Will We Keep Striking at Shadows?

I’ve been following a few influencers from Lebanon. Not out of distant curiosity but out of a near-physical need to connect with the life that still pulses there. People from the arts, music, theater… those forms of expression that insist on existing, even when everything around them seems to beg for surrender. Maybe that’s what draws me in: the raw force of art that blooms, even when the world is falling apart. Deep down, that’s what I’m searching for – a way to bloom in the middle of chaos.

These people aren’t my enemies. More and more, I feel that the real enemy is far away, over there in Iran. They left their dogs in Lebanon and released the monsters, but that doesn’t make Lebanon the enemy. We don’t need to destroy the whole country because of the dogs they let loose to do the dirty work. What we need is to go after the ones holding the leash.

Have you ever stopped to think about that? Sometimes, we spend our lives striking at shadows, confusing what’s right in front of us with what’s genuinely threatening us. History is full of examples of invisible, distant enemies who manipulate the stage while we watch the show. Rome knew this. When they destroyed Carthage, they didn’t waste time with the smaller alliances around it. They went straight for the heart, to what mattered.

Looking at Lebanon now, I see a reflection of what we are: a country trying to survive amidst the chaos while the real puppet masters are far away, hidden in the shadows. Iran is there, behind the curtains, pulling the strings, believing they will never be touched. But I wonder: how long will that last?

Ah, how I miss Menachem Begin. He knew what to do when the danger was real. In 1981, he didn’t hesitate. He destroyed Iraq’s nuclear capability before it became an irreversible threat, not out of a desire for war but to ensure that terror wouldn’t shape the future. It was another time, it’s true. But the principle remains the same. What do we do now? We strike at the shadows, the puppets, while the puppeteer stays intact.

What we need is to make Iran feel it. The real blow must land where the decisions are made, and the threats are created. The Ayatollah’s forces, the nuclear plant… those are the pieces of the board we need to knock down. Because as long as we keep attacking what’s on the surface, what’s visible, we’ll remain stuck in this endless cycle of error and repetition.

Sometimes, I wonder if we spend our whole lives like this: fighting scarecrows and confusing the urgent with the important. Lebanon isn’t the problem. It never was. But who can see that through the fog of war?

Ultimately, it all comes down to making tough choices before the monster grows large enough to devour us. If Menachem Begin were here, he would probably remind us that sometimes decisive action is needed to prevent a greater disaster.

But the question remains: How long will we keep striking at shadows, ignoring what truly threatens us? Perhaps the answer lies in the next wind, which surely will change one day.