The “12-day war” between Iran and Israel, as coined by President Trump, may mark the closing chapter of Israel’s longest war. But the real victory won't be measured by what was destroyed. It will be measured by what we build next.

For the first time in decades, Iran's stranglehold on the Middle East has been broken. The Iran-backed network that nearly succeeded in encircling Israel — Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, Iraqi militias and Assad's Syria — is fractured. Joint Israeli-American strikes have set back Iran's nuclear program.

As Israeli-Arab mega-influencer Nas Daily put it, this was "the world's most silent celebration. Hundreds of millions are safer, even if they can't say it out loud."

Now, President Trump is building on this momentum with new normalization efforts, working toward agreements with Syria, Saudi Arabia, and other countries while pushing for an end to the Gaza war.

Yet here's the problem: Arab public opinion is moving in the opposite direction. Support for normalization with Israel has plummeted to below 13 percent across seven Arab nations. Even in Morocco, support dropped from 31 percent in 2022 to 13 percent after the Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attacks. Military victories mean nothing if we can't win the peace.

Why the disconnect? Because........

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