Israel 2.0: It is an unfortunate accident of history that the United States and Israel, inseparable allies, would at the same time be led by governments of the extreme right, each inclined toward 1930s militarism. The campaign against Iran was only in part motivated by fears that Islamic nation was close to developing a nuclear weapon. The second component, just as vital, was to sever the umbilical cord between Tehran and its major terrorist proxies, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza. This Israeli leadership is unlike its more open-minded predecessors. It seeks not only full control of Gaza, but also as much of Lebanon as it can secure, both stepping stones toward a vibrant Greater Israel, no Palestinian state in the mix. Nor are civilian casualties of any special concern. Here is Israel’s version of Manifest Destiny, a concept to which the American president can relate. An expanded and unimpeded Jewish state dealing freely with its rich Arab neighbors (Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, and Kuwait, among others) would represent an unrivaled commercial and political juggernaut. For this reason it has no intention of curbing its military moves in Lebanon, which makes enduring peace with Iran hard to imagine. These times have the flavor of a Judeo-Christian jihad, though both Israel and the U.S. would find such a parallel profoundly objectionable. Yet it is, without doubt, one extremism pitted against another, with the biblical nation-builders holding the upper hand.