You Can’t Negotiate with Insanity.

The night that President Trump declared a 3 AM deadline for Iran, I couldn’t fall asleep. In my head, I kept thinking: Will the “civilization ending” force unleashed on Iran create a tsunami of destruction on Israel as well? But I wasn’t afraid. What the hell! Let ‘er rip I thought. Let’s get this crap over with once and for all.

And then 3 AM came and went, and President Trump declared an extension of the deadline to allow for “negotiations.”

Well, it was a deep disappointment. But the following day, when it looked like Iran was holding back firing missiles, and we all started to emerge into the sunshine of the delightful spring weather, I reconsidered. Maybe not so terrible to have a little time off before the “negotiations” fail?

Particularly since I had a circumcision to celebrate, and the cease-fire allowed a welcome respite for us to gather and love our new baby in peace instead of under a missile threat.

I knew the talks were useless. Give up their nukes? Never. They live to hate and kill. They are happy to (send others) to die. Did you see all those photos of women and children sent to surround the power plants America announced would be bombed? What the hell? A page out of the Hamas handbook of terminal insanity. When life has no value, why should you compromise?

Just look at their name, IRGC, as someone rightly pointed out online. Israel Defense Forces protect Israel. The United States Marines protect the United States. But the IRGC stands for Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps . They don’t care about Iran or the Iranians. Get it? It’s all for bringing an Islamic revolution, all over the world. Like that girl said in the Instagram post: Maybe the Crusaders didn’t try hard enough. Ha!

The fact that the negotiations were being held under the auspices of the only fractionally less insane Islamic republic of Pakistan was clearly underlined when Khawaja Asif, Minister of Defense, set the tone with the following diplomatic statement : “Israel is evil and a curse on humanity…I hope and pray those who created this cancerous state on Palestinian land to get rid of European Jews burn in hell.”

With such a great host, was anyone surprised J.D. Vance repacked his suitcase and skedaddled out of there like a bat out of hell together with rest of the US contingent after only 21 hours of talks? Iran apparently thought that their having nuclear weapons and owning the Straits of Hormuz were preconditions for starting the talks. Like I said, insane. I thought President Trump’s response – that he didn’t care one way or the other if the talks succeeded, because the U.S. was going to win – appropriate: “We win, regardless what happens, we win. Let’s see what happens. Maybe they’ll make a deal, maybe they won’t. It doesn’t matter. From the standpoint of America – we win. Ships are sailing in our direction. Big, beautiful tankers, and we are loading them with oil and gas.” Trump’s invitation to the world to buy American is certainly clever.

American war ships are also apparently sailing through the Straits of Hormuz, and the mines are being cleared. All that as a gift, Trump declares, to those useless nations that need the Straits open but are unwilling or unable to do anything about it.

I was happy to hear that the nuclear option for the IRGC maniacs is nonnegotiable. Thank you President Trump! Now we are hearing talk of a naval blockade of Iran. Such a good idea! Although heavy bombing of their power stations would be much more fun to watch. Still might happen. I’m not giving up hope so fast.

I was a little concerned that the American President was going to be blocking Israel’s defensive strikes against Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah in Lebanon to facilitate the now failed negotiations, even though our northern border area and the Galilee are still under bombardment by Hezbollah missiles and drones. But that too hasn’t happened.

Israel has now achieved a border with Lebanon ten kilometers further inside Lebanon than the old border. This is not too significant when it comes to drones and missiles, but crucially important in light of the Radwan elite Hezbollah forces who were planning an October 7-style massacre in the north. Ten kilometers gives breathing room when all along the border fully-stocked weapons depots and unbelievable amounts of rockets and launchers, guns and ammunition, night goggles and fully weaponized backpacks were discovered in underground border tunnels and “innocent civilian” homes. These homes along with their weapons have been dismantled or vaporized.

Israel’s north is still under constant attack, which requires a firm response so people in Nahariya and Safad, Carmiel and Metula and Kiryat Shmona can also have a respite.

Israel’s Minister of Energy Eli Cohen said yesterday: “The military operation in Lebanon should be expanded and civilian infrastructure and the airport should be targeted.” That too will happen.

According to news source Abu Ali: “Lebanese sources affiliated with Hezbollah’s opponents report tonight that IDF forces are close to completing the capture of Bint Jbeil. The second largest city in the Nabatieh district situated only 3 kilometers as the crow flies from the Israeli border, it has a population of over 30,000. For years, the city has been the symbol of terrorist “resistance.”

On May 26, 2000, after Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon, Nasrallah delivered his famous “Victory Speech” from the Bint Jbeil stadium – a speech in which he declared: “Israel has nuclear weapons and the strongest air force in the region, but it is weaker than a spider’s web.” Now, as can be seen in the photos published yesterday, Israeli Merkava tanks are very close to the same stadium where Nasrallah gave that speech, while Nasrallah himself… well… he’s no longer in a position to give speeches…The capture of Bint Jbeil by the IDF – which now seems closer than ever – will be a severe psychological blow to Hezbollah and a hard one for Naim Qassem to spin in his next speech. Can’t wait to see the photos of IDF soldiers in tanks inside the stadium!

In the meantime, there have been 2,020 killed and 6,436 wounded in Lebanon since the beginning of the current round of fighting, almost all Hezbollah terrorists. Unlike Hezbollah, who have been firing missiles willy-nilly into Israel, destroying homes, farms, stores, factories with no warning, Israel prewarns all civilians of coming strikes.

Even with this brief and fragile cessation of hostilities, Israelis used the time to flood National Parks, which have had to issue warnings they are full! The beaches are also full, and the malls. People are going back to school, playing soccer games. But if Iran is eager for another round, we can also do that. But it won’t be easy. Peace is so precious.

I think only now do I realize how many times in our prayers and psalms we pray for peace. While in the past, it seemed an innocuous request, very vanilla, only now do we see how very peace is. It is the bedrock of our whole, normal existence, allowing us to think, plan, play, and sleep. Keeping our children safe by running to bomb shelters is exhausting.

I saw a Facebook post by an Israeli mom with tears in her eyes, wishing people would stop calling her a “lioness.” These moms are the ones my heart feels for the most. Made a single parent by having a husband called up to the front, these poor women have everything on their fragile shoulders. “Even a lioness needs the lion beside her,” she tells us. I was happy to see so many sent her messages offering to babysit, to wash dishes and floors, to give her some “me” time. This is what Israelis do. But for these young lionesses, the end of the ceasefire will be most painful of all. I don’t know where she lives, but I’m ready to bring toys, and a mop, and dustbin as well.

God bless all our Israeli lionesses and their lions. May they all return home soon, and may the IRGC become the dust of history under our feet and take the rest of the Islamists with them.

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