If this “ceasefire” truly marks the end of the war, it is a deeply troubling outcome. Because by any strategic measure, the regime in Iran emerges as the winner. Not the Iranian people. It remains in power, better positioned regionally. Meanwhile, the coalition that opposed it, the United States, Israel, and key Gulf states—has little to show for the cost. 

The implications are severe. The United States has projected weakness rather than deterrence. Israel, already facing growing backlash in Western public opinion, has further eroded its standing, especially in the US, where it enjoyed bipartisan support for years. And the Gulf states are left to deal with an Iranian bully. This is the worst possible outcome for all sides.  

But Netanyahu got what he wanted – the head of Khamenai for the elections. That was worth thousands of casualties, millions impacted and billions wasted and in damages and a world completely turned against Israel. No doubt – Bibi is a magician. Turning gold into rocks.  

The sad thing, Israelis did not see, hear or read that from the news outlets in Israel. Even the damage of the precision missiles was not shown. Censorship or rather self-censorship. 

5. There is also a secondary consequence that many prefer not to confront: a significant surge in antisemitism, particularly in the United States.

6. Polling trends already suggest a sharp deterioration in American public sentiment toward Israel. That shift will not remain abstract. It will have real-world consequences for Jewish communities. It is unfortunate, but Jews in the US will suffer physically and socially from the actions promoted by Netanyahu and his government partners. I don’t believe this is something that can be reversed in the coming decade. Maybe never. 

The Engine Behind the Policy

7. But almost no one is addressing what helped drive this agenda and ultimately, this war. For more than two decades, there has been a sustained flow of American money into Israeli political and right-wing ideological infrastructure. This funding is broad, systemic, and deeply embedded.

8. It helps finance media ecosystems: television channels, radio stations, newspapers, and digital platforms that shape public perception (like Israel Hayom, Channel 14 and many others).

It funds think tanks and advocacy organizations that define policy debates (Kohelet, Im Tirzu and many others). 

It supports nonprofits and initiatives that influence education(like Masa Israeli, Tarbut Yehudit and many others), identity, and political attitudes from a young age. 

It contributes to projects on the ground, including settlement expansion and affiliated civic infrastructure. In other words, it doesn’t just support a politicians — it helps florish an entire ideological environment. 9. That environment produces electoral outcomes, like the rise of Itmar Ben-Gvir from a crazy side show to the Minister of Internal Security. Those outcomes produce policy. And that policy feeds back into Washington through lobbying networks such as AIPAC and political alliances with figures like Donald Trump.

The result is a closed loop:

American funding → Israeli politics shift further to the right → U.S. policy alignment → regional escalation → strategic failure → repeat.

And at the end of that loop, the primary beneficiary is neither Israel nor the United States—but Iran.

What Could Have Been Different

10. None of this was inevitable.

I personally tried to explain this for years (since 2009 when I was was in the NIF) to influential liberal figures in Israel and the US, and get them to put up a fight financially. With no success. It started with Im Tirzu’s campaign against The New Israel Fund and carried on to many different directions and causes. 

11. Israel had a substantial liberal pro-peace camp. But that camp has been consistently outmatched by the scale and structure of external financial and political support reinforcing its opponents.

12. This raises a difficult but necessary question, particularly for liberal American Jews: what if that support had been directed differently? Many may now find themselves facing the consequences of that absence.

13. If this is ineed the end of the war, then the world losses. Even a misguided war must be concluded wisely to avoid compounding the damage. That did not happen here.

14. I am deeply concerned about the safety of Jewish communities. A violent backlash is not just possible—it is increasingly likely.

15. For Israel, this marks the end of an era. Regaining broad American public support will be extremely difficult. That is a profound strategic failure.

16. The credit for this outcome goes to Benjamin Netanyahu and AIPAC—but also, in part, to those who chose not to engage when it might still have made a difference. And now, the consequences are here.

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)