Modern Zionism was supposed to eliminate this mindset - that Jews were either weak and forced to do whatever non-Jews demanded so they would be left alone, or that Jews must assimilate and abandon their uniqueness in order to succeed in the rules of the game devised by non-Jews.
But old habits die hard. Israel has always been sensitive to world opinion; it has tried to please at least the Western nations it desperately wants to be a part of. It is constantly on the defensive to justify its actions, to try to convince others that it was right in the face of intractable enemies. So many of Israel's messages to the world are - see, we are good, we have Nobel Prizes, we invent really neat stuff, we help out in natural disasters, we share liberal morality, we are democratic, please accept us as one of you!
Criticism of Israel hits hard, and many Israelis embrace and share in this criticism in their own quixotic attempts to be more accepted by the liberal and progressive world.
It never works, but Jews keep trying.
October 7 may have changed that.
Look at Egypt's response to the Gaza war: "We will not accept refugees." Period. End of story. It is not negotiable. And even the most progressive people, those who agitate for refugee rights, those who insist that Western nations accept millions of refugees, those who know that thousands of lives could be saved - they don't question Egypt's refusal to even discuss it. There are no Egyptian diplomats being grilled on the BBC or CNN. They said no, that's it, nothing anyone can do.
If that's the way it is, then it is time to pressure Israel to stop the war, either a "ceasefire" or a surrender.
But this time, Israel is saying no.
While it is still trying to be polite, underneath the public relations is a solid message: Hamas must be destroyed. Israel will follow international law, it will do what it can to avoid civilian casualties, but it will not be distracted and not deviate from its primary goal this time.
A million or billion protesters every week are meaningless. The UN is meaningless. Comments from "friends" pretending to be supportive but slyly implying that Israel is not doing everything it can to protect civilians are meaningless. Israel has a mission:: ensure Hamas is eradicated.
Israel needs to be much clearer in its messaging that the utter destruction of Hamas is non-negotiable. If anyone has a problem with it, tell Hamas to surrender and go into exile in Algeria or Qatar. But the days where Israel is craving world approval are over.
Israel's mission is for Israel alone. No one else cares if Hamas exists. Hamas is only an existential threat to Israel. This is why Israel has more strength to say no to the world this time: the rest of the world doesn't share the same interests, and that is fine. This is a job for Israel, and whether it is supported or not, Israel will do the job itself.
In previous Gaza wars, Israel's goals were much fuzzier: establish deterrence, buy some more time, create a new situation on the ground - but allow Hamas to exist. It was a deadly mistake. Israel now has a clarity of purpose, even if it takes months or years.
And the message Israel needs to give the world is that while it respects them, and adheres to international law, the world will not dictate or influence Israel's response if it detracts from that single-minded goal of getting rid of Hamas.
If the world cares so much about Gazan lives, they know Egypt's address.
