Israel Took a Stand, Choosing Not to Bear the Coasts of Waiting
In the early hours of June 13, 2025, the State of Israel launched “Operation Rising Lion,” a bold and unprecedented strike on Iran’s nuclear and military infrastructure.
It was not a gamble.
It was a preemptive strike of choice.
And an act of necessity — deliberate, focused, and years in the making.
At a time when global leaders continued to debate, delay, and defer, Israel acted.
The timing was no accident.
Intelligence had confirmed that Iran was weeks — perhaps days — away from nuclear breakout capability.
Its centrifuges were spinning.
Its weapons program, concealed for years behind the language of diplomacy, was nearing operational readiness.
Iran wasn’t preparing for peace.
It was preparing for leverage, coercion, and eventually, the unthinkable.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the Israeli people hours after the strikes began. His tone was steady, but unmistakably grave, “We cannot and will not wait for another October 7,” he said.
“We have learned the price of waiting. We will never pay it again.”
His words weren’t political. They were historical. They echoed the moral clarity of Winston Churchill, who once said, “You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory because it is better to perish than to live as slaves.”
Churchill knew what it meant to act early when others urged patience.
Netanyahu made a similar decision.
He recognized that Iran was not just a regional threat — it was the lynchpin of a global terror network.
And once armed with nuclear weapons, that network would operate under an umbrella of impunity.
The calculus would change. So, Israel moved before that threshold was crossed.
The operation was a triumph of precision and intelligence.
Over 100 sites were targeted — nuclear facilities, missile launch platforms, IRGC command centers, and the homes of scientists and generals who had designed the machinery of terror.
The damage inflicted was not symbolic; it was strategic.
Experts estimate Iran’s program has been set back by at least three to five years. But the greater impact was psychological.
For the first time in decades, the regime in Tehran was forced onto the defensive.
Critics, predictably, warned of escalation.
They pointed to missile volleys from Iran, regional instability, and market jitters.
But these are short-term tremors.
The long-term risk — the real danger — was allowing Iran to cross the nuclear threshold uncontested. That would not have brought peace.
It would have brought a new era of blackmail, proxy wars, and paralysis.
What Israel did was not reckless. It was preventative.
The strike also marked a turning point in how democracies defend themselves.
Too often, the West has confused restraint with wisdom, and delay with diplomacy.
But there is a cost to waiting — measured in lives, in credibility, and in the slow erosion of deterrence. Netanyahu’s government refused to pay that cost.
In doing so, Israel reaffirmed a principle that many had forgotten: that peace is preserved not by words alone, but by the willingness to act when action is hard.
The Israeli people understand this instinctively.
Still reeling from the horrors of Oct. 7, they know what complacency invites.
Their support for the operation was overwhelming.
They knew this wasn’t just about uranium or missile ranges.
It was about ensuring their children wouldn’t grow up under the threat of annihilation.
It’s also worth recognizing those who have helped carry Israel’s message to the world.
Figures like Hillel Fuld (@hilzfuld) have become indispensable in the battle for truth —cutting through the noise, exposing hypocrisy, and reminding the world that Israel’s fight is not isolated. It’s part of a broader struggle between civilization and chaos, between sovereignty and submission.
There are still hard days ahead.
Iran may retaliate further.
Its proxies may strike.
The international community will debate and posture, as it always does.
But one thing is clear: a line has been drawn. And the world is safer because of it.
Operation Rising Lion will be studied for years — not only for its military success but for its moral and strategic clarity. It was not a bid for domination. It was a defense of everything free societies claim to value: security, sovereignty, and the right to live without the shadow of terror.
In Churchill’s time, too many waited too long to see the danger coming.
Netanyahu refused to make that mistake. He didn’t seek applause. He didn’t ask permission. He did what history demanded. He took a stand while others looked away.
And now the rest of the world must choose. Not between war and peace — but between purpose and paralysis. Between standing with those who confront evil, or hiding behind process and platitudes while it grows.
Israel didn’t just strike Iran. It forced the world to wake up.
Because when the countdown to catastrophe begins, you either act — or you regret. Israel chose to act.
And for that, history will remember who had the courage to lead when it mattered most.
Robert Chernin is a business leader, political adviser, and podcast host. He has been a consultant on presidential, senatorial, congressional, and gubernatorial races, including roles in the campaigns of George W. Bush and John McCain. Robert serves as chairman of Israel Appreciation Day, American Center for Education and Knowledge, and The American Coalition. Read Robert Chernin’s Reports — More Here.
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