Douglas Murray on Iran attack, anti-Israel marches, and Israel's resilience

• Published date: 26 April 2024
• Author: MICHAEL STARR
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

He has borne witness to fighting in Ukraine, and the first time he visited Israel was during the Second Lebanon War. Murray spent six months in the Holy Land following the October 7 massacre and left the country just before the Iranian drone and missile attack on April 13

In an interview with The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday, Murray spoke about his views on Hamas and Israel's prosecution of the war against the terrorist group and his warnings about the Iranian regime at the heart of the conflict.

Murray said it had always been his view that "Israel had to be extremely careful not to win proxy wars and for no one to ever be able to take out the cancer at the heart.

Iran's threat to the entire world

"Obviously, that's not Israel's job, but the job of the Iranian people and others," said Murray. "But it seems to me that the regime in Tehran, the revolutionary Islamic government, showed once again what it is, and what it would like to do. And this isn't just Israel's problem, it's the region's problem. And the world's problem."

The Iranian attack was a massive escalation, the first time the regime had attacked Israel directly, said Murray.

"The eternal unbelievable humbug of what the Iranians and their supporters say when they fire missiles at Jerusalem and still claim themselves to be defenders of the holy places," Murray scoffed.

"Give me a break."

The defense against the barrage was a success, shooting down 99% of missiles and drones, in part thanks to US, British, and Jordanian military efforts.

While reassured about the IDF's capabilities Murray doesn't see it as a win, but the prevention of an atrocity.

He also rejected the sentiment in Washington that this was the end of the story and laughed at the idea expressed by some analysts that Iran was only trying to send a message.

"There are other ways to send signals than sending munitions against your cities," said Murray.

The attack was worrying and ominous to Murray, who explained that he had observed during his tour of the North of Israel how Hezbollah, the crown jewel of Iran's proxy network, had always seemed to be testing the Iron Dome. He had seen the Lebanese terrorist group's threat to places like Meron and Metulla. Iran could also learn from its attacks and "at some point, you can obviously swarm the system."

Murray had seen the results of another of Iran's proxies overrunning Israel's defensive systems. He had visited just about every kibbutz that had been assaulted on October 7, and some towns...