India, Oct. 11 -- Well, my days in Jerusalem, Gaza, and Tel Aviv a few weeks ago were in substance no different from my time in Tehran last year. They are arch-enemies, locked in a conflict whose roots are as ancient as they are intractable, a struggle over biblically evolved claims to land and memory. One thing is consistent among both Iranians and Israelis: people are treated not merely as adversaries to be vanquished but as existential embodiments of deeply entrenched national and religious imperatives. While Iranians endure one of the most severe economic constrictions in living memory, Israelis too confront anxiety and austerity, albeit within a militarily assertive framework.

The attacks of October 7, 2023, orchestrated by Hamas, w...