This week, I had the opportunity to join Israel Insider on ILTV alongside Maayan Hoffman and Olga Deutsch for a frank discussion about where Israel stands, 600 days into the war that began on October 7th.

The theme of the episode was as direct as it was sobering: Are we winning? Or are we just not losing?

These are the kinds of conversations we need to be having, not behind closed doors, not sanitized for the sake of politics, but out loud, in front of our people and the world. Because how we talk about this war, how we understand it, and how we move forward from it, will define not just the outcome of this conflict, but the future of the Jewish State itself.

The View from the Heartland

From my perspective, rooted deeply in the hills of Judea and Samaria, this war has been more than a military campaign. It has been a spiritual and national reckoning.

600 days in, it’s clear to me that we are in the middle of a transformation that will only be fully understood in hindsight. I said it on the show, and I’ll say it again here: It reminds me of the Israelites after the Exodus. We crossed the Red Sea, saw open miracles… and then complained about the menu. That’s human nature. But if we’re not careful, we’ll miss the magnitude of what’s happening.

Before October 7th, we lived under constant threat: Hezbollah rockets to the north, Hamas tunnels to the south, an Iranian octopus tightening its grip around the region. And yet, in the chaos, something else has happened: the illusions have shattered, and with them, the excuses.

We now know what the enemy looks like. We now know what complacency costs. And we now know what must be done.

The Call for Sovereignty

At Heartland Initiative, we’ve always said: you cannot have security without sovereignty. That message has never been more urgent.

The war has shown the world that Hamas is not interested in coexistence or compromise. It wants to erase us. But the war has also shown us that continued ambiguity over Judea and Samaria is no longer sustainable. It creates weakness. It invites pressure. And it disconnects us from our roots.

I said on air that the time has come to consider applying Israeli sovereignty over Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley, not as a reaction to international threats, but as a proactive step toward peace through strength. If we want to build a lasting future, we have to stop apologizing for our presence in the very land where our story began.

Fighting on All Fronts, Including the Narrative War

One of the most powerful parts of the ILTV discussion was when Olga Deutsch spoke about the media disinformation war. I couldn’t agree more. What we’re fighting now isn’t just bullets and rockets. It’s stories. It’s language. It’s perception.

Israel is being accused of genocide while Hamas is allowed to play victim despite hoarding food, using human shields, and broadcasting its barbarism for the world to see. This tells us something: the moral high ground doesn’t belong to those who shout the loudest, but to those who stand firm in truth.

At Heartland Initiative, this is where we come in. We are working every day to tell the real story of this land—of the people who live here, of the values we fight for, and of the truth that connects us to the world. We’re building partnerships that go beyond politics based on faith, facts, and moral clarity.

What Comes Next?

If you’re asking whether we’re winning, I’ll say this: If we use this moment to reclaim who we are, to stand unshakably on our values, and to stop being afraid of what the world will think when we speak the truth, then yes, we will win.

But winning isn’t just about military maps or ceasefires. It’s about destiny. It’s about knowing that we were put here for a purpose and having the courage to fulfill it.

This is what Heartland Initiative stands for. And this is what I tried to bring to the conversation on ILTV.

Now, it’s time to bring that same clarity and courage to every forum, every parliament, every campus, every church, every platform—until the world understands what we already know: Judea and Samaria are not a bargaining chip. They are the beating heart of our nation.

Let’s stop treading water. Let’s start walking forward with purpose.