Against all odds and expectations, President Trump has emerged as the unlikely champion of peace in Gaza and Israel’s survival. An NBC News report on the reaction inside Israel to the peace agreement included a billboard sponsored by Friends of Zion, which proclaims, “Cyrus the Great is Alive.” That’s not just a slogan; it’s a statement of fact.
Those who know their Bible will understand that Cyrus, the ancient Persian king who allowed the Jewish exiles to return to their homeland and rebuild the temple in Jerusalem after their captivity in Babylon, was not the leader the Jews would have chosen. He was not the man the world expected. But he was the one God used to change the course of history.
In 2025, President Trump has played that same role. When others hesitated, he acted. When the world doubted, he delivered. From moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, to brokering the Abraham Accords, and now to this peace deal in Gaza, President Trump has done more for Israel’s security and future than any leader in living memory. Peace, especially in the Middle East, never arrives by accident. It takes clarity, courage, and someone willing to push the boulder uphill when the world says it cannot be done.
The ceasefire offers space to breathe. The hostages coming home is an answer to our prayers and accelerating aid to civilians in Gaza is a moral imperative. The plan for new independent governance, free from the poisonous grasp of terrorists and supported by regional partners who reject terror, creates the first real opportunity in years to replace the culture of hatred with one of dignity, responsibility, and hope.
But peace that lasts is not just about laying down physical weapons. It is about what we teach our children. The path forward is not more hatred; it is education and a commitment to truth. Just as postwar Germany had to confront and overcome the poison of Nazi ideology, so too must the region and the world reject the lies that fuel terror and hate. Peace on paper is only the start. The moral test now falls to all of us, especially in the United States.
Since the Hamas atrocities of October 7, we have witnessed a wave of Jew hatred in America that I never imagined in my lifetime. It has poured onto our streets, our campuses, and across social media. Antisemitism is not hiding as it once did behind closed doors and in hushed conversations. Today, it is shouting in broad daylight.
My life’s mission to defend the Jewish people was forged in the fires of personal suffering. As a child, I survived my own father’s violent antisemitism. That pain became my purpose. I know that peace is not just about treaties but about changing hearts and minds. It is about standing up, unapologetically, for truth and humanity.
For generations, the friendship between the United States and Israel has been a force for stability and freedom. That friendship has been about shared values and the belief that democratic nations should stand shoulder to shoulder against those who glorify murder and preach annihilation. When we lose moral confidence at home, the Middle East grows more dangerous. As the President has demonstrated, when we speak with conviction, peace becomes possible.
This peace deal is a beginning. It is a chance to save lives, both Israeli and Palestinian. Yet, the new battlefield will be the ideological one being waged in the media and on places like university campuses.
To combat growing antisemitism, this December, I will be traveling with 1,000 American pastors and young people to Israel. Our mission is simple: to see the truth with our own eyes, to stand with Israel, and to return home as ambassadors for peace and understanding. We will not be silent. We will not let the voices of hate drown out the truth.
History will remember this moment. It will remember that, like Cyrus, President Trump stood with Israel when it mattered most. Now it is up to all of us—Jews, Christians, Muslims, Americans, and Israelis—to build on this foundation. The time to stand with Israel is now. The time to fight antisemitism is now. The time to choose hope over hate is now.
Editor's Note: Donald Trump is America's Peace Time President. Support and follow Townhall's latest reporting on the president's historic trip to the Middle East.
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