Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s international affairs adviser, Caroline Glick, argued that Israel has learned the painful lessons of Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre, saying military strength—not economic prosperity alone—is the indispensable foundation of the country’s security and continued success.
Glick made the remarks on Tuesday evening before hundreds of pro-Israel activists, officials and social media influencers gathered at the fourth Pulse of Israel conference at Jerusalem’s Menachem Begin Heritage Center.
This year’s conference theme was “From Victims to Victors: The Jewish People’s Next Chapter,” featuring discussions on Jewish strength, sovereignty and the future of Israel.
Pulse of Israel is a project of the 12Tribe Films Foundation, which produces short videos featuring prominent figures to educate, inspire and advocate for Israel.
Glick said she was attending on Netanyahu’s behalf after the prime minister was forced to cancel his appearance. She argued that Israel had developed a critical weakness that was “exposed in the worst possible way” on Oct. 7, 2023, having become overly hesitant to use military force while diminishing “the importance of military careers, of our tank corps, of our ground forces.”
However, she said that under Netanyahu’s leadership, Israel has moved to correct that weakness “in a way nobody thought was going to be possible,” sustaining a multi-front war without falling into recession.
Glick also argued that the Abraham Accords have endured throughout the war because the Arab states that normalized relations with Israel have strategic interests in maintaining those ties.
She praised Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump for advancing the principle of “peace through strength.”
“You get peace through your willingness to use your strength to secure your national interests, and in our case, our national survival,” she said. “We are on the path, and we’re doing the right things and we’re doing great, and we’ve accomplished more than any of us could possibly have imagined.”
Focus on Jewish spirit
Pulse of Israel founder and CEO Avi Abelow told JNS that Israel’s narrative should focus not on victimhood but on the Jewish spirit that has sustained the nation for more than 2,000 years despite repeated challenges.
“Jews and non-Jews alike should appreciate that Israel is the front line of the entire freedom-loving world against the growing red-green jihadi alliance that seeks to destroy us all,” he said, referring to what he described as an alliance between radical Islamist movements and extremist left-wing activists.
“We are victors, and we are part of an unbelievable process of helping humanity by fulfilling who we are as a nation in our nation-state of Israel,” Abelow said.
He also told attendees that Israel’s success comes “not necessarily because we deserve it, because plenty of times we don’t, but because this is what Hashem promised us thousands of years ago. Now it is up to us to fulfill our part and fully deserve it.”
Technology entrepreneur and pro-Israel activist Hillel Fuld told JNS that Israel’s greatest challenge beyond the battlefield is uniting around a common narrative.
He said too many advocates remain on the defensive, relying on “the Israel is the victim card” instead of emphasizing Israel’s contributions to the world.
“It’s time to stand up and say: Whoever you are, wherever you are in the world, Israel has enhanced your life. If you don’t like it, put down your phone, shut off your computer and stop using your phone camera. If you don’t like us, stop using our things,” he said, referring to Israeli technologies used around the world.
“We are not victims. We enhanced your life, and all you need to do is look at us and say thank you,” he added.
‘We are the source of morality’
During a panel discussion with geopolitical analyst Topaz Ram, moderated by JNS CEO Alex Traiman, Fuld argued that anti-Israel forces hate the Jewish state because “we are the source of morality.”
He described the success of Israel’s layered missile-defense systems in intercepting Iranian attacks as “a miracle of Biblical proportions.”
“God is splitting the sea in front of our eyes every single day,” he said, alluding to the biblical account of the parting of the Red Sea.
Middle East expert Mordechai Kedar told JNS that Jews have long viewed themselves as underdogs and said that mentality must change, particularly among Israelis.
He said Israelis must recognize that they are living in their ancestral homeland and be prepared to defend its legitimacy.
While acknowledging that such a transformation could take generations, Kedar said Oct. 7 and the conduct of Israeli soldiers since then have already begun changing the national mindset.
“Definitely, we can see the shift in the collective mentality of the people here in Israel,” he said.
Kedar added that this shift must also reach Diaspora Jewry so that Jews become “a group of fighters rather than a group of appeasers.”
“It takes time, it takes effort, and it takes education,” he said.
Addressing the audience, Kedar argued that Israel today is fighting ideas more than armies, pointing to the spread of radical Islamist ideology throughout the Muslim world.
“Fighting ideas is much harder than fighting armies,” he said. “And in this battle against ideas, we are not the victors yet. There is a long way in front of us.”
Yossi Dagan honored
The conference concluded with Abelow presenting Shomron Regional Council head Yossi Dagan with the Pulse of Israel’s “Brave Leadership of Zion Award” for his leadership in renewing Jewish communities in northern Samaria more than two decades after they were dismantled during Israel’s 2005 Disengagement.
“For us, the expulsion wasn’t 20 years ago—it was yesterday,” Dagan said upon accepting the award. “This prize does not belong to me; it belongs to those who fought against the Disengagement, and especially to the thousands of families who will return to Judea and Samaria.”
He added, to audience applause: “We can turn our historic pain into something historic. Twenty-one years after they destroyed four communities in northern Samaria, we are now building 18 new communities in the same area. We are correcting the mistake.”
