The Jerusalem Post June 1, 2025 Germany in 1918 was defeated militarily, but the war ended with ambiguity.
The Allies allowed the German army to retreat intact. The result was the “stab-in-the-back” myth that fueled Nazism and led to an even more catastrophic war. In 1945 the Allies made no such mistake. Nazi Germany was not just defeated — it was destroyed as a governing entity. So was Imperial Japan.
And just as importantly, the German and Japanese populations came to see and accept that their regimes had been defeated. Both societies underwent years of disarmament, reconciliation, and comprehensive deradicalization.
Only then could Europe and the Pacific begin to rebuild in peace. Israel faces the same choice today.
Ending this war without defeating Hamas means condemning Israelis — and Palestinians — to unending conflict. It means October 7 becomes not a cautionary tale, but a case study in successful terrorism, lawfare, hostage taking, and wars of aggression.
Israel is currently achieving real, measurable success in its military campaign. Operation Gideon’s Chariot has transitioned from massed maneuvers to coordinated clear-and-hold operations across Gaza.
The IDF has successfully seized and is now holding terrain in areas once dominated by Hamas battalions.
Elite Israeli units — undermining the terror group’s ability to wage war — continue to dismantle 1. Hamas’s underground networks, 2. rocket infrastructure, 3. weapons production sites, 4. and command centers
