Pearl Harbor claimed .002% of our 1941 population; the Oct. 7 Hamas raid claimed .01% of Israel’s. Comparatively speaking, this is the equivalent of a 500% greater impact upon Israel. Additionally, only 68 civilians lost their lives at Pearl Harbor – the consequence of Japanese pilots primarily targeting military assets; however, in Israel, the vast majority of losses were civilian as that was Hamas’ primary target.

America’s response to Japan’s surprise attack was not immediate as we had much to do before taking the war to the enemy. Comparatively, Israel’s response was much faster as it had the wherewithal to quickly respond and take the war to Hamas. But, by late 1945, Japan learned – as Japanese Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto who led the Pearl Harbor attack feared in attacking the U.S. – it had awoken a sleeping tiger.

In July 1945, at the Potsdam Conference, the U.S. and its allies demanded Japan surrender unconditionally. The demand came from a position of power, placing blame on Japan’s military advisers for bringing the country to the “threshold of annihilation.” Setting forth the terms of unconditional surrender, the demand hoped Japan’s leadership would now “follow the path of reason.” It ended with the warning of Japan’s “prompt and utter destruction” if it refused the Allies’ terms.

Interestingly, Japan’s leadership had been meeting to discuss a peace proposal. They were worried that after numerous battlefield defeats, starvation of the people and the firebombing of its cities, its citizenry was on the brink of revolution.

But, as a response was not forthcoming from Tokyo, the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima (Aug. 6) and Nagasaki (Aug. 9). That did trigger an Aug. 10 response offering a conditional surrender. This was rejected by President Harry Truman who felt, based on the sacrifices Americans had made to claim victory, it had to be a total victory. On Sept. 2, 1945, Japan finally executed an unconditional surrender agreement.

It is interesting that pro-Hamas groups in the U.S. have failed to date to protest Hamas for making no effort to negotiate a total surrender. Hamas has been silent despite the fact that the Palestinian people and low-level Hamas recruits in Gaza have taken a beating.

Both the Israeli leadership and the Israeli people have made it clear nothing will derail them in their journey to destroy Hamas. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently stated, “Israel under my leadership will not compromise on less than total victory over Hamas” – a standard that was perfectly acceptable by the international community for Japan 79 years earlier.

A decision the Israeli leadership must make quickly is whether the top priority is to destroy Hamas or gain freedom for its hostages. In a recent poll, the vast majority of Israelis were opposed to withdrawing IDF forces from Gaza to obtain the release of the hostages. An amazing 70.5% responded in the negative about withdrawing first while 18.5% responded positively to doing so to get them back. This shows not only a warranted distrust of Hamas but a commitment to stay the course.

Nonetheless, Israel proposed a release of the remaining 136 hostages. The Israeli Cabinet approved a two-month ceasefire in exchange for a staged release (based on age, sex, medical need, etc.).

But the poll results underscore Netanyahu’s earlier vow that Israel will never repeat the mistake it did with the Oslo Accords. In that 1993 “peace” deal, Israel surrendered control of Gaza and portions of Judea and Samaria in exchange for nothing. Thus, any negotiation for a Palestinian terror state remaining is a non-starter.

Most recently, with reality setting in for Hamas, forcing it to drop its demand for a permanent ceasefire, it informed mediators it was open to releasing some hostages for a pause in the fighting.

Serious negotiations by Hamas to end the war may be due in large part because – unlike the Japanese leadership that saw firsthand the hardship their people were experiencing – its leadership lives a life of luxury in places like Qatar, counting the billions of dollars meant for Palestinian assistance with which they have absconded. They also gleefully continue counting Palestinian deaths, knowing it fuels the fires of global antisemitism.

There was a report the leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, keeping safe in Qatar, may be interested in serious peace negotiations. If so, this would not be due to increasing Palestinian deaths but, rather, due to mass surrenders by his fighters. He undoubtedly worries those who are supposed to sacrifice their lives for Allah may be undermining the terrorist group’s cause by surrendering (as if its leadership already was not doing enough by enjoying a lavish and safe lifestyle).

Israel knows what is needed to achieve total victory – and that it is not there yet. Reportedly, fewer than 30% of the Hamas fighting force has been eradicated. Some Israeli leaders noted that what Hamas needs to claim victory is a peace agreement allowing it to survive in any capacity to govern all or part of Gaza. But these Israeli leaders added, “The survival of Hamas in power would severely damage Israel’s deterrence and its regional standing, which could bring more military conflicts and thwart future normalization agreements. Therefore, it must be ensured that under any endgame scenario, Hamas will not have the ability to govern. …” This is why Netanyahu firmly rejected a recent Hamas proposal that would leave it intact.

