Dear Ron, I am reaching out to you because you have an historic opportunity to positively influence the fate of the state of Israel as a whole and the northern communities in particular, including my place of birth – Kibbutz Manara.

We were once friends during your tenure as Israel’s Ministry of Finance representative in Washington, DC, and my time as Consul General for New England, collaborating on sanctions against Iran. My appreciation for your exceptional diplomatic abilities has not diminished, even in those many cases where I strongly disagreed with the policies that you promoted.

When I heard that you were recently appointed to head the Israeli negotiation team with Lebanon, I understood that this time Netanyahu was serious, because he trusts you more than anyone else. Although our political views markedly differ on American politics and the Palestinian issue, I know that I can disagree with you without doubting your integrity. I believe you would not have responded to Netanyahu’s call to return to a political role if you thought you were being summoned for a futile task, intended to create delay and a façade. I believe you returned to do a diplomatic job that is sorely lacking and desperately needed in Israel today.

I grew up in shelters under the “Katyusha” rockets fired at Manara from Lebanon and fought in the First Lebanon War, where I lost many friends, including our company and battalion commanders. I know from personal experience that everything we tried in the past failed because we did not have a political strategy alongside the military one.

My father was the “mukhtar” (community leader in Arabic) of Manara after it was established in 1943, before the founding of the state of Israel, and he managed relations with villages in Lebanon. I remember him explaining to me that the Shiites are our friends in southern Lebanon because they too suffer from the dominance of the Christians and Sunnis who are hostile to them.

All of this changed due to the radicalization of the Shiites following Khomeini’s revolution in Iran but also as a result of the legitimacy that Hezbollah gained as Lebanon’s protector. Years of Israeli military presence in southern Lebanon created a vacuum, weakening the Lebanese state and empowering Hezbollah. I witnessed the IDF withdraw from its 18-year security zone in Lebanon, where many soldiers died without a political purpose.

Today, we have an opportunity like never before. The new Lebanese government is led by Maronite President Michel Aoun and Sunni Prime Minister Nawaf Salam – Lebanese patriots who understand that Iran must not be allowed to use their country to promote the agenda of the Ayatollah in Iran. They understand that to rebuild their country after years of wars and crises, they must dismantle Hezbollah’s weapons and nurture an alternative Shiite leadership. There are signs that even the leader of the Shiite Amal movement, parliament chair Nabih Berri, understands this.

We have a rare confluence of interests between the Trump Administration, the French government, and the Gulf states with regard to setting Lebanon on a path to recovery and peace. The new regime of Ahmed al-Sharaa in Syria also wants to weaken Hezbollah and will no longer allow the Iranians to transfer weapons and funding to Hezbollah.

You, Ron Dermer, could be the one to bring about the change. You know how to work with the Trump Administration like no one else does. You can create a reality where my family in Kibbutz Manara, where 75 percent of buildings were destroyed by the Kornet anti-tank missiles fired by Hezbollah, can rebuild their home. You can prevent my son, a reserve officer in Lebanon, from suffering the trauma I suffered in the 1982 war.

It is clear to me that the opportunity that has arisen is also related to the success of the brilliant military operations of the IDF after Hezbollah joined Hamas on October 8, 2023. I am a strong believer in diplomacy, but I am not a pacifist, and I know that the use of force has a role in changing strategic realities. Perhaps this time, however, alongside the use of force, we will also deploy our diplomatic skills for the sake of long-term security arrangements, as we have with Egypt and Jordan.

At this time, I do not know of anyone better suited than you to take advantage of the opportunity that has arisen in Lebanon. I hope you will influence Netanyahu and the Trump Administration, to which you are so closely connected, to change the course of Israel’s history and that of my family in Kibbutz Manara.

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)