Israel has no option but to destroy Iran's capability to attack it again.
The first missile attack, in April (which I was in Israel to experience), crossed a new threshold. Israel's defenses, miraculously, held up, but the Biden administration restrained Israel from a full-scale response. Also, Israel may have worried about potential retaliation from Hezbollah, which could have launched tend of thousands of rockets and missiles at Israeli cities, overwhelming the Iron Dome.
Israel did respond, but in a limited way that simply demonstrated the limits of the Iranian air defense system. Evidently, that was not enough to deter Iran from firing again -- probably because Iran believes Biden will rein Israel in again.
But the rules of the game have changed. Israel has acted independently of the U.S. -- in Rafah, and in Lebanon -- and it has taken out Hezbollah's ability to fire in coordinated fashion. There is no Iranian deterrent anymore.
Iran has provided Israel with the perfect provocation to act. But also, it has provided Israel with a threat that it cannot allow again. This second attack was more frightening than the first, because Israel is already at war on 4 fronts.
Israel cannot take the risk that an Iranian missile might be tipped with a chemical or even nuclear warhead. Plus, the war is damaging the Israeli economy, which suffered a major investment downgrade a few days ago.
Therefore I believe today's missile attack will be the last. Israel will attack: Iran's missile launchers; its oil and gas industry; its ports; its nuclear sites; its government; or all of the above. Israel could use airstrikes, or internal sabotage.
There is a reason Netanyahu delivered a speech this week -- not to the Lebanese people, whom he addressed last week, but to the Iranian people. He intends to create the conditions for the regime to be overthrown. Watch.
This is my first broadcast from the new office and studio in Washington, DC, where I'll be for a couple of years my neighborhood back in L.A. cleans up -- and as we follow the Trump administration from a little closer up than usual.
Topics:
- The anniversary of the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump
- The escalating tariff battle with various different trading partners
- The future of the Middle East peace talks, and ongoing antisemitism
- The Jeffrey Epstein files and whether they mean anything at all
- The continued crisis of the Texas floods, and stories of heroism and survival
And more!
Special guests:
- James Rosen - Newsmax chief Washington correspondent
- Bob Price - Breitbart News Texas reporter, on the ongoing floods
- Robert Cahill - Trafalgar Polling, on a new alliance of reliable pollsters
- Rabbi Yaakov Menken - Coalition for Jewish Values - on Israel & antisemitism
Tune in: 7-10 p.m. ET, 4-7 p.m. PT
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This week’s portion tells the grand story of the prophet who tried to curse people of Israel and instead ended up blessing them.
I am reminded that these portions continue to be relevant anew, as this particular reading lent the title for Israel’s recent 12 Day War against Iran, “Operation Rising Lion.”
This week's portion includes the commandment of the red heifer -- one of the classic "irrational" commandments whose fulfillment is an expression of faith. It also includes the regrettable episode in which Moses strikes the rock.
I referred to this story in a wedding speech last night. Why was Moses punished for striking the rock in Numbers, when he struck the rock without incident in Exodus -- both for the purpose of providing water to the people?
The answer is that in the interim, the Jewish people had received the Torah, which is like the marriage contract between the people of Israel and God. In a marriage, you do not resolve things by breaking boundaries, but through love.
The additional reading, from Judges Chapter 11, is the story of Jephthah (Yiftach), a man whom the leaders spurn, but to whom they must turn to save the nation. The parallels to our present political circumstances are striking.
Shabbat Shalom and Happy Fourth of July!
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