In May of 2020, during his presidential campaign, Joe Biden told a black radio host that black voters who were torn between voting for him or President Donald Trump “ain’t black.” The comment ignited a firestorm of criticism, causing him to later apologize. While Biden’s comment was in poor taste, a much more palatable observation is that U.S. citizens supporting Hamas “ain’t American.”

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In November 1942, for all intents and purposes, the outcome of World War II hung in the balance. On all fronts, the Axis forces were advancing while the Allies suffered setbacks in almost every theater of combat. But momentum began to shift; if the month began with pessimism and despair, it ended in a cautious optimism that the Allied cause had commanders who could win.

In an amazing feat of coordination and cooperation, the Allied forces under the command Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, made five surprise amphibious landings on North African beaches hundreds of miles apart. This would be America’s initial entrance into the European phase of the war. Most of the American troops boarded vessels in the United States and steamed away without being detected.

The North Africa landings would raise the profile of Gen. George Patton and set in motion the liberation of the Vichy French colonies. While the initial resistance to the landings came from French troops, they were persuaded to surrender and join the Allied cause.

This disrupted the French chain of command and caused the Nazis to realize the fickle commitment of Vichy France. Even more significantly, to prevent the repurposing of the French Fleet as Nazi vessels, the entire French Navy was scuttled.

The landings in French North Africa were the beginning of the gradual pacification of Axis hegemony. Prior to the landings, the Italians, and later the Nazis, were doing their best to prevent the British from controlling North Africa from Libya to Egypt.

When the Italians were within a whisper of losing their toehold, Hitler sent reinforcements in the form of Erwin Rommel. His active duty in the desert would earn him the sobriquet “Desert Fox.”

So even before the Torch landings, the British were directly engaged with Rommel and his Afrika Korps. And, for the most part, the Nazis were on the offense pushing the British almost to Cairo. Tired of organized retreats, Churchill sacked one commanding officer and through circumstances identified Gen. Bernard Montgomery to lead the British 8th Army.

Montgomery, too, would make his mark in the desert. While the desert war was frustratingly slow, Montgomery took his time to build up his troops, making sure he had the necessary supplies and, by surprise, take the offensive.

Rommel, on the other hand, was having a hard time acquiring supplies necessary to keep his troops fed and his equipment serviceable. The British enjoyed significant naval resources to limit shipping in the Mediterranean, and the Royal Air Force had almost complete air superiority. Waiting for the best time to engage allowed Montgomery to build up his resources and served to diminish Nazi supplies and troop morale.

When Montgomery did attack, he caught the enemy by surprise. Rommel had returned to Germany to fully recover from an illness, but his forces were no match for the well supplied British joint operations. Superiority in tanks, aircraft and in armor piercing artillery, ground the Nazi war machine down into a full retreat.

Having to fight a defensive battle, Rommel turned to land mines to prevent British tanks and troops from attacking his flanks. As a counter measure, Polish engineers developed an electronic mine detector allowing mine fields to be cleared in record time. This Polish invention allowed Allied troops to surreptitiously cut paths through mine fields, which further surprised the Afrika Korps.

Montgomery’s victory at El Alamein caused Churchill to famously remark that while the battle was not the beginning of the end, it was “the end of the beginning.” From this point on, the British would win battle after battle, pursing the Nazis from North Africa to Sicily and, eventually, to Rome.

As we celebrate our Veterans Day, the British will honor their war dead on Remembrance Day. At El Alamein, there will be a remembrance ceremony, for it was there that the might of the British Empire asserted itself and started the roll up of Nazi forces in Europe.

There is a cemetery at El Alamein for all the Commonwealth soldiers who died there. It is beautiful in its simplicity, and the symmetry of the marble headstones is a stark reminder of the cost of war.

To walk through the graves and read the short phrases on each marker is a moving and somber experience. There is a quiet reverence to be on hallowed ground. There are countless markers of teenagers who died for their country; but the most sobering headstones of all simply read “Known but to God.”

This year, as In past years, families of the dead will gather to remember their sons, brothers, and husbands who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Like so many other war cemeteries, it is the last touchstone many families have, and their trek to El Alamein is a pilgrimage to remember. Years ago, a father asked that his family spread his ashes at the tomb of his only son. While frowned upon, I am told this was not an infrequent occurrence.

At the Commonwealth cemetery, there is an old Egyptian warden who keeps watch over the graves. His English is slight, but he takes his job seriously and guides families to the graves of their relatives in a most reverent and respectful manner.

Of all the times in the Middle East when a tip or “baksheesh” might be in order, he refuses all gratuities and completely against type, acts insulted at the offer.

Remembering veterans this month is a good time to remember that  in North Africa, American troops first engaged the enemy, and the British soundly defeated the Desert Fox while paving the way for ultimately victory. The cemetery at El Alamein reminds us of sacrifice and provides an object lesson in the cost of freedom.

Will Sellers is a graduate of Hillsdale College and an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of Alabama. He is best reached at jws@willsellers.com.

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