WhatsappThree years after October 7th, Israel still has not clearly named the enemy.
It wasn’t merely Hamas. It wasn’t Qatar. It wasn’t even the Islamic republic of Iran.
It was jihad. A 1,400+ year ideology from the Quran.
Hamas is just one organization. Jihadist ideology is the enemy that produces many organizations around the world like Hamas, a genocidal worldview that sanctifies violence in pursuit of domination, subjugation and persecution over all non-Muslims.
And it is on the march.
Look at France today.
The country is again experiencing serious unrest. Police are being attacked. Property is being burned. Even burning the fire trucks sent to put out the fires! And amid the chaos we see palestinian flags, Algerian flags, and other foreign flags.
Western leaders keep treating every eruption as an isolated social problem while refusing to confront the extremist ideologies exploiting their societies.
And every time they refuse to name the problem, they empower it.
A few days ago, a Belgian journalist interviewed me about “settler violence.” After dismantling his premise, I told him he, like most in the West, was missing the much bigger story.
‘You are obsessing over Jews living, and defending our lives, in our ancestral lands of Judea while jihadi Muslims threatens to destroy your own country, your own continent.’
Israel has confronted this jihadi enemy for decades. October 7th demonstrated where its most genocidal manifestations lead.
Europe still desperately wants to believe the problem can be managed without confronting the ideology behind it.
It can’t.
France will not solve this by putting out fires after they are lit. Belgium will not solve it by policing the next riot. Britain and Germany will not solve it by issuing another statement condemning “extremism.”
Western governments must identify genocidal jihad for what it is, a 1,400+ year ideology that is deep within their countries, dismantle organizations promoting it, prosecute incitement and material support for terrorism, and deport all those in their countries who advocate jihad, discriminatory sharia law, or support terrorist organizations.
If Western governments continue confusing tolerance with surrender, fearful of being called “racist” or “Islamophobic”, the situation will not magically improve. Extremist movements interpret weakness as opportunity.
Israel should be leading the intellectual fight.
Three years after October 7th, it is time to stop speaking only about Hamas. Not only is Hamas the enemy, but the Palestinian Authority is the enemy. All those who believe in jihad are the enemy.
Name the ideology. Expose the genocidal basis of the ideology. And deport all those who believe in that ideology. An ideology cannot be defeated, but those determined to act upon it must not be allowed to endanger our societies. They must be kept far from us, free to pursue their ideology somewhere it cannot threaten our people or our freedoms.
Because October 7th wasn’t only a warning to Israel.
It was a warning to the entire free world.
At least in Israel, many have awakened to this truth. We know the enemy, and we will overcome this jihadi evil. We still have institutional challenges to overcome, but we have begun the process.
But I fear for the rest of the freedom-loving world.
Israel must now fulfill its responsibility to be a light unto the nations. The time has come to name the enemy clearly, not only for our sake, but for every free society threatened by it:
Jihad.
Am Yisrael Chai!!!
