Towards A New (Improved?) Middle East

Towards A New (Improved?) Middle East

By Rabbi Boaz D. Heilman

June 20, 2025

One of my all-time favorite books is The Once and Future King by T. H. White, a wonderful retelling of the King Arthur legends. A main character—at least in the first volume of the tetralogy, The Sword in the Stone, is Merlin the magician. Not that I believe in magic, nor do I believe that T. H. White did. In his version of the legend, Merlin can predict the future not by reading cards or gazing into a crystal ball, but because he was actually born sometime in the mid-20th century and lives backwards, which is why he knows—most of the time, when he isn’t confused or befuddled by love—what’s going to happen. It isn’t so much foresight as hindsight, and if more of us had it, the world would be a very different place today.

I, unfortunately, do not have this talent. I am not much of a soothsayer, and with the world changing so rapidly, there’s really no way to predict what’s going to happen in the next minute, let alone day, week or month.

And so I’m not going to try to make predictions. I’m only going to join—at least for a few minutes—the ranks of talking heads, more or less knowledgeable, who’ve been guessing what’s in the minds of leaders who are caught up in their own power games or messianic visions, who are unpredictable and impulsive, and yet wield unbelievable and dangerous power. As such, I’m going to try to offer a glimpse into what I think we’re heading towards, if not in the world at large, then at least in the Near East, and what our role in this future world might be.

As I see it, assuming nobody drops an atomic bomb—which would pretty much create total catastrophe—then what we are witnessing right now is the formation of a new world order in the Middle East.

Ever since Iraq’s Saddam Hussein was eliminated, Iran has increased its power exponentially. Imposing a radical version of Islam on its own population, it quickly joined the ranks of the most tyrannical and cruel régimes of modern times. At the same time, Iran has been directing its virulent hatred of the West—particularly but not exclusively— against the United States and Israel (which it has called, respectively, “The Great Satan” and “The Little Satan”). 

Through its support of the now-deposed ruler in Syria, Bashar al-Assad, and through its proxy terrorist organizations—Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis among others—Iran has expanded its reach not only throughout the Middle East, but also to other regions around the world. The terror attack of July 18, 1994, on a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which killed 85 and injured over 300 people, was carried out by Hezbollah operatives, as was the 1983 attack on the U.S. Marines barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, which resulted in the death of 241 American and 58 French service personnel. 

Iran has supplied thousands of drones to Russia in its war against Ukraine, and in turn imported missile parts and technology from China and North Korea. For more than 40 years now, it has been clamoring for the destruction of the State of Israel and developing nuclear and missile capabilities—presumably to carry out its declared intentions.

Following the coup in Syria and the decimation of Hamas and Hezbollah by the Israel Defense Force, Israel has now turned its attention to Iran, the mastermind and architect of so much warfare, terror and tragedy.

The surprise attack launched by the IDF just over a week ago exposed the weakness behind the bravado of the Iranian regime. Yet, despite Israel’s initial success, Iran’s nuclear power has not been eliminated, only set back, and approximately half of its missile arsenal still remains. It’s still unknown at this moment whether the United States will join the war, but in any case, it’s possible that Israel’s air superiority and intelligence-gathering expertise will be enough to hasten the fall of the ayatollah regime—much to the relief and delight of the majority of the Iranian population and almost all its Arab neighbors.

Iran stands currently if not on the cusp of defeat, then at the very least weakened and humiliated. It might still resort to some desperate measures—something we have already seen with the launching of at least two missiles armed with cluster bombs—but that would only hasten its complete downfall, creating a window of opportunity for Turkey, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and of course the United States to step in. At that point the powershift will be firmly in place. At least for a few years.

What role Israel will play in this new world order is not clear. For some time now the normalization of relations with Saudi Arabia, and then with other Arab countries, has been floated as a possibility, but that still hinges on an agreement of peace or at least coexistence between Israel and the Palestinians (something that might actually occur once the armed support that Iran has been giving them disappears).

But before all that, Israel will need to work on the domestic challenges that it is facing. 

The cost of the war on Israel’s economy has been enormous; rebuilding will require unprecedented financial strategizing. Even more importantly, Israel will have to heal the social, physical and psychological wounds it has sustained since this longest war on its existence began. The rift between those who served and sacrificed so much in this war, and those who refused to, will need to be bridged. The anger is at a breaking point. Public trust in Israel’s ability to safeguard all its citizens has been shaken and will need to be restored. Thousands of wounded soldiers will be facing prolonged recovery and recuperation. While Israelis are as accustomed to tragic loss of life as any people can ever be, the October 7 massacre carried out by Hamas resulted in the murder of entire families and the destruction of whole communities. The entire nation feels the immense pain of this loss and it will take years if not decades to recover. Outwardly life continues more or less on track; inwardly, however, the nation is bleeding. 

Throughout history, the Middle East has never known what anyone might call “normalcy.” There were times of lesser or greater stability—all determined by the rise and fall of empires and the accompanying religious passions. Since the end of World War One and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, we have been seeing a redistribution of power among various groups, including, for the first time in nearly 2000 years, a Jewish State. 

In the days and months ahead, Jews living in and outside Israel and will have to face off with our frustration and anger at Israel’s current leadership. Yet we must not let this modern miracle fail. For two thousand years Israel has been the Promised Land. Today, the promise has come real: Israel is our sanctuary in every sense of the word, both for ourselves and for our children. More than ever Israel will need our love and support as it begins to rebuild.

Among ourselves, in the last few years we’ve been witnessing a huge surge in antisemitism, which will take years, and perhaps an entire generation, to abate. Yet we must not let our fears cause us to retreat or hide. We’ve learned from our history to rise from each setback and continue to create a better future. We entrench ourselves in our rich heritage: Our language and history; the sacred texts that have always given us shelter and inspiration; the culture-of-many-colors that represents our wanderings across oceans and countless wildernesses. 

Throughout our existence as a People, our trust in God has never failed us. We have never fully understood this force, yet holding on to it with all our might has seen us through thick and thin. This knowledge must never disappear from before our eyes, hearts and minds. Nations and empires come and go, but we are still here. Our faith is the source of our strength, and it will be there for us even as we look forward to a new world governed by a new world order.

Am Yisrael Chai—the People of Israel lives. 

Adonai oz l’amo yiten, Adonai y’varech et amo bashalom—May God grant us strength, may God bless us all with peace.

© 2025 by Boaz D. Heilman