Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu calls for clear-eyed action: “You don’t appease the forces of darkness—you fight them.”
Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, Chief Rabbi of Safed and a member of Israel’s Chief Rabbinical Council, offered a striking critique this week of the failed Western policy of appeasement toward radical regimes—singling out Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden for empowering Iran, while praising President Donald Trump for his bold and clear-eyed leadership.
In the wake of US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities this past Saturday night, Rabbi Eliyahu contrasted America’s current strength with the weakness of previous administrations. “They [Obama and Biden] thought that by giving billions of dollars to Iran, they would take away its desire to build nuclear weapons and dominate the world,” he said. “What happened instead? Iran only escalated its threats—against Israel, and against the entire world.”
Rabbi Eliyahu made it clear: appeasement never works.
“This is exactly how the world treated Hitler when he was still small. He was appeased, and he grew into a monster who destroyed tens of millions,” he said. “It’s also what led to a nuclear North Korea.”
But this time, Israel and the current US Administration chose a different path.
“In just 12 days, we dropped dozens of tons of explosives,” Rabbi Eliyahu said of the recent military campaign. “And that’s how the Iranian evil was subdued—at least in part. You don’t appease the forces of darkness—you fight them.”
He emphasized that this same moral clarity must now be applied to Gaza, where Hamas continues to threaten Israeli civilians and hide behind Western pressure and humanitarian cover.
“In Gaza, we’re harmed by the West’s appeasement of evil,” the rabbi said. “We need to act there as we did with Iran. You don’t appease evil. You crush it—until it’s defeated.”
Citing the Torah and the words of the prophets, Rabbi Eliyahu insisted this approach isn’t just strategic—it’s righteous. “This is what the Torah says. This is what the prophet says. It’s good for us, and good for the world.”
