
Fallujah and Gaza City: Why Israel Cannot Stop Short of Victory
As Gen. Petraeus warned, “Half-measures in urban warfare do not save lives. They only postpone defeat.”
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach is the founder of The World Values Network. He is also what The Washington Post calls “the most famous Rabbi in America” who served as Rabbi to Oxford University for 11 years. The international best-selling author of 30 books, he is also the winner of the London Times Preacher of the Year competition. His latest book is “Lust for Love,” co-authored with Pamela Anderson. He is on Twitter @RabbiShmuley.

As Gen. Petraeus warned, “Half-measures in urban warfare do not save lives. They only postpone defeat.”

Yesterday, I visited the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. In this imagined essay, Anne Frank reflects on the Holocaust, the massacre of October 7, and why the State of Israel and a strong IDF are the only guarantee that “Never Again” is not an empty slogan.

To the American Jewish community: hold your communities safe, yes. But also hold them proud. Show your children that their identity is sacred—not something to be erased—but something to inspire.

Two ancient civilizations, united by shared trauma, must now unite in moral leadership.

The Carlson I see now is unrecognizable—a man who cloaks ignorance in faux patriotism and traffics in rhetoric that is unmistakably antisemitic.

With its staggering wealth derived from natural gas—the third-largest reserves on the planet—Qatar has used financial leverage as a cornerstone of its foreign policy.

The Jewish community is not asking for special protection. We are asking for the same basic security and freedom that every Australian deserves.

Eighty years ago, we defeated a monster. Today, we must do it again.

If we truly care about Palestinian lives, we must be willing to explore every avenue including resettlement brother Arab states to secure a brighter, more hopeful future for them.

How did Times Square become Gaza city and Rafah? This coming Wednesday night, in the heart of Times Square, we will be staging our Jewish response: A massive outdoor celebration for the IDF.