On the occasion of his first major speech as NATO chief, Mark Rutte, a former Dutch prime minister, did not mince his words, calling on members to “shift to a wartime mindset and turbo charge our defense production and defense spending.”

It is inconceivable that, as this year comes to an end and planet Earth completes another full circle around the sun, the war in Gaza is still raging with devastating impact after descending into a multifront war for Israel.

The appointment of Israel Katz as Israeli defense minister last month, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had dismissed Yoav Gallant for questioning him, was greeted in Israel with something between astonishment and ridicule.