,12-day war“Between Iran and Israel, as coined by President Trump, can mark the concluding chapter of Israel’s longest war. But the actual victory will not be destroyed that was destroyed. What we make next, it will be measured.
For the first time in decades, Iran has been strangled on the Middle East. The Iran-backed network that almost managed to surround the Syria-Syria of Israel-Hizbollah, Hamas, Hauthis, Iraqi Military and Asad-it is fragmented. The United Israel-American strike has set back the Iran’s nuclear program.
As Israel-Arab Mega-Influnser NAS Daily put itThis was “the world’s most silent festival. Hundreds of millions are safe, even if they cannot say it out loud.”
Now, President Trump is building at this paceNew generalization effortWorking towards agreements with Syria, Saudi Arabia and other countries to end the Gaza war.
Still the problem here is: Arab public opinion is moving in the opposite direction. Support for generalization with Israel has fallen In seven billion countries below 13 percent. In Morocco too, in 2022, the support from 31 percent declined from 31 percent to 13 percent after the October 13, 2023 terror attacks. Military victory does not mean anything if we cannot win peace.
Why disconnect? Because the normalization remains very elite, very up and down. If Israel and its neighbors want permanent peace, it should be made on more than shared hazards. It should rest on shared interests, shared goals and shared lives. The present moment demands a fundamental change from the management of conflict to actively building peace.
The Abraham Agreement started this process by establishing diplomatic relations between governments. But civil relations between students, teachers and entrepreneurs have not put pace.
Critics argueThe last Israel-Pilstinian dialogue efforts failed as they lacked political infrastructure to support them. But it is fine that this moment can be separated. The Abraham Agreement can provide a stable political outline. These initiatives need to be successful.
Real generalization requires three columns: security integration, economic participation and, most importantly, human connections. Since 7 October, the first two pillars have organized a large extent, but the third column, the human infrastructure of peace, was the first casualties of the war. But when rockets fly, when we need the most people who see each other as humans, not abstract.
What is possible: Summer Institute where Israel, Emirati, Saudi and American students deal with shared challenges, such as water scarcity or clean energy. School trips that normalize the Middle Eastern borders for adolescents. Jewish-Muslim teachers exchanges who combat both antisemitism and Islamophobia.
These are not good programs, they are strategic requirements.
Before the war in Gaza, we saw a glimpse of what is possible. Saudi Arabia and EgyptAntisemitic ingredients removed from textbooksUnited Arab EmiratesIntroducing Holocost EducationIsraeli youth movementLead delegationTo Morocco. These changes prove that education can develop when political is present.
The United States should lead this effort, but separate than before, is developing from a peacemaker to a piecebuilder. Large -scale regional education focuses as a single funding and defense systems. If the next generation only knows each other as dangers, then we should not be surprised when peace fails.
When this war ends, Israel will face internal fractures: fixing social division, restoring confidence in institutions and national trauma. But the way forward is not separation. It is promised at handIsraeli declaration of independence“All neighboring states and their people.”
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman onceImagined the Middle East as “The New Europe”.After World War II, Europe not only rebuilt cities, it rebuilt relationships and identities.
Large-scale people’s efforts, such as Erasmus, European Union student mobility programs, createdA generation of Europeans who saw themselves as part of something bigCompared to your individual nations. This is now a challenge for the new Middle East.
Let’s talk a lot “Denzizing” GazaBut the post -war Germany was successful through more than the extremism. It created a strong democratic center through education and civil engagement. The Middle East requires re -humanization, not only densification. It is not only about “after day” for Gaza, but for the entire region.
The window for this change will be open for a long time. Iran’s regional influence has been discontinued. Arab states recognize the value of Israeli technology and security cooperation. America has a strong relationship throughout the region. But the sooner the Middle Eastern occasion opens, the quick closure.
The struggle for success and the traditional cycle of temporary calm need to move beyond. This means investing in uncontrolled work of education, exchange and economic integration. This means that sustainable peace requires not only government agreements, but popular support.
The option is the return of the old pattern. Iran will rebuild its proxy network. New extremist groups will emerge. The cycle of violence will continue.
The next generation is better than giving inheritance to our war stories. They should receive opportunities, a Middle East not only associated with pipelines and defense treaties, but also by classrooms, laboratories and shared dreams.
It is the last war of the old Middle East, and the first step towards the new.
Barak Sela is the Middle East initiative at Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
