< Más Articulos : The never-endless uncertainty to celebrate (Times of Israel - 8 Oct 2025)
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The never-endless uncertainty to celebrate (Times of Israel - 8 Oct 2025)
On one hand, I’m overjoyed about the deal between Israel and Hamas. I want to celebrate in a big way. On the other hand, I’m terrified that some last-minute act of stupidity from radicals on either side could ruin everything.
On November 19, 2023, I published my first column ever, in Prensa Libre, titled “Wherever You Are, Stand Up and Fight.” The piece was written in the wake of the October 7 attacks on Israel, an event that left around 1,200 people dead and hundreds taken hostage. One day later, on October 8, massive demonstrations erupted around the world, with protesters chanting “From the river to the sea,” a slogan calling for the elimination of the State of Israel and its people. I couldn’t believe it.
In recent years, even though I live in Guatemala, my daughter Hannah was studying at Reichman University in Herzliya. As you can imagine, we were constantly glued to the news from Israel. On October 7, 2023 she was enjoying her summer vacations in Guatemala, the night Iran launched more than 500 ballistic missiles and suicide drones toward Israel she was in Herzlia, our senses were on maximum alert. Every now and then, a few hostages were released, and it seemed as if things might finally start to improve. But no, something always happened. The situation would return to the same cycle of missiles, attacks, counterattacks, civilians killed, young soldiers lost, and antisemitism rising around the world.
In the summer of 2025, my daughter’s graduation prompted what was meant to be a short trip to Israel. That one week turned into nearly four, as we were caught in the middle of the twelve-day Israel–Iran war. Reports said Iran was close to developing a nuclear capability, and Israel struck targets linked to that program. Iran responded with missile and drone attacks on Israeli cities. Almost two years after October 7, hopes for lasting calm were once again shattered.
Since its founding, Israel’s history has been marked by attacks from neighboring states or their proxies, and by Israeli counterstrikes framed as defensive measures. The Abraham Accords, signed during Donald Trump’s first administration, briefly raised expectations that the region might be moving toward normalization. Yet tensions and outbreaks of violence persisted, eroding those early hopes.
Iran’s deep-seated hostility toward Israel once again destabilized the Middle East. For years, Tehran had funded and armed its proxy groups: Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis. Iran showed no interest in the Abraham Accords or any genuine peace for the region. It was Iran that backed the October 7 attacks, reversing fragile progress and reigniting war with Israel. As always, its proxies carried out assaults while using civilians as human shields, aiming to provoke global hostility toward Israel. Even some countries that had signed the Abraham Accords seemed less committed to peace than before.
Then, by what many called a miracle, a bullet missed Donald Trump, allowing him to return to the White House. During his first term, he had promoted and achieved the Abraham Accords; in his second, he brought Israel, Hamas, and several Arab countries to the negotiating table. On October 8, 2025, a peace deal brokered by him was finally signed. The war was over. Across the world, people rejoiced, it seemed we were finally on the right track again.
But as in every horror movie, when everything appears resolved and the credits are about to roll, the monster’s face reappears on the screen and suddenly opens his eyes, a reminder that it’s never truly over. In this story, Iran’s shadow resurfaced once more, a stark warning that the threat remains, and that several Arab countries were not part of the deal.
Even with the never-ending uncertainty, we must learn to celebrate our victories. So this time, once the hostages are released, let’s celebrate. Tomorrow will be tomorrow and it will bring its own challenges.
Am Israel Chai.
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-never-endless-uncertainty-to-celebrate/
( Por: Yehudi Sabbagh , 09/10/2025 )
