History measured the power of empires by the size of the land they ruled. The Persian, Roman, and British empires have come and gone to prove that ideology is more powerful than landmass. Using modern lingo, software is more valuable than hardware. The West has spent invaluable blood and treasure to defeat ideologies such as communism, socialism, Nazism and, once again, faces the challenge of radical Islam.

What is happening in the Middle East, playing out in the recent war between Hamas and Israel, is not about land or a two-state solution, but an ideology. The Crusades were a series of religious wars between Christians and Muslims over an ideology rather than simply a fight over Jerusalem, which both sides considered sacred.

While the Jews may be small in number, the Judeo-Christian ideals, like respect for life, individual freedom, and equal dignity for all humans, are the cornerstone of human evolution. Islam – which literally means surrender – values death more than life, requires constant expansion by Jihad, and considers Jews and the ideals they represent as obstacles to be overcome through the use of violence.

When Israel vacated Gaza in 2005, the territory had the potential to become the Singapore of the Middle East. Instead, the Iranian-backed Hamas took over and channeled $28 billion of foreign aid to the Palestinians to build a 300-mile network of tunnels in support of their ideological expansion “from the river to the sea” – a shorthand reference to the destruction of Israel in the short-term, along with America, its leading backer, in the long term.

It is well known that Jews in America have had a disproportionate influence in banking, finance, law, science, and culture. What is less known is that for the past 60 years, Islam has gained a disproportionate influence within American academia, including the student population, along with the political left, blacks, and the self-declared disenfranchised.  

I can wax poetic about this issue till the cows come home. Instead, I encourage our interested members to listen to Sam Harris: The Bright Line Between Good and Evil, watch Bari Weiss: You Are the Last Line of Defense, or do a deep dive into Hamas: Made in the U.S.A.

Once again, Jerusalem is in play, one piece in a grand ideological chess match.

— Sina.