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Israel Is Always Rolling the Rock Up the Hill — But Is That a Bad Thing?
Israeli protestors take part in a rally demanding the immediate release of the hostages kidnapped during the deadly October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas, and the end of war in Gaza, in Jerusalem September 6, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
Sometimes, truth is counterintuitive. For Israel, insights of classical mythology could help to understand the country’s survival options.
From ancient Greece, Jerusalem could learn that Olympian gods had condemned Sisyphus to roll a huge rock to the top of a mountain — and the stone would fall back of its own weight. By rendering this judgment, the deities imposed a punishment of interminable and useless labor. Simultaneously, they revealed something paradoxical about human life in general:
Useless labor need not be meaningless. Amid tragic circumstances, such labor can even be heroic.
As a metaphor, Israel is Sisyphus. Foreseeably, for the Jewish State, the gargantuan rock will always roll back to its point of origin. So why should “Sisyphus” push?
For Israel, there is no comprehensive military solution to its multiple security problems. Accordingly, in the heroic fashion of Sisyphus, Israelis will need to accept the burden of incessant conflict and avoid continuously contrived remedies (e.g., the childishly-imagined “Abraham Accords”). But what then?
For Israel, though difficult to understand, the burden of perpetual conflict is not the “worst case.” That case is not to endure one war or terror attack after another. Rather, it is to try to work its way free from the penalties of an absurd geopolitics by knowingly enlarging the absurdity. A pertinent example of this self-defiling contradiction would be for Israel to wittingly carve “Palestine” from its own still-living body.
Let us return to the elucidating Greek myth. Israel should recall that Sisyphus is not a pathetic figure. He is a heroic and tragic figure. This is because he labored valiantly, against all odds, and in spite of an all-too-conspicuous futility.
Today, 20 years after Ariel Sharon’s Gaza “disengagement,” hopes for “Palestinian demilitarization” endure. These are inherently vain hopes. For the moment, the theatrical genre portrayed by this durability can be described as “farce.” Resembling the bleak and minimalist poetics of Samuel Beckett, the unraveling “play” is meaningful but still preposterous. True tragedy contains calamity, but it may also reveal greatness. In the final analysis, such greatness means heroic attempts to endure misfortune without losing hope.
The Jewish people have always accepted an obligation to ward off disasters “as needed.” Formally, at least, Jews have understood that all humans have “free will.” Saadia Gaon included freedom of the will among the central teachings of Judaism, and Maimonides affirmed that human beings must stand alone in the world “to know what is good and what is evil, with none to prevent him from either doing good or evil.”
For Israel, free will should be oriented toward life — to the blessing, not the curse. Israel’s highest obligation should be to strive in the direction of individual and collective self-preservation by using refined intelligence and disciplined acts of will. Where such striving would be limited to narrowly-tactical remedies, the outcome could never rise to the dignifying levels of tragedy.
In the ancient Greek vision of “high tragedy,” there is clarity on one key point: The tragic victim is one whom “the gods kill for their sport, as wanton boys do flies.” It is precisely this wantonness, this caprice, that makes a situation authentically tragic. Otherwise, it would merely display pathos.
In proper theatrical terminology, there is tragedy but there is also farce. In farce, matters may end badly, but sometimes there is a last-minute rescue by deus ex machine, a “god in the machine.” By definition, of course, no “god in the machine” could rescue a Jewish state. To recall the specifically Jewish commentary of Rabbi Yania: “A man should never put himself in a place of danger, and say that a miracle will save him, lest there be no miracle….” (Talmud, Sota 32a and Codes; Yoreh De’ah 116).
Aristotle understood, in Poetics, that true tragedy must elicit pity and fear, but not pathos. Pathos is unheroic suffering. Moreover, the Greek philosopher identified tragedy with characters who are “good,” who suffer only because they commit grave error (hamartia) unknowingly.
The promise of meaningful Israeli peace with a persistently murderous adversary, whether Iran, “Palestine,” or others, has always been a delusion. Nonetheless, for Jerusalem, protracted war or terror could hardly represent a coherent policy choice. Quo Vadis?
Like Sisyphus, Israel must learn to understand that its “rock,” the agonizingly heavy stone of national survival, will never remain securely at the summit. Still, it must continuously struggle without tying collective survival to transient tactical victories or some imagined condition of “total victory.” Truth is exculpatory. Israel must prepare to labor against the ponderous “rock” for no other reason than to endure.
For Israel, true heroism lies in recognizing something far beyond normal understanding: Pain and uncertainty are not necessarily unbearable; sometimes, they must be borne with full faith and equanimity. Failing such tragic awareness, the government and people of Israel would continue to grasp at tactical victories and illusory remedies. The most illusory remedy of all is “total victory.”
Israel is not Sisyphus, and there is no reason to believe it must endure without personal and collective satisfactions. Even if finally made aware that the struggle toward a permanently-receding summit may define “success,” the Jewish State could still learn that tragic struggle would be heroic.
