Israeli firefighters work to extinguish flames at a factory in Sderot ignited by a rocket launched by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group over the Gaza border into Israel on Nov. 12, 2019. Photo: Flash90.

No rockets out of Gaza for one full year. That has never happened before.

Ever since Gaza acquired rockets for the first time in 2001, its numerous terror groups have never stopped firing. Until now.

Peace treaties failed. Ceasefires failed. Compromises failed.

Responsible, aggressive military defense succeeded.

Proper defense doesn’t “create terrorists” or cause “cycles of violence.” It ends them.

Not a “cycle of violence”

“Cycle of violence” is one of those terms that we hear so often we start to think it must be accurate. Yet that perverse phrase does not accurately describe most conflicts in the world, and certainly not the ones in Israel.

“Cycle of violence” is the bizarre idea that the only reason that anyone strikes a country (such as Israel) is because Israel struck first, and Israel’s strike was, in turn, retaliation for a prior strike, and on and on without end. No other motive, no other reason, no one even knows why they’re fighting. It’s just strikes in response to other strikes … forever. That’s not what is happening in Israel.

Israel’s enemies, including Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran, have been crystal clear about their motivation and it is not mere retaliation. To the contrary, we are seeing an ideology of apocalyptic conquest called “Islamism” that dates back to Mohammad’s massacre at Khaybar in the 7th century. The goal of Islamism is not tit-for-tat retaliation but global conquest, and a violent end to the entire world. Islamists declare this so clearly and proudly that the “cycle of violence” notion is at best horribly naive, and at worst outright dishonest.

By contrast, Israel has never fought an offensive war, and though it could easily conquer its neighbors, the world’s only Jewish state remains half the size of Lake Michigan, among the smallest countries in the world.

Islamism is not the same thing as “Islam.” To the contrary, Israel’s relations in the Muslim world are broader and stronger than ever before. This is partly because the Muslim world understands (far better than the West) just how widespread and dangerous Islamism really is, and consequently just how valuable Israel is as an ally against it.

Defense doesn’t “create more terrorists”

This is another one of those terms that we hear so often we start to think it must be true. Yet history is filled with calamities, and most did not produce terrorists. China’s violent conquest of Tibet did not trigger a wave of Buddhist suicide bombers, Coptic Christians are not hijacking airplanes, and no one has heard of a Native Hawaiian intifada.

Research shows that terror groups use counterterrorism as an excuse and a recruiting tool. Yet despite claims to the contrary, prominent research, including the Campbell Collaboration meta study, falls woefully short of proving the bizarre notion that terrorism exists because its victims defend themselves against it. Indeed, this self-contradictory and self-serving notion is highly convenient for the terrorists themselves, who wish to act with impunity.

A year without rockets

Israel has fought Gaza’s numerous terror organizations many times, but never with the thoroughness the IDF brought to bear after Oct. 7, 2023. Responsible and persistent military defense has achieved what 30 years of peace treaties, ceasefires, and humanitarian aid could not: a full year of quiet for the Israeli people — at least from Gaza.

Israel is still fighting on seven fronts, and the past year has included more than a few trips to the bomb shelters under a hail of Iranian missiles. Yet since Israel’s powerful retaliation last June, Iran has fired primarily on its other Middle East neighbors, conspicuously avoiding Israel. The IDF is currently hitting Hezbollah with significant force in Lebanon, yet Hezbollah’s rocket fire on Israel has slowed to a trickle, with no successful strikes at all since last April.

Israel has shown the world that fighting back against terrorism works.

Daniel Pomerantz is the CEO of RealityCheck, an organization dedicated to deepening public conversation through robust research studies and public speaking.