Eighty years ago this week, the United States dropped the only nuclear bombs ever used in war — on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The destruction was unimaginable, but the transformation that followed offers an urgent lesson for our own time: an idea can be defeated.
Rabbi Ezra Bick, Rosh Yeshiva at RIETS/Yeshiva University, visited Hiroshima’s Peace Museum and reflected on how Japan, once one of the most militaristic cultures on the planet, replaced its national ethos of conquest with an obsession for peace. This didn’t happen only because of military defeat — it happened because Japan’s militarism was shown to be futile, and it was replaced with something better.
“Over seven decades of peace have turned Japan from a war-torn imperial power into the third largest economy and one of the freest countries in the world,” notes Tom Phuong Le in Japan’s Aging Peace.
The Lie That Must Be Defeated
Today, some say Israel’s fight against Hamas is hopeless because “you can’t kill an idea.” But, as Rabbi Bick points out, Hiroshima teaches us that this is not true.
Hamas’s ideology — the exploitation of democracy’s freedoms and the moral codes of civilized nations for political gain — can and must be defeated. This means exposing it as a dead end militarily, politically, and morally.
Its leaders must be eliminated. Its atrocities must be recognized for what they are: not “resistance,” but the mass slaughter of innocents. Hostage-taking must never be legitimized or rewarded.
“The point here is not simply which side is wrong; it is that terrorism as a strategy is unacceptable.” — Rabbi Ezra Bick
A Biblical Precedent for Defeating Ideas
The Torah’s commandment to wage war against Amalek is often misunderstood as annihilation. But as Maimonides explained, the ultimate goal is moral transformation: that Amalek abandon its terroristic ways and accept a moral code. The war, when necessary, is against an idea, not a people.
For Modern-Day Esthers, this matters: our fight is not for vengeance, but for the end of evil’s influence. We pray that even our enemies’ hearts could be changed — but we also act decisively to stop their violence.
Why This Resonates Now
Rabbi Bick acknowledges that much unfair blame is placed on Israel in the Gaza conflict — a reality that is painful and consequential. But he argues that countering false narratives is less important than taking the actions necessary to achieve lasting peace.
Just as Japan reached a point where militarism became unthinkable, the world must insist that terrorism — especially the brand Hamas promotes — becomes a shameful relic of history.
He shares how his 13-year-old daughter read a peace resolution at the Hiroshima conference, reciting: “We shall not repeat the evil.” Whose evil? Perhaps it doesn’t matter. If the result is that Hamas’s ideology is utterly discredited and never revisited, the cause of peace will have advanced.
A Call to the Esthers of Our Day
For Modern-Day Esthers, this is our moment:
Pray for the defeat of terrorism as an ideology.
Stand against leaders and governments that reward it.
Support Israel’s right to dismantle the networks and narratives that perpetuate it.
Live out and speak out the truth that evil ideas can be defeated — and must be replaced with something better.
Lord, just as You turned Japan’s heart from war to peace, turn the hearts of those who embrace terror. Give Israel victory over Hamas not only in the field, but in the realm of ideas. Let this generation see terrorism become a chapter the world never revisits. Amen.
Read Rabbi Ezra Bick’s full article here ➜ Hiroshima and Hamas: Ideas Can Be Defeated
