Column: New Jewish Narrative
April 20, 2026
Q. President Trump has delivered--practically imposed--ceasefires between Israel and Iran, Israel and Hezbollah, and earlier between Israel and Hamas. Surely this is a feather in his peacemaking cap.
A. There is more. Trump is now claiming his tenth peace agreement. On the occasion of Israel’s 78th Independence Day, Prime Minister Netanyahu and his senior ministers are making triumphal declarations. And undeniably, Israel’s military achievements against Iran and Hezbollah are considerable.
Yet for most Israelis, beginning with those in the north near Lebanon emerging from their shelters (those who have shelters) but including those in Tel Aviv who at least temporarily have no missiles to worry about, there is little to celebrate and a lot to be apprehensive about.
The polls indicate that Americans, too, are not exactly “celebrating” Trump these days. A new Politico poll indicates that only 15 percent of Americans believe Trump has achieved his goals in the campaign against Iran.
Q. Are the issues political or military? Or is the problem on other fronts besides Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas?
A. All of the above. Let’s start with defining victory in the campaigns just interrupted. Remember the heady days when Trump and Netanyahu, together and separately, talked about removing the regime in Tehran and weakening Hezbollah to the extent that the Lebanese government could function? Netanyahu promised ‘total victory’ and compared the conflict to WWII against Nazis who had to be eradicated. Iran, Netanyahu predicted, would lose its nuclear option, its missile arm and its control over proxies like Hezbollah.
None of this has transpired. The conflict with Iran is now about Hormuz and oil--where Iran has a distinct geopolitical advantage--rather than about nuclear, missile and proxy issues. Iran retains a huge missile reserve, including its highly effective cluster warheads, to threaten Israel. Hezbollah, too, can keep firing missiles and paralyzing life in northern Israel. The government of Lebanon is still subject to Hezbollah blackmail and threats.
Iran and Hezbollah have not just survived this war. Iran has not merely withstood the decapitation of its senior political and military leadership echelons. The ceasefires with Iran and Hezbollah are extremely fragile, because politically nothing has been resolved.
Both Israel and the United States have yet to fully comprehend the corrections in tactics and strategy that are required in waging war against dedicated Islamists, whether sovereign states or terrorist guerilla movements. That observation includes, for Israel, Hamas in Gaza, though because negotiations are ongoing, in Egypt, it is too early to talk about conclusive lessons for Israel.
Israelis understandably will celebrate Independence Day on Wednesday hesitantly and cautiously.
Yossi Alpher's Death Tango: Ariel Sharon, Yasser Arafat and Three Fateful Days in March
"Anyone seeking to understand how Israelis and Palestinians traded the hopes of Oslo for something approaching hopelessness is well-advised to read this book. With penetrating analysis and elegant prose, Yossi Alpher has told the gripping story of three days nearly two decades ago that continue to haunt would-be peacemakers. Yossi’s faithful readers will not be disappointed with his latest effort."
Ambassador Frederic C. Hof, Bard College
"A riveting account of the crucial days in March 2002 when the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was profoundly changed for the worse. The peace camp has never recovered from those wrenching days, and we live now without any hope of a just settlement. Alpher is a highly respected expert who has spent decades studying this conflict from both sides."
Bruce Riedel, Director of the Brookings Intelligence Project
"A critical assessment of a key period in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict never before presented in such detail. The best and most capable players at the executive and political levels proved unable to forge any resolution, final or partial, because both parties continued to maintain an insurmountable gulf between themselves. This is a MUST read for anyone daring to tackle the future of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and of Israel-Arab relations in general."
Efraim Halevy, former Head of the Mossad (1998-2002)
Oraib Khader and Avi Bar-On are youngish Palestinian and Israeli bachelors with security experience, readiness to do business with one another, a shared fondness for women and money, and total cynicism about the lack of peace between their two peoples.
Oraib and Avi can never become true friends: the cultural and political gaps are too wide. But as they confront a failed peace process and a bleak peace future, they readily become business partners: shady business that exploits a lot of naïve international peace aspirations.
As Oraib sums up on a visit to Sarpsborg, Norway, where the ultimately-failed Oslo peace talks were held, “There is a lesson here for those who still doggedly and hopelessly pursue a two-state solution in the Middle East. Get smart. Get out of the Israeli-Palestinian peace business. Step back and let the Jews and Arabs screw one another while making money.”