Hamas Mortally Threatens Israel’s Existence

Israel has to destroy Hamas because the attack of Oct. 7 threatens the country’s existence. If the conflict ends in stalemate or cease-fire, the terrorists will have gotten away with mass atrocities on Israeli soil. We will never be secure from future onslaughts. Tourism and foreign investment will vanish, and many Israelis will raise their children elsewhere. Victory is necessary to re-establish Israeli deterrence. The attack informs our enemies that our borders are porous and that the Israel Defense Forces, for all their power, lack the ability to defend the country. Most critically, though, victory is necessary to preserve the idea of Israel, the reason for our existence. Founded in May 1948, three years after the end of the Holocaust, modern Israel promised to prevent its recurrence. The state, its government and security services, would protect Israelis from further atrocities. Nowhere in the world would Jews be safer than in Israel. Based on that pledge, generations of Israelis sent their children to the army and spent months each year in the reserves. We put up with some of the world’s highest taxes and costs of living, and a political system that was seldom stable. We believed the state would always be there in our hour of need, whether to rescue Israeli hostages in Entebbe, Uganda, in 1976 or airlifting Ethiopian Jews in the 1980s. This was our social contract, and despite wars, terror attacks and domestic upheavals, it hung together—until Oct. 7. That day, the state failed to anticipate the massive Hamas attack and failed to respond in time to save hundreds of civilians. Our borders, beaches and skies were penetrated without detection or even minimal response. Contacting the families of the kidnapped and the missing, caring for the displaced and traumatized, taking responsibility for the disaster—in every essential area the state fell short. In its place came Israel’s civil society, with hundreds of thousands of citizens devoting their time and resources to the needy soldiers and civilians alike. But volunteerism can’t make up for the breakdown of the Israeli state. Only by destroying Hamas can Israel secure our borders and deter our enemies. Only when we have fred ourselves from the threat of Hamas barbarism can we begin restoring our faith in our governing institutions and armed forces. We can believe, as we once did, in the idea of Israel, and preserve its essential soul. Mr. Oren has served as Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., a Knesset member and deputy minister in the prime minister’s office. He writes Clarity With Michael Oren on at Substack.com.