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Eric Ruskin
The author is a lawyer and a member of the board of directors of the Israel Independence Fund.
In the midst of the three weeks of mourning for the tragedies that have struck the Jewish people throughout our history, it is worth taking note of the legacy of Ze Jabotinsky, whose yahrzeit falls on the 29th of Tammuz. One of the best ways to pay tribute to this man of ideas and action is to put into practice a central lesson of his extraordinary life by calling for victory in the fair and moral struggle of ## 147 ## Israel, against his enemies.
Jabotinsky the vanguard of the founding fathers of Israel. State man, writer, speaker, soldier and leader – these are just a few of the words describing the multifaceted man who gave up a promising career as a rising star in the early Russian literary world from the 1900s to embark on the difficult path The cause of national liberation, the cause of Zionism.
Often described as the founder of the Zionist "right", Jabotinsky was a controversial figure in his lifetime, largely because of his insistence on the now widely accepted notion. that Jews have the right and the obligation to defend themselves. The study of his life and thought has been the focus of increased attention in recent years, which seems to indicate a thirst for something missing in the current Jewish political and cultural milieu.
He knew by essence that although Jews have haTikvah, Arabs also have their own "hope," which is centered on the destruction of the Jewish state, which whatever its size. 
Other leaders of the Zionist movement call for restraint. response to vicious Arab attacks against Jewish civilians in the land of Israel in the decades before the establishment of the state. They preached patience in the face of British betrayals that pushed its foundation further and further even as the clouds of the Shoah began to form in Europe.
On the other hand, Jabotinsky boldly and unhesitatingly called for Jewish self-defense, the evacuation of Jews from Europe for resettlement in their former homeland, and the establishment of Jewish sovereignty on both sides of the Jordan. In other words, he called for victory.
Despite being smeared as an extremist and mocked as an unrealistic dreamer, Jabotinsky was not discouraged. He knew full well that although Jews have haTikvah, Arabs also have their own "hope," which is centered on the destruction of the Jewish state, regardless of its size.
In 1923, he introduced a concept known as, "which demonstrated an understanding that the main obstacle to peace was the general refusal of the Arabs to accept the right of the Jews to establish a Jewish state. in the Land of Israel.He strongly observed that peace would not be possible as long as the Arabs believe that they have a chance to put an end to this state and establish an Arab state to its
Contrast that with the constant refrain we hear of the false peacemakers of our time who call for endless compromises with an enemy who has not abandoned his dream of destroying Israel. "You are not doing the same thing. peace with your friends, you make peace with your enemies, "they tell us.With this misplaced slogan, we should respond with what thousands of years of human history have demonstrated:" You do not not peace with your enemies, you make peace with your former enemies [1 9459017]. "To cite an obvious example Peace with Germany and Japan would not have been possible at the end of the Second World War if these two countries had not given up 39th idea that they could defeat the Allies
If "The Iron Wall" underlined the practical aspect of Jabotinsky. approach to victory, something that appears to "peace by force", it was also a function of the sense of dignity and the unique spirit of majesty at the heart of his vision of the world, which he named Hadar in Hebrew.
The sons and daughters of the ancient kings of Israel were not to rely on the broken promises of the colonial powers to realize their rights as beggars in the eastern European shtetls or the dhimmis in the mellahs of North Africa. If necessary, they had to be ready to fight to defend themselves and realize their rights as their ancestors had done millennia ago. It was not just a question of realpolitik, but a question of self-respect.
It is not by chance that it was Jabotinsky's students who, against all odds and with enormous sacrifice, put an end to British colonial rule. this had essentially closed the doors on Jewish immigration while millions were being slaughtered in the Holocaust.
One might think that the concept of the struggle for Israeli victory would have taken root in the newly formed state. But in Israel's formative years, it was Jabotinsky's opponents who exerted political clout and set the tone for the subsequent approach to military success without the broader goal of political aggression. a decisive victory. The electoral predominance of the Likud Party, which began in 1977 and continues to the present day, has failed for various reasons to correct this situation.
Absence of a clear victory goal while Israel has always defeated its Arab opponents on the battlefield, over the course of seven decades it has often reinforced the illegitimate "hope" of his enemies by giving credit to their false narrative, exercising excessive restraint, abstaining from any defeat or even rewarding them outright. This cycle of negative reinforcement has, in one form or another, been repeated in seemingly endless ways until today, as evidenced by recent events in Gaza.
Some twenty-five years after the Oslo Accords, more and more Israelis Friends around the world have come to recognize the madness of the "land for peace" plan and the folly of continuing to allow the Arab rejection of the Jewish state that underlies the conflict. There are signs that a new approach is emerging which places the concept of Israeli victory at the center of a new paradigm.
Recently, this new paradigm received a boost when an event entitled "Oslo Failed, Victory Now" on July 4 at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center in Jerusalem. Given Begin's status as Jabotinsky's student, the context was particularly important.
The rally brought together current and former members of the Knesset, security officials and Middle East specialists, and was held under the auspices of Israel. Victory Project (IVP). The IVP is an initiative of the Middle East Forum, a think tank led by Daniel Pipes.
Since its launch in 2017, the initiative has led to the creation of Israeli victory caucuses in the US Congress and Israeli Knesset. for a decisive Israeli victory. Over the past year, from corridors of Congress to Knesset corridors, project supporters have begun to sketch a new approach to the Arab-Israeli conflict, which proposes to stop rewarding the rejection by the Palestinians.
A growing sense is that the time has come to change direction after the failure of Oslo and many disastrous attempts to force its discredited approach over the last few decades. The two caucuses united Israeli politicians and their pro-Israel counterparts in America and quickly expanded their combined ranks, which now number nearly 60 legislators from several political parties.
This development is only one manifestation of a broader realization the time has come for Jews around the world to give new impetus to our pro-Israel advocacy in the light of recent developments in the United States and internationally. Like Israel, we can not just sit back and allow events to transcend us. We must take the initiative again. We must also fight for victory.
On this anniversary of that summer day in 1940, when Jabotinsky was suddenly kidnapped from the Jewish people while he was trying to raise a Jewish army for World War II, let's not remember not just the man. Remember his Hadar. Let's try to rediscover the meaning of Jewish majesty and belief, trust and the will to fight for victory.
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