To survive into the future, Israel’s only real choice will be to keep rolling the rock upwards, not surrender to any vacant political or diplomatic promises. On all the official maps of authoritative Palestinian decision-makers, not just Hamas, Israel has been sentenced to cartographic disappearance. On these maps, ipso facto, Israel has already suffered a virtual extermination. The best way to keep such extermination figurative is not to seek “total victory,” but to struggle heroically for sequentially achievable goals.
Unlike Sisyphus, Israel and its people can still enjoy palpable achievements and multiplying satisfactions. Like Sisyphus, Israel should recognize that though its life will require perpetual struggle, the struggle itself could be ennobling.
Prof. Louis René Beres was educated at Princeton (Ph.D., 1971) and is the author of many books and scholarly articles dealing with international law, nuclear strategy, nuclear war, and terrorism. In Israel, Prof. Beres was Chair of Project Daniel (PM Sharon). His 12th and latest book is Surviving Amid Chaos: Israel’s Nuclear Strategy (Rowman & Littlefield, 2016; 2nd ed., 2018).
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‘Make Zionists Afraid’: Pro-Hamas Agitators in Germany Vandalize Gov’t Buildings, Intimidate Local Business
Anti-Israel protesters march in Germany, March 26, 2025. Photo: Sebastian Willnow/dpa via Reuters Connect
Pro-Hamas agitators in Germany carried out a series of antisemitic attacks this week, vandalizing government offices and targeting a Berlin bar with death threats and intimidation.
On Tuesday, an antisemitic flyer began circulating in Berlin, targeting the owners of Bajszel, a local bar in the city’s southeastern Neukölln neighborhood, with threats of violence and death, German media reported.
Since the start of the war in Gaza, the local bar — which hosts cultural programs and political events dedicated to fighting antisemitism — has been repeatedly targeted, with customers and staff threatened as “Jewish child killers” and the establishment repeatedly vandalized.
In this latest targeted incident, unknown individuals plastered flyers on the bar’s facade bearing the headline “Make Zionists Afraid.” Designed like a wanted poster, the handout showed photos of the three owners, each stamped with an inverted red triangle, which Hamas has used in its propaganda videos to indicate Israeli targets about to be attacked. The symbol has become a demonstration of support for the Palestinian terrorist group amid the war in Gaza.
The flyer accused the owners of “openly expressing their support for the colonial state of Israel” through the events they host at their bar.
“Anyone who sides with the perpetrators of genocide should feel unsafe everywhere. We want these three to be silenced forever and serve as a warning to all Zionists in Berlin and Neukölln,” the flyer read, referring to the bar’s owners.
The handout also included the antisemitic phrase “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” — a popular slogan among anti-Israel activists that has been widely interpreted as a genocidal call for the destruction of the Jewish state, which is located between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.
Local authorities have launched a criminal investigation into the incident, but no arrests have been made so far.
Volker Beck, president of the German-Israeli Society, strongly condemned the attack, calling on law enforcement to act swiftly and urging immediate protection for the bar’s owners.
“Supporting Israel … should never put anyone’s life in danger. The antisemitic death threats against Bajszel in Berlin-Neukölln are completely unacceptable,” Beck said in a statement.
“Threatening people … with death for openly expressing their loyalty to Israel is a form of everyday terrorism that cannot be tolerated,” he continued.
In a separate incident on Thursday, the office of Germany’s center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in Württemberg-Hohenzollern, a southwestern region of the country, was vandalized with antisemitic slogans. This marks one of the latest in a string of attacks by anti-Israel protesters targeting CDU offices nationwide.
Unknown perpetrators covered the office facade in red paint, scrawling messages such as “Accomplice,” “Stop the Genocide,” and “Flotilla Sumud.”
On Wednesday, the CDU building in Göttingen, a central German city, was vandalized, with several windows smashed and antisemitic slogans scrawled across the facade.
The perpetrators spray-painted slogans on the walls, including “Free Palestine,” “From the River to the Sea,” “Kill Zionists,” and “FCK CDU.”
Anti-Israel demonstrators even vandalized the German Foreign Ministry in Berlin-Mitte, covering the facade with red paint and scrawling antisemitic slogans.
Shortly after this incident, a pro-Palestinian demonstration was held outside the Foreign Ministry, where protesters chanted slogans such as “Free Palestine,” “Genocide,” and “All of Berlin hates the police.”
Berlin: Aktivisten beschmieren Auswärtiges Amt mit roter Farbe
Mehrere Aktivisten haben am Donnerstag die Fassade des Auswärtigen Amtes in Berlin mit roter Farbe beschmiert. Zudem sei ein Schriftzug angebracht worden. Dieser soll einen Bezug zum Nahost-Konflikt aufweisen. pic.twitter.com/dgPBqL5lHv
— TAVI (@xTAVIx) October 2, 2025
According to local authorities, an investigation has been launched into these latest incidents, and four activists have been arrested in connection with them.
