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of the Zionist state, before the 12-days war and Iran’ s response with devastating bombing raids against Israel consolidated an idea of national unity and pride. Despite the“ cult of martyrdom”, deeply rooted in the Shiite tradition, the war also saw the emergence of“ pragmatists” within the Iranian political class, aware of the high cost of a policy of independence. Mutatis mutandis, Israel’ s debacle in the nth adventure it initiated in Iran demonstrated that no one is invincible, not even the Israeli army, which until then had a legend of invincibility against small-calibre adversaries such as Hamas, or wars of surprise meticulously prepared by the undermining work of its espionage services.
The Israeli paradigm: war as an existential necessity based on the memory of the Holocaust.
In stark contrast, Israel’ s military policy is deeply marked by the memory of the Holocaust, which is instrumentalized to justify its military actions and the perception of war as essential to its survival( Collective, 2023). Israeli leaders, like Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, frequently use this interpretive framework, as when he declared Hamas members to be the“ new Nazis” after the attack on October 7, 2023( Collective, 2023). This rhetoric aims to legitimize actions otherwise deemed indefensible, and to create a sense of“ never again” in the face of any perceived threat( Collectif, 2023). Israel’ s exclusive appropriation of the memory of the Shoah aims to hold on to legitimacy and believe it can“ do anything”( De la Shoah à la Nakba, un travail de mémoire en souffrance- Cairn, 2021). Every year, Israel stands still to commemorate the Shoah, a moment of collective recollection when sirens sound and the media broadcast survivors’ testimonies( Israël se fige en hommage aux victimes de la Shoah- L’ Orient-Le Jour, 2025).
Flashmag! Issue 162 July 2025
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