President Donald Trump's recent remarks about Gaza have sparked controversy but also offered a bold vision for change. Trump suggests that the world must abandon its fixation on failed paradigms and instead explore new solutions that prioritize human dignity and opportunity. He proposes creating pathways for Gazans to resettle in regions where they can build prosperous lives as doctors, lawyers, and business leaders—rather than perpetuating cycles of violence aimed at annihilating their neighbors.
Critics may dismiss this proposal as impractical or harsh, but it is rooted in a fundamental truth: no society can thrive while its primary objective is destruction. When a society teaches that its highest value is the destruction of another society, without placing the betterment of its own people as a top priority, there is no incentive in the world that can be offered which will cause that society to work toward peace or build a proper system of government for its own people.
For too long, international actors have enabled this destructive cycle by treating Gaza as an "open-air concentration camp" without addressing the root causes—Hamas's grip on power and its educational indoctrination and institutionalization of hatred. The global community must shift its focus from merely sustaining Gaza to empowering its people to break free from this toxic system.
Egypt, for instance, has played a pivotal role in maintaining Gaza's isolation by refusing to absorb refugees or provide meaningful support. The broader Arab world has similarly turned its back on Palestinians in general and Gazans in specific, using their plight as a political tool while offering little tangible assistance besides sending funding that has only used to perpetuate the conflict with Israel.
Yet recent history shows that change is possible. The Abraham Accords defied the conventional wisdom espoused by former Secretary of State John Kerry who said that no Arab state would make peace with Israel while the Palestinian issue is still unresolved. Trump proved that false, showing that with the right incentives and a different mode of thinking, Arab nations can and will make peace with Israel without resolving the Palestinian issue first. In Trump's first term, he, together with many others, thought creatively about how regional partners might contribute to a long-term solution for the Middle East and we need to do so again with Gaza.
Trump's call for rebuilding Gaza under new terms—focused on accountability and opportunity rather than blank checks—is a step in the right direction. It recognizes that simply pouring money into the region without addressing systemic corruption and extremism will only perpetuate suffering. Instead, international aid should be tied to measurable outcomes: dismantling Hamas's infrastructure, fostering economic development, and promoting education that emphasizes coexistence and progress instead of conflict.
The events of Oct. 7, 2023, marked a seismic shift in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The brutal massacre of men, women, and children—many of whom were advocates for peace and maintained close relationships with Gazans—has left Israel and the Jewish world grappling with a painful realization: the two-state solution, long championed as the pathway to peace, is no longer viable.
For nearly two decades, Israel has extended olive branches, relinquished land, and poured billions into Gaza, together with other nations, in an effort to foster Palestinian self-governance. In 2005, Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza, uprooting its own citizens in the hope that this territory could become a thriving example of coexistence. Instead, it became a launchpad for terror. Billions in international aid have been funneled into Gaza, only to be siphoned off by Hamas for tunnels used by terrorists and rockets rather than schools or hospitals.
The atrocities of Oct. 7 also shattered any illusions that Hamas operates independently of Gaza's civilian population. Hostages who have returned confirm what many feared: Hamas's actions are supported by significant portions of the Gazan populace, across generations. [JF1] This complicity makes it clear that peace cannot be achieved by simply addressing leadership; it requires a transformation of societal attitudes and aspirations.
The Gaza experiment, of offering Palestinians a land of their own, with self-governance, in the hopes that they would make a prosperous state and avoid conflict, has failed. This moment demands a radical rethinking of how to address the Gaza problem, and that is what Trump is doing.
The path forward for the betterment of Gaza citizens and peace in the region will not be easy or universally popular. It requires abandoning comfortable but outdated narratives about two states living side by side in peace. This vision has been rendered impossible by Hamas's reign of terror and widespread Gazan civilian complicity. Instead, it demands bold leadership willing to reimagine what peace could look like.
Whether or not Trump's specific plan is adopted, his willingness to challenge conventional wisdom should be applauded. It is time for all stakeholders—Israelis, Palestinians, regional powers, and global leaders—to embrace innovative approaches that prioritize human dignity over entrenched ideologies.
We cannot afford to keep repeating failed experiments while innocent lives hang in the balance. Let us honor the innocent who perished on all sides by committing ourselves to finding real solutions—however unconventional—that offer hope for a peaceful future.
Rabbi Steven Burg is the CEO of Aish, an international Jewish educational organization.
The views expressed in this article are the author's own.
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