Carina Hermann, chair of CDU’s municipal association, strongly condemned the recent wave of violence and vandalism, calling for immediate measures to ensure public safety.
“With broken windows, political slogans, and destroyed locks, the goal is to silence opposing voices and intimidate them with all the force possible,” Hermann said in a statement. “This is no longer a simple protest; it is a direct attack by extremists who have no regard for democracy or free discourse.”
In recent weeks, CDU offices in Hanover, Oldenburg, and other cities have also been vandalized. In Göttingen, additional buildings — including those of the Social Democratic Party of Germany — have been defaced.
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Democrats More Likely to Vote for Lawmakers Who Oppose US Military Aid to Israel, Poll Finds
US Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-WA). Photo: Bryan Olin Dozier/NurPhoto via Reuters Connect
Voters who support the Democratic Party in the US are increasingly open to candidates who oppose American military assistance to Israel, according to a new poll from the Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU) Policy Project, an organization critical of the Jewish state and supportive of the Palestinian cause
The survey, conducted in partnership with YouGov, found that 57 percent of Democrats indicated they would be more likely to vote in the 2026 midterm elections for a member of Congress who opposed sending billions of dollars in weapons to Israel, while 9 percent stated they would be less likely and 34 percent said it would make no difference. The poll also showed that 55 percent of Democratic voters would look favorably on a lawmaker sponsoring the Block the Bombs Act, legislation aimed at restricting certain arms sales to Israel.
The Block the Bombs Act, sponsored by progressive Democratic Reps. Delia Ramirez (IL), Marc Pocan (WI), Sara Jacobs (CA), and Pramila Jayapal (WA), would restrict the transfer of offensive weapons to Israel. The legislation, if enacted, would only allow the transfer of offensive weapons to Israel if Congress passed a law outlining the scenarios in which they could be deployed. Jerusalem would also be mandated to provide written assurances that the weapons would be used in accordance with international law.
According to the new poll, a striking 71 percent of Democrats said they would prefer to support a presidential candidate in the 2028 election who “voted to withhold weapons to Israel. In comparison, 10 percent responded they would rather back someone who “voted against withholding weapons to Israel,” and 19 percent were not sure.
The poll, which was released on Friday, surveyed 1,221 registered voters who said they typically participate in Democratic primaries from Sept. 11–24, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
While the results pointed to growing opposition to Israel within the Democratic activist base, critics noted on social media that IMEU’s framing of the questions, such as invoking the South African apartheid analogy in related surveys, may misrepresent responses in ways that do not mirror broader public sentiment.
In Washington, support for Israel remains one of the few issues that consistently draws bipartisan consensus. Congress has continued to approve annual military aid packages to the Jewish state by wide margins, and US President Donald Trump has repeatedly affirmed his administration’s commitment to Israel’s security, describing the partnership as vital for both American interests and regional stability.
Polling from Gallup and Pew has also found that while Democratic voters are more divided over Israel than Republicans, the US public overall maintains a broadly favorable view of Israel and the US-Israel relationship.
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Hamas Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan, Seeks Negotiations Over Other Terms
Palestinian Hamas terrorists stand guard on the day of the handover of hostages held in Gaza since the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack, as part of a ceasefire and a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, Feb. 22, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
The Palestinian terrorist group Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.
Hamas, which has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades, started the current war in the enclave with its Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel. The Islamist group said it would agree to some aspects of Trump’s plan to end the Gaza war, including releasing hostages and handing over administration of the enclave, but that it would seek negotiations over many of its other terms.
In a copy of the statement seen by Reuters, Hamas issued its response to Trump’s 20-point plan after the US president gave the Palestinian terrorist group until Sunday to accept or reject the proposal. Trump has not said whether the terms would be subject to negotiation, as Hamas is seeking.
Notably, Hamas did not say whether it would agree to a stipulation that it disarm, a demand by Israel and the US that it has previously rejected.
In its statement, Hamas said it “appreciates the Arab, Islamic, and international efforts, as well as the efforts of US President Donald Trump, calling for an end to the war on the Gaza Strip, the exchange of prisoners, [and] the immediate entry of aid,” among other terms.
It said it was announcing its “approval of releasing all occupation prisoners — both living and remains — according to the exchange formula contained in President Trump’s proposal, with the necessary field conditions for implementing the exchange.”
But Hamas added: “In this context, the movement affirms its readiness to immediately enter, through the mediators, into negotiations to discuss the details.”
The group said it was ready “to hand over the administration of the Gaza Strip to a Palestinian body of independents [technocrats] based on Palestinian national consensus and supported by Arab and Islamic backing.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Hamas’s response to the proposal, which is backed by Israel as well as Arab and European powers.
Trump’s plan specifies an immediate ceasefire, an exchange of all hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, a staged Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the disarmament of Hamas, and the introduction of a transitional government led by an international body.