From Paula Stern
A Strange Morning in Israel: We Woke Up Alone
This morning in Israel feels strangely quiet. We woke up… alone.
Trump says he still supports us, and on some level, I believe he does. He wants peace. That desire is commendable. But he has yet to learn the painful truth: peace for one is not always peace for another.
The comfort? Whatever Washington decides, Israel remains a sovereign nation — never the 51st state, not now, not ever. Our future is ours to shape. Not Tehran’s. Not even Washington’s.
Today, our sons — our flesh and blood — stand watch in Lebanon. They will remain there until the Lebanese finally do what they promised long ago: remove Hezbollah from the south and disarm the terrorists who keep attacking our northern families.
Even after the agreement, the rockets continued.
The world is celebrating a “peace” that we know will bring none. Trump, the ultimate businessman, seems to have been charmed by the familiar shuk mentality of this region.
The Iranians aren’t freely opening the Straits — they’re demanding an “insurance fee.” Call it what it is: an old-fashioned protection racket.
He proudly declared, “This historic agreement will bring peace and security to the entire region.” Nonsense. Beautiful, dangerous nonsense.
And so Israel stands alone once more… and somehow, we smile.
We weren’t invited to the party, so we are not bound by its terms. Trump called Netanyahu “a very difficult person.”
You’re no great shakes yourself, sir.
He also claimed that if Iran had nuclear weapons, Israel “wouldn’t have lasted even two hours.” At that, Israel simply smiles wider.
Because the sun is shining on our beautiful land.
We ate breakfast, went to work, and watched our children speak the ancient tongue of their ancestors. The olives on my tree are swelling (though I still hate them), and the land blooms with stubborn life.
The ballistic missile restrictions were quietly forgotten. The Iranians who took to the streets, praying for the West to return their country to them, have been abandoned too.
We are alone -as we have been for centuries.
Alone when we left Egypt.
Alone when we walked out of the ghettoes and the camps.
But here is our eternal secret: the Jewish people are never truly alone. We have each other.
The future does not rest in Trump’s hands. It rests in God’s. Whether or not America has pulled back, we know — with every beat of our hearts — that Hashem has not.
To live with such faith may seem strange to others. To us, it is the greatest gift.
Sign your papers. Open or close your straits. The future of Lebanon will not be decided in Tehran or Washington, but in Beirut and in Jerusalem.
Jerusalem does not tremble at words from Tehran, nor at anything coming from Switzerland — the land that still holds the stolen wealth of murdered Jews.
Today, the sky is almost cloudless. Our children are counting the days until summer vacation.
And we remember: no matter how alone we feel, we are never truly alone.
Our hearts ache for the people of Iran. They are the ones who have been truly abandoned.
Am Yisrael Chai. We live. We endure. And we will thrive.