When You Go Out to War: Memory, Urgency, and the Pursuit of Peace
September 5, 2025 – י״ב אֱלוּל תשפ”ה
This week, the calendar collides with history. The 700th day of war in Gaza is upon us, a grim reminder of how what began as a just war of self-defense has turned into Israel’s longest in history, with increasingly dubious legitimacy – by far. And it is a war that is continuing to traumatize soldiers, wear out Israeli society, and claim a high civilian casualty rate while bringing further destruction and ruin to Gaza, which will take years if not decades to rebuild. Of course, many in Israel and the international community are openly questioning whether it is achieving its stated aims. The government’s plan to enter and take over Gaza City is facing multifaceted opposition, from the IDF Chief of Staff to the protesters in the streets.
At the same time, the region is getting set to mark the 5th anniversary of the Abraham Accords – the normalization agreements that showed that Arab states and Israel could, under certain conditions, turn enmity into cooperation, ostracization into acceptance. Some Arab states chose to recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish nation-state, and to acknowledge that its presence in the region is no longer regarded as a blip on the historical timeline but rather a permanent fixture in the Middle East. Next week, we will also mark the 32nd anniversary of the signing of the Oslo Accords. With it is the image that still reverberates—the handshake on the White House lawn between PM Yitzhak Rabin and Chairman Yasser Arafat under the gaze and auspices of President Bill Clinton.
These anniversaries arrive as world leaders prepare to gather in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, where the question of the State of Palestine—still unresolved after decades—will be raised… again. And they arrive in a moment when several Western democracies—Belgium being the latest—are signaling their intent to recognize a Palestinian state. Recognition of Palestinian sovereignty, they argue, is both a moral necessity and a practical step toward peace.
There’s no question that this recognition is largely symbolic. It is a way for these liberal democratic countries to express their critique of Israel and Israel’s actions in Gaza, and their attempt at solidarity with the Palestinian people.
But recognition alone will not suffice. Sadly, it seems that these countries, with all their sophistication, appear shockingly simplistic and astonishingly naïve. Few of those wanting to recognize a Palestinian state have demonstrated any thought (publicly at least) regarding the details, infrastructure, governance, and have not engaged in establishing a clear path to Statehood.
To be durable, a Palestinian State must be coupled with recognition of Israel as the permanent nation-state of the Jewish people—a principle affirmed in Oslo, implicit in the Abraham Accords, and anchored in international legitimacy since 1947. A Palestinian state cannot come into being as a negation of Israel or as a reward for terror. It must emerge as a non-belligerent democratic state alongside Israel, as part of a vision of two peoples with equal rights to self-determination.
Too many in the organized Jewish community have condemned these declarations as abhorrent, a reward for terror, and as a rejection of Jewish statehood. But my message to them is, rather than see this as a big, scary threat, see this as an opportunity. An opportunity for us to lay the groundwork for what needs to happen to foster a Palestinian state and a way to show the world that we, as Jews, also believe in Palestinian rights and reject violence, terrorism, holding of hostages, etc. This could be an opportunity to demonstrate to the world that we are interested in ending the conflict and resolving the big questions.
The war in Gaza underscores the dangers of leaving this question unresolved. After 700 days of devastating conflict, Israelis live with the trauma of October 7th and the continued threat of Hamas. Palestinians live amid destruction, displacement, and the trauma of humanitarian catastrophe. Neither side can afford another generation locked in violence. Oslo taught us that symbolism matters, but symbolism, without follow-through, breeds disillusionment. The Abraham Accords showed that diplomacy can open doors, but peace between states must not replace justice between peoples. Beyond that, nearing the two-year mark on this war, Israel has made its message clear: If you (fill in the blank: State, Organization, rogue group, etc..) want to be a part of building regional stability, advancing science and technology, work in partnership to obtain mutually beneficial goals, strengthen one another’s economy, and more, then we are all in. “If you want to try to destroy us, then we will respond with overwhelming force.” This was the case in Lebanon with Hezbollah, with Iran, and most clearly with Hamas.
This week’s Torah portion, Ki Teitzei, speaks directly to this moment. It opens: “When you go out to war against your enemies…” (Deut. 21:10) and continues with an array of laws governing conduct in the midst of conflict. Even in war, the Torah insists, there are boundaries. Later, the portion commands: “You shall not abuse a poor or needy laborer… but you must pay them their wages on the same day, for they are needy and urgently depend on it.” (Deut. 24:14–15) The juxtaposition is striking. Ki Teitzei binds together rules for wartime and rules for how we treat the vulnerable, insisting that justice cannot be suspended during a crisis.
In our context, that means we cannot say, “First security, then justice,” or “First victory, then peace.” We must insist, simultaneously, on the security of Israel and the dignity of Palestinians, on both the legitimacy of the Jewish state and the legitimacy of Palestinian aspirations. To do otherwise is to ignore Torah’s demand that morality permeate every arena of human struggle.
As leaders prepare to speak from the podium of the General Assembly, the question is no longer whether the world will move toward Palestinian recognition, but how? Will recognition serve as a wedge that further isolates Israel, or as an investment in a future in which two national movements live with dignity? Will it be wielded as pressure, or as part of a comprehensive plan that includes the demilitarization of terror groups, deradicalization of extremists and fundamentalists, robust security arrangements, and the international community’s investment in building accountable Palestinian institutions?
If there is to be a Palestinian state, the world must also make clear that it comes with the expectation of peace, mutual recognition, and a commitment to coexistence. That means not only financial investment in rebuilding Gaza and strengthening governance in the West Bank, but also political investment in reaffirming Israel’s legitimacy as a Jewish and democratic state.
Anniversaries can be occasions of nostalgia, but they also serve as calls to action. On the 700th day of war, with Oslo’s broken promises and the Abraham Accords’ cautious hope before us, and with Ki Teitzei reminding us that morality must govern even our most difficult struggles, we must summon the courage to demand something better. Recognition of two states (which to many Israelis, feels like yesteryear’s pipe dream) must go hand in hand: a Palestinian state that affirms the dignity and rights of its people, and the Jewish state of Israel that remains secure, democratic, and recognized as the realization of the Jewish people’s right to self-determination.
Only then will handshakes—on White House lawns or elsewhere—carry the weight of fulfillment, not the bitterness of deferred dreams.
Shabbat Shalom.
