OPINION: Israel roared – and the world changed overnight

After days of non-stop speculation, all of us in Israel were woken at 2:30 a.m. by a message from the Home Front Command: we had to be on alert. By 3:30 a.m., we learnt that Israel had launched an operation called Rising Lion.

From what we know so far, in an unprecedented pre-emptive strike, Israel hit Iranian nuclear facilities, assassinated key leaders of Iran’s elite military units, and destroyed multiple missile launch sites and already-depleted air defence systems. This operation is a testament to the strength of Israeli defence forces and Mossad and the quality of its intelligence in Iran—intelligence likely supported by Iranians who seek regime change.

Let me be clear: in a Western world where, until recently, many have lost its moral compass—where moral posturing replaced moral clarity—the lion has not only risen. It has roared.

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A nuclear Iran is a global threat, yet outside of the United States’ support for Israel, few in the West had the courage to confront it. Many leaders were too fearful of the costs or, worse, might have been tempted by potential economic gains. Iran has consistently lied about its nuclear activities and has long been the world’s leading state sponsor of terror. Yet we are repeatedly told to continue down the path of diplomacy—diplomacy that has yielded nothing.

The moral failure of so-called Western leaders will be studied for years. Their reliance on the ostrich approach—burying their heads in the sand—has been a consistent disaster, made worse by their refusal to acknowledge it.

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It is true that it’s too early to know how this campaign will evolve. Iran will undoubtedly retaliate, and the consequences may escalate. But one thing is clear: this action, even more dramatically than Israel’s 1981 strike on the Iraqi nuclear reactor, has reshaped the global landscape. A small democracy in the Middle East—so often vilified by the world—had the courage to act. Of course, the support from the US has been key, led by a Trump administration that has full moral clarity on Iran.

It’s that simple. Israel acted when others wouldn’t. That’s something the leaders of Europe and many Western nations would do well to study.

As calls poured in from friends around the world asking how we were doing, my answer was simple: Yes, there is tension. Yes, there is danger. But we are proud to be here. Unlike some of our neighbours, this country has invested in defending its people—and we trust it to do so.

The operation may be called Rising Lion, but what the world heard was Israel’s roar.

The world will never be the same.

And as that roar echoes across the globe, we can be confident that it marks the beginning of a safer, stronger world—for all.

Am Yisrael Chai

• Edward Misrahi is a businessman, philanthropist and former chair of BICOM (Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre)