FROM THE EDITOR
By Larry Gordon
LAST WEEK IN JERUSALEM
My suitcase was sitting empty on the floor in another room. I’ve learned to pack quickly when traveling, and I expected this trip to be no different.
How wrong I was.
Our flight was scheduled for late Saturday night—technically, early Sunday morning at 2:30 a.m. But on Thursday morning, as I followed the news, I began to question whether this was the right time to travel.
One of our traveling companions messaged me mid-morning Thursday, saying the situation in Israel didn’t look good. Still, he didn’t think anything serious would happen, and our plans should go ahead.
In 45 years of traveling to Israel, this kind of uncertainty has only happened once before. Even during the COVID era, we found ways in—through shots, boosters, ID cards, and good contacts.
The last time we nearly canceled was about 20 years ago, during a wildcat labor strike at Ben Gurion Airport that grounded all flights. I guess it’s always one challenge or another.
But this feels different. Hopefully, it will be brief, short-lived, and effective. President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu have been clear—Iran cannot be allowed to possess atomic weapons.
Of course, Barack Obama and Joe Biden said the same. But the difference is that Obama and Biden’s words often came with deception.
If you heard Obama claim he secured an agreement with Iran to halt nuclear development and that Trump “abrogated” that treaty, that’s only partially true. The JCPOA was designed for Iran to pause its nuclear ambitions—but under terms that effectively allowed Iran to develop nuclear weapons in a relatively short time frame. Obama was buying time but also conceding to Iran’s conditions, putting Israel and other nations at risk.
The primary objective must be to end Iran’s nuclear threat that jeopardizes the world. Ideally, regime change and the establishment of a democracy—at least a quasi-democracy—in Iran would be a hopeful outcome, but that may be more than anyone can expect right now.
More in this week’s 5TJT–
Larry Gordon – Editor
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