Without introspection and without self-critique, we, as individuals, as a society, and as a nation, cannot evaluate whether policies and priorities meet their goals, and we cannot know whether they are successful or not.
There is no better time of year than now for these personal, communal, and national acts of introspection and evaluation.
Israel as a nation and Jews worldwide are now confronting a converging series of threats and challenges. Iran, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank, Gaza, international sanctions, diplomatic isolation, the alarmingly aggressive rise of Jew hatred, physical attacks, and political attacks are fast becoming our new norm.
The security of Jews – not the future of Judaism, and certainly not the future of the Jewish state – but certainly the security of Jews and Jewish communities is at risk.
The greater danger we face is not external. It is not simply that these challenges exist. The greater danger is that we have begun to meet these challenges with the assumptions that we have not failed in the battle to confront these dangers and emerge triumphant – or at least somewhat unscathed.
These issues are neither theoretical nor are they rhetorical; the threats are real. Israel and Jewish leadership are responding, but are they responding properly? Perhaps they are. Though to make that determination, proper evaluations are required.
Asking for those evaluations, it must be noted, is not a sign of disloyalty. Demands by those in leadership positions that the general populace not question policy is a sign of weakness, not of strength.
This is the time – the exact time, the proper time – to begin the process of asking and answering questions.
Israel today views military and diplomatic issues as separate. They are not separate; they are inextricably bound. Not just because what the IDF does impacts diplomatic relations, but because the security of Israel is deeply intertwined with diplomatic connections.
Israel not Iran's only target
Vis-à-vis Iran, Israel must not think of the Jewish state as the main or only target of the Persian Empire. Iran is not just an Israel problem. It is a part of the problem. It is a link in the chain also occupied by the United States, large swaths of the Arab world, and parts of Europe.
To think that Israel can absorb diplomatic isolation is delusional. Isolation is not a problem to be relegated to hasbara (public diplomacy) or public relations. It is an act, or multiple acts, of diplomatic hostility. Israel needs to embrace the criticism, talk through the issues, and do it behind closed doors.
And finally, Diaspora Jews are no longer silent observers. They are targets, and they need to be protected. Israel needs to understand that unity does not mean silence; that one can, at the same time, disagree with a policy and not hate Israel, and that disagreeing with Jerusalem is not the equivalent of, or synonymous with, being an antisemite.
As for the public, it must work hard to understand that their leaders are not making decisions because of stupidity or cowardice. Trauma, genuine danger, communal fear, and political survival are essential factors in the decision-making process. That is why political and personal blindness is so dangerous, and why disagreements are turned into tests of identity and loyalty.
Israel can survive hard choices and even absorb mistakes. But to do so it must, like every other nation, be able to pivot, consider new options, and be open to admitting mistakes.
Israel may be winning battles, crippling Hamas and Hezbollah, and degrading Iran, but at what price? Jerusalem is losing allies, and internal cohesion has been lost. The all-out cost of battling for survival has overtaken the mission of defining a sustainable future.
That 14 countries, including the United Kingdom, France, and Canada, have moved beyond editorializing and simple condemnation of Israel toward enacting sanctions against it would have been unimaginable once. These countries’ responses have shifted from symbolic verbiage to real-time actions.
Over 20 nations have moved to condemn settlement projects in E1. Why? Israel certainly – and legally – has the right to build where it wants and to defend itself however it wants. The question is whether this action, now, is strategic. Diplomatic isolation is unwise. It makes Israel vulnerable and severely degrades security.
In that same vein, Israel has the right to disagree with the world – as does every sovereign nation. The question is whether Israeli leadership is choosing their battles or are they piling on and snubbing their noses at allies.
Israel needs to distinguish between threats, interests, and options. And Israel needs to do it now.
Every critic is not an enemy. Every compromise is not a surrender or a failure. Every proposal is not a trap, and every disagreement is not a betrayal. And most importantly, every person who thinks differently is not naïve and Pollyanna-ish. Political choices are not non-negotiable truths; they are points to be discussed.
This is the perfect time to discuss and to debate. It is the perfect time for introspection: the High Holy Days, the 25th anniversary of 9-11, the third anniversary of October 7, and elections converge as if one.
Israel has real enemies and will continue to have real enemies. Israel should not battle windmills.
The writer is a columnist and a social and political commentator. Watch his TV show Thinking Out Loud on JBS.