world as we know it?

That evening marked the peak of what’s known as the “13-day Cuban Missile Crisis” that threatened to erupt the Cold War into World War III with the potential devastation of nuclear warfare looming large.

About 100 million viewers watched President JFK’s live announcement of the discovery of Russian ballistic missiles with atomic warheads pointing to various locations in the United States from the Cuban Gulf. As expected from a true leader, Kennedy not only disclosed the threat but also unveiled a clear vision: a plan of naval quarantine, a clear call to his Russian Cold War rival, and a note to the rest of the world that conveyed his intentions and values. Values, to be clear, are words, memes, or phrases that reflect what you believe in and how you operate.

The president addressed the nation respectfully after he, with his ExComm team (the Executive Committee of the National Security Council), created a peaceful yet firm action plan to achieve national security that aligned with his vision and his promise of hegemonic dominance through a balance of powers.

It took him six days to address the nation, though they were not sitting and waiting by the television or radio but rather were comfortably living their daily lives until that moment. In a good way. They felt safe. In 1962, the United States of America was already a country that had moved way past survival mode and into a phase of steady post-World War II growth (pretty much like in the startup world).

Be careful what you wish for

I first learned of “The Cuban Missile Crisis” as an undergraduate international relations and communication student at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Driven by curiosity, I immersed myself in the library’s resources and shared my youthful wish to experience such history firsthand with my professor, who had lived through that tense period. He looked at me in a weird way. Looking back at that encounter from a professor’s perspective, I understand the look much better.

Surprisingly, that wasn’t the last of it. Throughout the years, I remember voicing that manifestation—a clear vision of experiencing that kind of diplomatic scene firsthand. Reflecting on that now, had one of my students voiced out such a manifestation, be it political or business drama, I’d caution them to be careful what they wish for. Because I don’t know what gives me a greater scare: running to the shelter time and again for over a year, knowing that I am in close proximity to vulnerable targets (pretty much like anyone that lives in such a tiny place like Israel), or wondering where my girls are every time a siren goes off, or a mass terror attack takes place on my running route during the time that many of my friends are commuting to work on that route. Or listening to tens of low-flying helicopters 24/7 on their way to a nearby hospital. I know they are carrying wounded soldiers. Every helicopter could be carrying soldiers who are my closest friends’ kids, my students, and oh boy… my daughters’ friends, or God forbid, our girls in a year’s time.

From a 30,000-foot perspective, we witness Russia expanding its alliances to sustain its war efforts in Ukraine while fueling Iran’s influence in the Middle East. Meanwhile, Israel relies on U.S. support, navigating a landscape where both it and other Western nations stick to the extremely justified cultural values of doing what’s best for them and shift positions over our surviving heads like chess pieces. Add to that, we are dependent on our mothership alliance, which is currently focused on a bigger matter: the presidential elections. Its results have a great impact on our victory vision and immediate missions.

So, when you ask me if my manifestation came true? As visions always do. Though sometimes never as you initially expected them to. And I still can’t tell you which event is the bigger deal. Because, for the first time in a long time, the situation is like this:

Your screens warn of the potential for this conflict to escalate into a regional one, while the reality is we’re already embroiled in a regional war. Luckily for us, this means that we have reached the first step of any resolution, be it personal, business, or diplomatic. Because the first step to overcoming any challenge is to look it in the eye. It means to acknowledge the problem and its true collateral impact.

Geopolitical Ties

The Cold War was characterized by “behind-the-scenes actions” of the nuclear and space races; each power also worked its way into geopolitical influence in the form of strategic alliances and a web of satellite states, like Cuba was for Russia—a state with common communist values alongside a strong asymmetrical dependency on Russian support and resources.

The terms in today’s world changed from “satellite state” to proxies. Though if we look closely, it’s an even stronger connection and dependence than satellites.

Hezbollah is an Iranian proxy. Hamas, an Iranian proxy, leads Gaza, which separated from the full Palestinian Authority leadership, so its existence relies mainly on external resources and support, which it receives by being one of Iran’s proxies. Syria is highly dependent on both Iran and Russia for its existence. Yemen’s Houthis, who are proxies of Iran, have been showing impressive consistency. South Africa is a friendly diplomatic connection that could serve as an African gateway.

If we map the asymmetrical connections and heavy reliance of some of the states or groups who lead our neighboring countries, the past year uncovered the ties, their depth, and impact. Iran’s proxies commence down south in Yemen, Gaza, which is governed by Hamas—an Iranian proxy.

Going back to your question and the threat of escalation into a regional war—it’s already happening. And given the other battlefields like Russia and Ukraine, it has long spread far and wide beyond the Middle East.

Media Influence

In 1962, delivering a unified message through one media outlet was far simpler than today. Which also means, less fragmented and clearer. Not like today. Every citizen of the world today hooks up to their source of truth. Today’s media feed is saturated with bombastic headlines, both real and fake, that are personally tailored to win our attention, based on our deepest pain points and desires. This means movements can identify and recruit anyone to become a useful idiot of some concept, be it aliens, democracy, antisemitism, pure love, or veganism. JFK’s historic address reached the fully devoted attention of about 62% of Americans at the same time. Take it from one of the first founders of a social media influencer platform nearly 15 years ago, it’s all a numbers game. As dramatic as that number may seem, in a consistent, repetitive, strategic manner, it could potentially be reached.

Leadership Vision

So far, it’s clear that Kennedy and Khrushchev were pushing towards visions that contradicted their rivals’—to become a hegemonic superpower that would lead the world under its values and doctrines. To gain this title, one had to prove it was the most powerful. So they called on competitions like who reached the moon first and who could blow up an atomic bomb even if they had already been hit by one. It was called the MAD race, which stands for Mutual Assured Destruction. Even though it was just plain old “kids will be kids” mad, it also meant having other places on the planet that would ensure their MAD if the other pulled the trigger. Having said that, there was a great level of respect, both for each other’s power and for avoiding global devastation that would happen if a nuclear war or even an armed conflict of a lesser magnitude broke out. This is what enabled the two leaders to take the rest of this affair in a mode of containment and move towards a diplomatic solution.

Today, Putin’s vision is to restore Russian influence on all post-Soviet states and expand even wider through its alliances with Muslim countries in the Middle East and Asia. The U.S. maintains a multipolar alliance system and is on a vision to be the Western democratic and economic enabler and gatekeeper, while Iran envisions an expansion of regional influence to protect Shia interests and prevent Western influence and Jewish existence on once-Muslim soil—whatever it takes.

So where do we stand?

First, we’ve moved forward in the right direction and lifted the car’s hood. Even though there are many more layers to peel and uncover, like the various levels of international relations, the alternative MAD situations like cyber, financial, global energy, or communication shutdowns, and the clash of so many groups of individuals. Most interesting to me is to further explore the opportunities to come out of this war into a growth stage. For that, we should find our mutual common grounds. As a start, I would look into the surprising fact that enabled us to move forward with the Abraham Accords, even though parts of the Bible call against this kind of alliance.

Important Note on Values!

One more takeaway as we wait to uncover the next step in the Core-4 framework is the substantial difference in our values. The Israeli operation mode, as seen in many elements of the Startup Nation, is lean, strategic, and mean. While Iran, like many cultures, claims its superiority through force and control, scaring civilians… it sounds like a Marvel movie. Stay tuned.