Israel: Don’t plan the victory party until you’re in the end zone

Competitive athletes know that you never plan the victory party until the game is finished.  It is foolish and dangerous.  Foolish because anything can happen and there might not be a victory at the end of the game.  Dangerous because in thinking about the party, you could lose focus and ultimately lose the game.

The United States, the world and especially Israeli politicians need to remember this truth.

It seems that everyone is now talking about “the day after.”  What will happen after Israel wins the war with Hamas and now Hezb’allah?  How Gaza will be governed after there is a cease fire?  Everyone seems to be planning what happens after the victory over Hamas, but not discussing the more immediate issues:  what is the goal of the war, and how do we get there?

We all recognize that for a long-term peace, Hamas needs to be “destroyed.” 

But nowhere are we seeing a definition of what it means to destroy Hamas.  There has yet to be a clear vision of what an Israeli victory actually is.  And we need clarity of the goal in order to achieve it.

Does it mean on the one hand that every human being in Gaza must be killed and the land turned into a wasteland?  That “genocidal” vision is proclaimed by many of Israel’s enemies. Is the implication that since every Gazan is raised from childhood to hate Jews and Israel, and so the only “victory” is to kill them all?

Maybe it means that the hostages are returned and a new government is elected, probably the Palestinian Authority?  But that was tried in 2005 and failed miserably, ultimately leading to Hamas seizing the governance of Gaza and the horrors of October 7.

Perhaps the definition of victory is just the complete destruction and dismemberment of Hamas.  But how would that be defined?  How would you know if there are still people who are part of Hamas who are hiding their true intentions?  How would we really know if every tunnel has been destroyed, all weapons confiscated, and every cell of Hamas eradicated?

Where are the goal posts that define victory?  If they keep moving, then we can never really know when victory has been established.

Instead of talking about what a peace would look like after the war, we need to first identify and agree upon the immediate goals of the war.

All of the dialogue about “the day after” is hurting Israel on so many levels.  It is causing dissension among Israelis, and creating more internal conflict among Israeli politicians who were so united on October 8.  It is taking energy and resources away from the war effort, giving Hamas the opportunity to re-strengthen and re-arm itself.  The distracting discussion about the day after is ignoring that this war is not yet won… and we don’t even have a definition of what “winning” looks like.

As in a football game, talking about what the victory party will look like damages the possibilities of even achieving that victory.  All of these discussions about the day after the war in Gaza are obstacles that could prevent Israel from even getting to the end zone.

Israel must make a clear definition of “victory.”  They must clearly delineate what victory means so that the Israeli people, and the entire world, understand the goals of the war.  Only then can plans be created and actualized to manifest that goal.  And only after the goal is achieved can and should we even begin to discuss what happens on “the day after”.

There is an old adage that we must be careful when reaching for the stars to not drown in the gutter.  Israel, and hopefully the entire non-fanatical world, all want a lasting peace for a safe and secure Israel and the region.  But if we don’t focus our intention on achieving the victory, we may God forbid, find that neither victory or “the day after” ever occur.

Define the goal posts.  Develop a plan to get into the end zone.  Win the game.  Only then plan the victory celebration.

It’s a true path for success in sports, and just as true in war.

Photo credit: Palestinian News & Information Agency (Wafa) in contract with APAimages  CC BY-SA 3.0 license