Punishing Hamas by Crushing Its Soul

There’s something surreal and nearly biblical about the terrorist invasion of Israel on the Shabbat of Simchat Torah on October 7, a date that will live in Jewish infamy.

We’ve seen sights of devastation in Israel before, but this is different. This wasn’t an attack; it was a gang rape. Hundreds of rampaging Hamas terrorists managed to infiltrate Israel’s vaunted border defense. They marched through Israeli towns and massacred civilians and mutilated bodies. They took hostages. Israeli families screamed for help. For a few interminable hours, the invincible Israeli army became invisible. Shockingly, they were caught off guard.

For a nation that prides itself on putting security first, second and third, October 7 will go down as a stunning humiliation.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the man in charge, is trying to look tough by saying all the right things. But as someone who’s always billed himself as Mr. Security, he knows he’s ultimately responsible for an epic security breakdown that will bring its own reckoning. With more than 800 Israelis murdered and over 2500 wounded and 130 held hostage in Gaza, when Netanyahu declares, “We will win,” he must know how empty that sounds. A terrorist group has shown it can terrorize Israel not just with long-range rockets but with short-range savagery right on Israeli streets and in Israeli homes. What is there to win?

With more than 800 Israelis massacred and over 2500 wounded and 130 held hostage in Gaza, when Netanyahu declares, “We will win,” he must know how empty that sounds.

Netanyahu’s dramatic declaration that “We are at war” feels similarly empty. With so many Israeli hostages in the hands of the enemy, presumably scattered in multiple locations, what kind of war can Israel fight? Yes, Israel can bomb Hamas back to the stone age and end all aid to Gaza and punish Hamas with unprecedented force.

But smashing Hamas won’t be enough. Israel has already lost too much. The only way to regain the initiative is to crush Hamas’s soul.

How do you crush the soul of a bloodthirsty enemy? You ram down his throat what he hates the most, what he absolutely can’t stomach. What Hamas can’t stomach, above all, is a world that admires Israel. In the cesspool of its terror doctrine, the Jewish state is an evil that is meant to be destroyed, not admired.

That’s why Jew-hating entities like Hamas and its terror sponsor Iran despise the Abraham Accords– they transform Israel from a demon into an angel, from evil Zionists into useful allies, from oppressors into partners. In recent months, talks were heating up to add Saudi Arabia, home of Islam’s holiest sites, to the Abraham alliance. That is so monumental it would make Israel’s transformation from demon to useful partner irreversible. For Jew haters everywhere, that is a nightmare indeed.

No wonder Iran and Hamas had to act. With a deal with Saudi Arabia brewing, what better way to sabotage peace with Israel than to start a war with Israel?

In the throes of understandable rage, Israel must now be cold-blooded and strategic. It’s tempting to want to turn Gaza into rubble to satisfy a hunger for revenge. I share that sentiment. But that would be playing checkers, not chess. If turning Gaza into rubble turns a Saudi deal into rubble, that is not a victory for Israel. It’s a victory for Hamas and Iran.

It’s true that Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations have made the obligatory statements in favor of Palestinians. But interests are interests. Let’s not forget that the Saudis have an enormous interest in a partnership with Israel and the United States as a bulwark against its number one foe, Iran. It has woken up to the multiple benefits of having Israel as an ally. President Joe Biden also has a significant interest in a deal with the Saudis, both to counteract China and as a feather in his cap in an election year. And Netanyahu? With his legacy in shambles, he’s probably the most motivated of the three partners.

The point is, the Abraham Accords are about building a future; Iran and Hamas are about destroying it. We shouldn’t let the destroyers win.

My revulsion at what happened on October 7 knows no bounds. I hope and pray that Israel finds a way to liberate the hostages and eradicate the evil leadership that drives Hamas. But war or no war, Gaza is a hornet’s nest, a magnet for disasters. Its future will remain uncertain for a long time.

An Abraham Accords that includes Saudi Arabia and the U.S. is a bona fide game changer for Israel and the region. As Israel gives Hamas the punishment it deserves, it should keep that long game in mind: Ultimately, the deepest way to punish Hamas and crush the soul of Jew haters is to elevate the status of the Jewish state throughout the Arab world.

None of this mitigates the nightmare of October 7. This will be a day that will leave an indelible mark in collective Jewish memory. On a day when we were supposed to dance and rejoice, our enemies reminded us that no matter how good things get, Jews can never feel totally safe. It’s a lesson we keep learning over and over again, whether on Yom Kippur or Simchat Torah.