Douglass Murray speaking in a video released by the Manhattan Institute about his book (Source: video clip - @ManhattanInst/X)
Douglass Murray in a video snippet promoting his book (@ManhattanInst/X)

Israel’s Resilient Youth: A Blueprint for Western Survival

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The Judean Staff
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Amidst the chaos of American campuses—where mobs of students and radical outsiders who have never set foot in the Middle East chant for the destruction of Israel—a different, extraordinary story unfolds across the ocean. It is the youth of Israel, forged in fire and sacrifice, who today offer the brightest hope for the survival of the West.

Veteran journalist and bestselling author Douglas Murray, whose works such as The War on the West and The Strange Death of Europe have galvanized readers worldwide, tackles this phenomenon head-on in his searing new book: On Democracies and Death Cults: Israel and the Future of Civilization.

At the heart of his argument lies the story of Izzy—a living embodiment of Israeli resilience.

Izzy: A Portrait of Courage and Defiance

In 2009, during fierce combat in Gaza, Izzy—a young IDF soldier—sacrificed his left arm to a terrorist bomb. Most would have succumbed to despair. Not Izzy. Refusing to abandon his duty, he demanded to return to the battlefield. And the IDF, recognizing his indomitable spirit, engineered a special weapon he could operate with his one remaining hand. With iron resolve, Izzy once more stood in defense of his homeland.

Fast forward to October 7, 2023: While visiting California, Izzy received news of Hamas’s savage invasion. Without hesitation, he rushed to book the first flight home. Even though he had technically aged out of his original unit, Izzy stubbornly refused to take "no" for an answer. For two relentless weeks, he camped outside his old base, until commanders, partly moved and partly exasperated, relented.

Back in uniform, with one good arm and a heart full of fire, Izzy resumed defending his nation.

It was there, embedded with Izzy’s unit, that Murray met this living legend. "I’ll be your personal Iron Dome," Izzy quipped. "After all, what are the odds of being hit by a rocket twice?"

Thanks to Izzy, Murray stayed safe—and learned firsthand what true heroism looks like.

Israel’s Ethos: Fighting for Life, Not Death

What struck Murray most was not a thirst for vengeance, but a profound and unwavering love of life. Israelis like Izzy, he writes, fight not out of hatred but for their families, their land, and the ancient dream of survival.

Whatever the uncertain future holds, Murray asserts one thing with certainty: "Canada, Britain, Europe, Australia, and America should be so lucky as to produce a generation of young people like Israel has."

The New Nazis Are Among Us

Drawing from the insights of renowned scholar Ruth Wisse, Murray highlights a chilling truth: the perpetrators of October 7 were not unlike the Nazis—but worse. While Hitler’s SS sought to hide their atrocities, Hamas proudly livestreamed the butchering of Jews for the world to see.

Yet the world’s reaction has been astonishingly cold. Murray attributes this to geography and ideology:

  • Americans, protected by oceans and friendly neighbors, have never endured foreign invasion on their soil, leaving them naive to the horrors Israelis face.
  • Europeans, desperate to distance themselves from Holocaust guilt, have embraced fashionable anti-Israel narratives—eager to accuse Jews of crimes they themselves once committed or condoned.

Murray reminds us: "The same people who minimized their own complicity in the Holocaust now accuse the Jews of perpetrating new ones. The hypocrisy is staggering."

Antisemitism: A Mirror of Guilt

Turning to the profound wisdom of Soviet-Jewish author Vassily Grossman, Murray explains that antisemitism serves as a mirror to a society’s own moral failures.
"Tell me what you accuse the Jews of—and I’ll tell you what you’re guilty of."

He offers damning examples:

  • Queen Rania of Jordan, who accuses Israel of genocide, yet whose father-in-law massacred tens of thousands of Palestinians in Black September.
  • Iran, accusing Israel of colonization, even as it props up puppet regimes in Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, and Iraq.
  • Turkey, crying "occupation" while illegally holding EU-member Cyprus hostage for over five decades.

Even the often-repeated slander of Israeli "ethnic cleansing" crumbles before cold facts:
In 1948, there were 156,000 non-Jews in Israel; today, there are over 2.6 million.
Jerusalem’s Muslim population grew from 40,000 to over 370,000.

"Some ethnic cleansing," Murray remarks acidly.

Choosing Life Over Death: Israel's Eternal Flame

Throughout his travels, interviews, and warzone reporting, Murray witnessed a nation living a Biblical imperative: the fierce commandment from Deuteronomy—"I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life."

Even when darkness fell and hope flickered, the Jewish soul clung to the Psalmist’s defiant proclamation: "I shall not die, but live."

In the end, Murray concludes, Israel’s greatest weapon is not the Iron Dome, or Merkava tanks, or secret cyber units.
It is a relentless, sacred commitment to life itself.

"Choosing life is one of the oldest commandments of the Jewish people," he writes. "It is also the indispensable foundation of the West. Civilization can triumph only if it loves life more fiercely than death."

And for that lesson, the world owes Israel—and heroes like Izzy—a debt beyond measure.

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