War against Iran: “I am grateful”: US attack lets many Israelis breathe a sigh of relief

The unprecedented attacks by the US military on Iranian nuclear facilities have triggered fears of an uncontrollable escalation of the war in the Middle East and sharp criticism. In Israel, however, the reactions on the risky decision of US President Donald Trump are largely different. Many people are facilitated by the direct participation of the war of the most important ally – and welcome the attack on the arch enemy of the Jewish state as a necessary step.

“Existential threat” by Iran

The Israeli political scientist Jonathan Rynhold explains this mood as follows: “The Israelis feel relieved because they see Iran as an existential threat to their state.” Tehran has invested immense sums over about a quarter of a century to “create the means to destroy Israel” – both through its allies in the region as well as the establishment of his own extensive rocket arsenal and the controversial nuclear program.

Deeply hidden and hard -to -secure nuclear systems hidden underground alone for civil use of nuclear energy? Tehran’s assertions that the nuclear program only serves peaceful purposes, always met with unbelief in Israel. The fact that the leadership of the Islamic Republic of Israel was committed to the destruction made its actions even more threatening.

The United States finally intervened on the night of Sunday: With 14 of the most massive bunker -breaking bombs in their arsenal, they attacked the underground Iranian nuclear facilities – although the extent of the destruction cannot be seen externally. Iran reacted with new rocket attacks to Israeli cities, some of which caused devastating damage.

“Now I’m much quieter”

Despite the Iranian counterattacks, the intervention of the United States is a reason for many Israelis. “Now I’m much quieter,” says 72-year-old Nili, who lives in the center of the Coastal metropolis Tel Aviv. The idea that Israel’s archenemy could have nuclear weapons has long worn. “I am grateful that the United States has used bunker -breaking bombs – we ourselves don’t have something like that.”

The attack sends a clear signal, she believes: “It shows the Iranian people that we have the United States by our side – and maybe it even gives them the impetus to face their own regime.” The US campaign sees it as a clear deterrent: “The world sees that you shouldn’t just allow Iran to continue.”

The “fire ring” around Israel

For a long time, the fear of many Israelis has long been on the so -called fire ring around their country – consisting of heavily armed Islamist groups such as the militias of Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Huthi active in Yemen. In addition to them, Syria also belonged to the mighty “axis of resistance” until the Assad clan fall, with which the Iranians virtually surrounded the nuclear power of Israel. Iran’s controversial nuclear program and its ability to overwhelm with a variety of rockets of Israel’s defense systems were fixed pillars of this threatening backdrop.

But that is now crumbling, says Rynhold. “In Israel there is a broad consensus, over the entire political spectrum that the destruction of these military skills, the fall of the Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad and the weakening of Hamas and Hisbollah make the country much more secure,” he explains. This is not only the perspective of the controversial legal government by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but a widespread feeling among the population.

Silent approval from the Arab world?

While many countries in the Arab world commented on the US attack with concern and criticism, Rynhold believes that “the Arab countries allied with the West agree in silence”. They also see themselves threatened by the expansive course of Tehran. The lines of conflict and alliances in the region are complex, there are tensions between Shiite and Sunni countries, especially the regional powers of Saudi Arabia and Iran wrestle for influence.

From Rynhold’s point of view, the time of the bombing was a “unique opportunity” to attack, “without triggering a surface burn” – precisely because of the current weakness of Hamas, Hezbollah and Syrian state apparatus. Some experts see the attack of Hamas and ally terrorists on Israel on October 7, 2023 as the beginning of a chain reaction that could ultimately bring Ian’s “axis of resistance” down.

Hope for a more stable Middle East

Despite all the risks, the political scientist sees the reason for the region: “The key to more peace in the Middle East is to significantly weaken the most radical actors – above all the Iran.” This is the only way to create a more stable environment in which moderate and constructive political forces can grow. The fact that Netanyahu’s government does not take up to a moderate and constructive role from the perspective of its critics is on another sheet.

A survey by the Institute for National Safety in Tel Aviv showed that a majority of the population will approve of the Israeli attack on Iran and assume that the decision was primarily made out of security policy considerations.

Nevertheless, around 70 percent of the surveyed commented on the possible course of the Israeli military operation – and almost half believed that the government has no plan for its conclusion. A large majority therefore expects a war of up to one month.

Israeli Iran expert Sima Shine assumes that the Iranian leadership is in a shock state after the US attack. A targeted killing of the Iranian religious leader Ajatollah Ali Chamenei, with which leading Israeli politicians had recently threatened several times, clearly rejected Shine on a television appearance. The most powerful man in Iran is “too symbolic spiritual figure in the Shiite world,” she told the Israeli broadcaster N12. There is no reason to “make him a martyr”.

Fluctuate between concern and relief

So will the attack on Iran prove to be correct in the end? In any case, Nili from Tel Aviv is aware of the dangers that you and your compatriots are exposed to. “Of course I am afraid of a massive reaction from Tehran. The United States has taken a risk,” she too. “But that’s not in my hand. It’s a bit like Russian roulette.”