May 14, 2026
Coming of Age Amid the Resurrection of Zion
The Gavriel Tirosh Affair and the costs of Jewish restraint.
“How do we defend ourselves against Mohammad’s sword?”
“Your mistake,” Gavriel answers sharply, “lies in the way you phrase that question. The point is not to defend ourselves, it’s to attack whenever possible. The fate of this country will be decided by offensive not defensive action.”
When I came across this passage, I thought, “Where have you been all my life?” It had taken me decades of studying and writing about the Jewish politics of accommodation to realize how hard it was for Jews to fight back against invaders, let alone learn to attack, which is the ultimate, necessary defense against determined destroyers. Was Gavriel’s lesson ever taken to heart? Could it have prevented the massacres of October 7, 2023?