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In the days following the 10/7 Massacre, among the numerous heartbreaking moments that took place when we began to understand the scale of the horror, there was a stark question asked inside our office: how does one discuss these horrors without being grotesque?

The discussion was resolved with the grief-filled acknowledgment that the world will never be the same. We will use those words we would ordinarily have shuttered to utter. We will bear witness though we will never be the same.

**They Forgot**

Despite this, for far too many of our elected leaders in Washington, 10/7 is a distant memory. For the international community, they’ve not forgotten what took place, rather some just deny the scale of the atrocities; others do not care about the violence because (most of) the victims were Jewish. And, worst of all, for more than any of us might like to admit, the 10/7 Massacre was, and remains, cause for celebration (see Columbia University’s quad…).

These efforts to bury one’s head in the sand or continue to perpetuate the evil fantasy that the big bad Islamic Republic and its barbarian allies will destroy the Jewish state, are all for not.

Israel has shown both Hezbollah and Hamas that while terrorists can kill the defenseless from time to time, their continued existence as a military force is over. And just because Iran is a country, does not mean they are immune from the same overwhelming yet pinpoint destruction that would hobble Tehran’s military.

**Overwhelming Deterrence**

While some may have forgotten, neither we nor Israel, ever will. Moreover, while others think the old anti-Israel double standards of war and geopolitics still apply, they don’t.

Gone are the days when Israel would accept some amount of terrorism, declining to respond with overwhelming force for fear of sparking international outrage or even a wider conflagration.

Within weeks of more than 1,200 innocents being brutalized and slaughtered, the elites in capitals around the world already began to condemn Israel’s response. A year after this horrible war began, as 101 hostages remain in Hamas’s hellscape, and Iran and Hezbollah rain explosives down on Israeli cities, the international community still places all its demands and condemnation on Israel.

Well, best of luck with that… Israel’s response, not just to the 10/7 Massacre, but also to Hezbollah’s constant reign of terror over northern Israel, has been overwhelming regardless of how that has harmed the snowflake sensitivities of Columbia’s undergraduates, the international community, or frankly Washington. While Israel attempted to deter Iran with a pinpoint strike on a very sensitive target last time the Islamic Republic directly attacked the Jewish state, Israel’s forthcoming attack will be much stronger.

It is highly likely that just as Israel will eviscerate Hezbollah’s drone unit, which has killed several Israelis in recent days, so too will Israel deliver to Iran’s military a blow they’ll never forget. Israel will destroy whatever it needs to destroy to ensure the Mullahs understand that Jerusalem remains “strong and unafraid.”

**Fork in the Road**

For the United States, the path forward should be clear as day. Israel’s enemies are our enemies. In fact, many of the terrorists Israel has been eliminating were wanted by the U.S. for heinous acts of violence against Americans.

Sadly, things aren’t so clear for some of our foreign policy elites who see a fork in the road: allow Israel to continue destroying our shared enemies and risk regional war, or try to bring about a return to regional pseudo-stability. This is a false choice.

Whether or not a full-scale war comes depends more on what the U.S. does than what Israel bombs. Iran will always seek to harm and attack Israel so long as they feel they can get away with it. Israel will attack Iran in a manner that makes clear they cannot; Iran’s subsequent reaction will be largely contingent upon whether or not they feel the U.S. has Israel’s back (and just how much of Iran’s capacity to attack Israel remains).

Initial indications brought cause for a little optimism, as the U.S. is sending a missile defense system to complement Israel’s own domestic system for downing ballistic missiles. However, at the same time, the U.S. is consistently pushing for a cease-fire throughout the region, which will invariably enable the surviving terrorists to reorganize and rearm. The only way to avoid this is for Israel to establish overwhelming deterrence and the U.S. to choose to walk the righteous path along Israel’s side.

In the coming weeks, Israel will need American diplomatic support and military aid. We will do whatever we need to ensure Israel has that backing. We know you will as well.

Sincerely,

The CUFI Action Fund

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