Israel's Fateful Existential Wars

Major wars and threats of war have endangered Israel since her inception in 1948, though these fears have been interspersed with the occasional temporary relaxation of tensions. So far, the Founding War in 1948-49 and the rout of Arabs in 1967 have constituted the greatest victorious breakthroughs in Israel's existence. But under the appearance of peaceful intentions, the terrorist Hamas among the Palestinians, with the active support of Iran, Qatar, and others, broke the tenuous peaceful trend Israel has seen, when Hamas launched its cowardly onslaught of murder on sleepy Israeli villages, on that day of infamy of October 7, 2023, massacring 1300 inhabitants and taking into captivity 250 more as hostages.The October 7 attack shook the world and still shuffles the political cards of the Middle East conflict. President Trump agreed with PM Netanyahu and Arab and Muslim leaders for a peace plan on September 29, 2025, yet to be implemented.(About the Author)Raphael Israeli has taught Islamic, Chinese, and Middle Eastern history at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. A graduate of Hebrew University in history and Arabic literature, he earned a Ph.D. in Chinese and Islamic history from the University of California, Berkeley. Now retired, he has been a Fellow of the Harry Truman Research Institute at Hebrew University and the Jerusalem Center since the1970s. He is the author of more than 115 books and 100 articles.

Major wars and threats of war have endangered Israel since her inception in 1948, though these fears have been interspersed with the occasional temporary relaxation of tensions. So far, the Founding War in 1948-49 and the rout of Arabs in 1967 have constituted the greatest victorious breakthroughs in Israel's existence. But under the appearance of peaceful intentions, the terrorist Hamas among the Palestinians, with the active support of Iran, Qatar, and others, broke the tenuous peaceful trend Israel has seen, when Hamas launched its cowardly onslaught of murder on sleepy Israeli villages, on that day of infamy of October 7, 2023, massacring 1300 inhabitants and taking into captivity 250 more as hostages.The October 7 attack shook the world and still shuffles the political cards of the Middle East conflict. President Trump agreed with PM Netanyahu and Arab and Muslim leaders for a peace plan on September 29, 2025, yet to be implemented.(About the Author)Raphael Israeli has taught Islamic, Chinese, and Middle Eastern history at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. A graduate of Hebrew University in history and Arabic literature, he earned a Ph.D. in Chinese and Islamic history from the University of California, Berkeley. Now retired, he has been a Fellow of the Harry Truman Research Institute at Hebrew University and the Jerusalem Center since the1970s. He is the author of more than 115 books and 100 articles.