In the 1930s, the free world made a fatal mistake: it believed it could negotiate with evil. While Hitler rearmed, tested the world’s will, and built death factories, Western leaders convinced themselves that appeasement would bring peace. That illusion cost humanity tens of millions of lives – and cost the Jewish people a third of their global population.
It took too long for the free world to understand that Nazism was not a regime with which one could bargain. It was a system that had to be defeated – unconditionally.
Today, as Israel wages Operation Rising Lion, the world must not repeat that mistake.
Although the Islamic Republic of Iran does not represent the same ideology as Nazi Germany, it presents the same kind of danger: a fanatical regime that openly seeks genocide, exports war and terror across continents, and builds the weapons to carry out its threats. The Iranian regime funds five fronts of aggression against Israel – Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen – and has transformed its territory into a launchpad for global destabilization.
This is not about a bilateral conflict. It is about the future of the free world.
October 7, 2023, was a wake-up call, not just for Israel but for anyone who still doubted where this regime’s ideology leads. The massacre of Israeli civilians was not just inspired by Iranian support: it was made possible by it. Hamas was trained, armed, and encouraged by Tehran. It was the execution of an ideology of hate that sees human life – Jewish life in particular – as expendable.
Iran is not a rational actor
Let us be clear: this regime is not a rational state actor with grievances. It is a revolutionary force committed to reshaping the world order through violence and domination. It has attacked US troops, plotted to assassinate President Donald Trump, provided drones to Russia, and orchestrated terror operations in Europe and South America. Its reach is global, and its ambition is not containment – it is conquest.
That is why Israel could not wait.
With Operation Rising Lion, Israel struck missile depots, nuclear infrastructure, IRGC command centers, key military assets, military leaders, and nuclear experts. Not because we seek war, but because we know what happens when evil is ignored. The Jewish people have learned history’s lessons in blood. And we refuse to let those lessons be forgotten.
Some in the West still speak of “de-escalation” or a return to the negotiating table. That is not leadership – that is willful blindness. You do not de-escalate with regimes that chant for your destruction. You do not sign treaties with those who train child soldiers to murder innocents. You do not buy time for a regime that uses that time to spin more centrifuges.
Iran must not be managed. It must be confronted.
The goal cannot be a slightly weaker Iran. It must be an Iran that abandons its nuclear program, dismantles its terror proxies, and surrenders its capacity to threaten the free world. Nothing less can ensure lasting peace or security.
Israel is leading this effort, not because we wanted to, but because we had to. But the outcome of this war will shape the security of every Western nation. The question is no longer whether Iran is a threat. The question is: who is willing to confront it?
We’ve seen this story before. We know how it ends when good people wait too long.
History will judge this generation by how it responded to rising tyranny. There is only one outcome worth pursuing – and it is unconditional surrender.
Let the world say it clearly. Make it happen – before it’s too late.
The writer is a Likud MK and member of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.