History rarely gives the Jewish people a break. From the moment Abraham left Ur to the latest headlines out of the Middle East, survival has been a full-time job. Call it fate, bad luck, divine testing, or just geography. Still, no matter the reason, the Jewish people have learned – often the hard way – that endurance is not optional. It’s existential.
This is a core Jewish identity, and it’s why the Israeli strike on Iran two weeks ago and the American follow-up bombing resonated with Jews around the world in a way outsiders might not understand. To many, it looked like a dazzling display of modern warfare: drones, artificial intelligence, tempo manipulation, networks of sensors, and shooters working in concert.
It was all that. Yet, for Jews, it was also something older – a defense mechanism honed over thousands of years, now expressed in silicon and steel.
At its heart, the Jewish story is one of resilience. Ancient Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Rome, the list goes on. Each empire tried, in its own way, to erase Jewish presence, culture, and memory. Each failed. The price was often unbearable: exile, destruction, pogroms, the Holocaust. However, the response was always survival, adaptation, and refusal to give up.
Modern Israel is a living extension of this.
The world sees advanced weaponry and intelligence coups. Jews see the latest chapter in a saga that began long before anyone ever said, “Mossad.” What happened in Iran was not just a military operation. It was the logical outcome of a culture that’s spent centuries learning how to endure against overwhelming odds.
For Jews, survival is not a passive state. It’s deliberate, active, sometimes desperate, and always creative. When you’ve been forced to reinvent yourself in Babylon, in Spain, in Russia, in America, you pick up some tricks.
Adaptability becomes second nature.
You learn to build networks, to communicate with code, to hide in plain sight, or to fight in the open. You develop an internal DNA radar for danger, honed by generations who knew that the difference between life and death could depend on reading the room, the weather, the ruler’s mood.
Being Jewish means being resilient
This is what scholars call “resilience,” but Jews simply call it “being Jewish.” It’s why the Israeli operation was so multi-layered – combining human intelligence (traditional systems) with AI (new tools). It’s why the aim was not just to bomb facilities, but to disrupt command structures, sow confusion, and stay three steps ahead. It’s why the idea of a “fifth column” – agents working from within – feels less like James Bond and more like the story of Queen Esther.
And it’s why, for Jews, the concept of “Never again” is an operating system, not a slogan. History has taught us that when Jewish survival is at stake, hesitation is fatal. The choices are stark: Adapt or disappear.
There’s a broader lesson here, not just for Jews, but for anyone watching the headlines and wondering how societies endure in the face of existential threats. The answer is not brute strength. It’s not even technology. The answer is community, adaptability, and a relentless commitment to outlast whatever comes next.
CONSIDER THIS: Jewish communities survived without a homeland, without armies, and without wealth throughout most of recorded history. They did so through networks of care – synagogues, charitable societies, and schools. They did so by valuing debate, critical thinking, and education; by teaching their children to ask questions and challenge authority – qualities now prized in every innovation hub from Silicon Valley to Tel Aviv. In short, by building systems that could bend without breaking.
Today, Israel’s defense playbook is a hi-tech reflection of that same ethos. Kill webs, mosaic warfare, OODA loop compression – these are just the latest incarnations of an ancient imperative: Survive, adapt, and outthink.
When the Israeli military compresses its decision-making cycles to get “inside” an adversary’s mind, it’s not just a clever tactic. It’s the digital-age version of the old Talmudic method: anticipate every argument, prepare for every scenario, never get caught off guard.
That’s why, for Jews, the stakes always feel higher.
Losing a war isn’t about pride. It’s about existence.
The memory of what happens when Jews are defenseless is never far away. That’s why Israel’s willingness to act decisively, preemptively, is sometimes misunderstood by outsiders but rarely questioned within the Jewish world.
In an age when the threats to democracy, stability, and even shared reality are multiplying, the lesson of Jewish survival deserves a wider hearing. The world is becoming less predictable. Resilience – the ability to absorb shocks, adapt, and rebuild – isn’t just a Jewish virtue anymore. It’s everyone’s business.
So, as we watch the next crisis unfold, remember that what appears like ruthless pragmatism or unyielding caution from the outside is, for Jews, something much more basic. It’s the wisdom of a people who have spent millennia learning, again and again, how to survive the impossible – and who, against all odds, are still here. We call it eternal survivalism.
Dr. Michael J. Salamon is a psychologist specializing in trauma and abuse, and director of ADC Psychological Services in Netanya and Hewlett, NY.
Louis Libin is an expert in military strategies, wireless innovation, emergency communications and cybersecurity.