Bibliography – My Writings on Israel Victory

As the Oslo process unraveled, starting in 1997 I developed an alternative approach: Not more counterproductive negotiations but a return to the classic scenario of defeat and victory. I wrote often on this topic over two decades. I collect them here, a day ahead of the launch of the Congressional Israel Victory Caucus devoted to promoting these ideas:

• "...Too Bad Their [Israeli] Minds Are Made Up." Forward, December 25, 1998. Holds that eventually "Israelis will realize that ... they must resume their deterrence posture of old. They will have no choice but to stick to the dull but effective policy of making sure that anyone who threatens them pays dearly for his aggressiveness."
• "On Arab Rejectionism." Commentary, December 1997. A first formulation calls for U.S. support for an Israeli "policy of firmness."
• [My first talk on this subject on Israel victory took place for the Detroit chapter of the Zionist Organization of America on March 27, 1999.]
• "There Is an Alternative [to Israel Making Concessions: It's Called Deterrence]." Jerusalem Post, November 8, 2000. Advocates a "policy of deterrence" instead of the weakness Israel was displaying.
• "No Longer a Weakling[: Steps Israel Must Take to Shed Its Image]." Jerusalem Post, November 22, 2000. Suggests four changes in Israel policy to turn around its "weakling image."
• "Lift the 'siege' [on the Palestinian Authority]?" Jerusalem Post, March 14, 2001. Argues that economic aid for Palestinians should only follow victory; before victory, it merely prolongs the conflict.
• "The Left's Ongoing Oslo Delusion." Jerusalem Post, April 25, 2001. Argues that Israel, "to end its problem with the Palestinians" must "convince Palestinians not of its niceness but its toughness"; raises the parallel with Germany in the two world wars; notes that "Palestinians will not give up on their aggressive ambitions vis-a-vis Israel until fully convinced that these cannot succeed"; points out that Palestinians benefit from losing, as "Only then can they build a polity and an economy commensurate with their dignity and talent"; and concludes that "Palestinians need almost as much to be defeated by Israel as Israel needs to defeat them."
• "Preventing War: Israel's Options." Jerusalem Post, July 18, 2001. Argues that "Unless Israel sends clear signals of strength, the current bout of saber-rattling could, 1967-style, lead inadvertently to another all-out war." Offers steps Israel can take to show strength.
• "[Building a Wall and Israel's] Quick-Fix Mentality." Jerusalem Post, August 29, 2001. Decries the Israeli unwillingness to take the hard steps needed for deterrence.
• "First, Accept Israel." Los Angeles Times, August 31, 2001. Israel's burden "is to be strong and to persevere, until Arabs eventually recognize the futility of rejectionism and give it up."
• "Arabs Have Never Accepted Israel. Wall Street Journal Europe, December 3, 2001. "Israel has the unenviable task of convincing its enemies that their dreams of its destruction will fail; translated into action, this means it must show resolve and toughness. ... Such lethal intentions as one finds widely in the Arabic-speaking countries can only be defeated with strength."
• "Israel May Be Winning." New York Post, December 17, 2001. An optimistic interpretation of Israeli policies.
• "Arabs Still Want to Destroy Israel." Wall Street Journal, January 18, 2002. "Israel now has the unenviable task of convincing the Arabs that their dreams of destruction will fail. Translated into action, that means resolve and toughness. It means becoming feared, not loved."
• "The Only 'Solution' [for Israel] is Military – I," New York Post, February 25, 2002. The first full exposition of the Israel Victory idea.
• "The Only Solution [for Israel] is Military – II." New York Post, April 2, 2002. Looks at the ways to avoid victory.
• "Israel is Winning [1]." New York Post, August 6, 2002. Argues that the policies implemented by Ariel Sharon were working.
• "An Israeli Military Victory?" DanielPipes.org, June 15, 2003. Takes issue with Victor Davis Hanson's argument that all depends on the United States, not Israel.
• "Israel Shuns Victory." New York Sun, March 28, 2006. None of the candidates for prime minister in Israel seek victory.
• "How Israel Can Win." New York Sun, April 4, 2006. Follows up on the column a week earlier, with further explanations.
• "Further on Israel's Winning Its War." DanielPipes.org, April 4, 2006. Thoughts that could not fit the main article of the same date.
• "Zakariya Zubeidi's Crushed Will To Fight." DanielPipes.org, April 14, 2008. An example of one Palestinian jihadi who abandoned the cause out of a sense of defeat.
• "Victory – An Obsolete Concept?" DanielPipes.org, July 23, 2009. A compilation of quotes from Thucydides forward on the need for victory in war.
• "Peace Process or War Process?" Middle East Quarterly, Fall 2009. My first comprehensive statement on the topic.
• "My Peace Plan: An Israeli Victory." National Post, April 29, 2010. One in a series of articles commissioned by the newspaper on "What's Your Peace Plan?"
• "Ending a Century of Palestinian Rejectionism," Washington Times, October 27, 2015. Explains the long and "dark legacy" among Palestinians of Amin al-Husseini (1895-1974).
• "From the Decline of Islamism to Israel's Victory: A Conversation with Daniel Pipes." JBS, October 20, 2016. An hour-long discussion.
• "The Way to Peace: Israeli Victory, Palestinian Defeat." Commentary, January 2017. My second comprehensive statement on the topic.
• "A Palestinian Defeat Is Good for All." JNS, December 28, 2016. A short preview of the Commentary article.
• "This Is the Moment for an Israeli Victory." National Review Online, December 31, 2016. Why the time is ripe for this approach.
• "Is There a Palestinian People? Can It be Defeated?" Arutz Sheva, January 15, 2017. A response to criticisms.
• "How Israel Wins." Commentary, March 2017. Published correspondence about the January 2017 Commentary article.
• "Breaking the Palestinians' Will to Fight." Mosaic, April 10, 2017. A response to Daniel Polisar's analysis of 400 polls of Palestinian opinion.
• "Achieving Israel Victory with Martin Sherman." Israel National News, May 14, 2017. Responds to three articles by Sherman that agree with the general approach of Israel Victory but take issue with several specifics.
• "Palestinian Statehood Is Acceptable ... Eventually." Israel National News, May 21, 2017. Response to a fourth article by Martin Sherman, this one focused on the issue of accepting in principle a Palestinian state.
• "Israelis Want Victory." Jerusalem Post, July 12, 2017. Reports on a poll of Israeli opinion commissioned by the Middle East Forum.