by Grant Gochin, July 31, 2025

As a 16-year-old South African in 1980, I watched Zimbabwe’s “liberation” unfold on television–a moment seared into my memory. The Rhodesian flag fell, the Zimbabwean flag rose, and the haunting strains of “Auld Lang Syne” marked the end of colonial rule. Those notes still pull me back to that fleeting hope for a better future. But let’s be brutally honest–hope was a cruel illusion.

The world cheered as Rhodesia’s white regime fell under global pressure. The cause was righteous: equality was non-negotiable. But the world ignored the *day after.* Independence’s euphoria drowned out any thought of governance or stability. Rhodesia’s economy, though prosperous for a few, had thrived on systemic inequality. Yet post-independence Zimbabwe became a husk of poverty, starvation and tyranny. Equal rights? No: equal suffering for all.

Zimbabwe’s collapse is a glaring warning for any conflict where ideals outpace pragmatism, especially in the Israeli-Palestinian quagmire. Critics, including feeble Western governments, hound Israeli prime minister Netanyahu for not presenting a tidy post-war plan for Gaza while rockets rain down. Meanwhile, activists chant “from the river to the sea,” a call for Israel’s annihilation which ignores the consequences. Sound familiar? It’s Zimbabwe 2.0–glory in the cause, deliberate obfuscation for the ignorant masses.

Zimbabwe’s failure was a master class in what happens when you chase ideals without a blueprint: chaos, suffering, ruin. In the Israeli-Palestinian arena, the same failure invites a bloodbath, specifically, the mass slaughter of Jews. Is that the twisted outcome Europe’s enabling? The same outcome it has pursued multiple times before? There’s no reason to believe regarding Europe’s ultimate goal that *this time it’s different.*.

Western nations such as Britain, France and Canada proclaim their intent to recognize a Palestinian state, bowing to domestic protests and UN posturing. France’s foreign minister floats vague statehood proposals. Canada’s parliament passes symbolic motions, but where’s the plan? Borders? Governance? Security? Silence. This isn’t diplomacy, it’s gutless grandstanding. It’s a green light for Hamas and Hezbollah, terrorist groups openly salivating for Israel’s annihilation, to ramp up their attacks.

Israel, a tiny nation under constant siege, is bullied towards concessions which would gut its ability to survive. Palestinians deserve legitimate aspirations such as self-governance, dignity and a future, but “legitimate” doesn’t mean erasing Jews or calling for genocide. Gaza, strangled by Hamas’s rule, is already a powder keg. Any path forward must guarantee Israel’s right to exist without a target on its back. Yet it seems the target on Israel’s back is precisely what these nations intend.

History screams a warning: change without a clear and inclusive plan breeds disaster, not justice. Zimbabwe’s downfall proves it. For Israelis and Palestinians, the *day after* demands more than slogans or ultimatumata–it requires a ruthless commitment to a future where both sides can live, not just survive. Britain, France and Canada aren’t just fanning Middle East flames. They’re building their own funeral pyres. They cannot impose their will on Israel, not after history’s repeated betrayals.

Those cheering the destruction of a Western democracy such as Israel won’t stop there. By emboldening extremists, they’re sowing a chaos which will haunt their own streets. Israel has the resolve and firepower to fight back. Do Britain, France and Canada have the resolve to survive the traps they’re setting for themselves? By betraying Israel, they’re composing their own funeral dirge–they had better learn the lyrics “Auld Lang Syne” to sing at their own final reckoning.

Full text here.