Having lingered in a bomb shelter for approximately 50 hours over the last 7 days, I’ve had time to ponder the Israel/Iran war. My thoughts have covered a spectrum of emotions — from admiration of the remarkable resilience and humanity of the huddled shelter occupants, to pride in the proficiency of the Israeli air force, to deep anxiety about the ultimate success of the operation. Another factor that has occupied my thoughts is the naivete/ignorance of some Americans about the impetus for this war.

Numbers of friends and relatives (to say nothing of American politicians and political influencers) have expressed amazement as to why Israel would launch a violent attack on a nearby nation of 90 million people when sure to provoke mass retaliation. Add to their puzzlement another element. Polls indicate that a decisive majority of Israelis support the assault on Iran even though the Israeli public is already paying a high price (12 dead, 1250 injured, and 2300 displaced) with a heavier toll to come. And the eventual outcome of the war is still quite uncertain.

To understand the Israeli impetus for this war, consider some history regarding the Islamic Republic of Iran. Ever since its founding in 1979, the regime of the ayatollahs has been a theocracy grounded in an extreme brand of Shiite religious ideology intolerant of all non-believers. The ayatollahs’ radical agenda applied not only to Iran and Iranians, but was intended to be spread throughout the middle east.

From the outset, the ayatollahs were obsessed with Israel as a Jewish cancer to be extirpated at........

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