This Is Israel’s ‘Finest Hour’ — And Iran’s Turning Point
From London 1940 to Tehran 2025: The Battle for Freedom and the echoes of the Past
History has a habit of repeating itself — not in form, but in spirit. And sometimes, moments from the past cast a bright light on the choices of the present. On June 18, 1940, 85 years ago, two speeches were delivered from London, both aimed at nations on the brink of despair. London became the world’s last capital of defiance.
That evening, General Charles de Gaulle, barely known beyond military circles, made a bold broadcast on the BBC’s French Service. France had just surrendered to Nazi Germany. Its official leadership was preparing to collaborate with the invaders. But de Gaulle, in exile, spoke for another France — the true France — one that refused to bow to occupation.
“France has lost a battle, but France has not lost the war.”
That speech — L’Appel du 18 Juin — became the founding moment of the French Resistance. It wasn’t an instant success. Only a few heard it live. Many of France’s military and civilian leaders ignored it. But over time, as the Nazis tightened their grip, de Gaulle’s call echoed louder. Underground resistance cells formed. Intelligence was passed to London. Sabotage operations against German supply lines began. The French Resistance emerged in exile and would later help liberate their homeland.
That same day, across London, Winston Churchill rose in the House of Commons to address the British Parliament. Britain had just completed the Dunkirk evacuation, saving over 300,000 British and Allied troops. But Europe was falling to Hitler, one country after another. The United States remained neutral. The Soviet Union was still bound to Hitler by the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. Britain stood utterly alone. This was a nation of 48 million against Hitler’s Europe.
But Churchill didn’t flinch. His words rang with clarity and steel:
“If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands…
…Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say: This was their finest hour.”
Britain did stand. And in time, the free world joined it.
Now, we see the shape of that moment return — different names, different places, but the same test of will. Today, 85 years later, history echoes again.
Today, it is Israel standing alone against the Islamic Republic, one that chants “death to America” and has occupied and destroyed more than just Iran. As Israel strikes Iran’s terror and nuclear infrastructure, Israel faces threats not only from Tehran but from Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in the north, Houthi missiles from the south, and Iranian-backed militias across the Middle East. The so-called “international community” mumbles in conference rooms. European leaders shift in their chairs. The United Nations can’t even muster a moral sentence. Britain in 1940; Israel in 2025. Just as Churchill stood in Parliament speaking for a free Britain, Israel today stands fighting to free the world — whether the world yet admits it or not.
And just like that day in 1940, today another voice has spoken from exile, a voice speaking to a conquered nation by an evil regime. Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s last shah, has called on the Iranian people to rise. He does not speak for foreign powers. He speaks as an Iranian, for Iran’s freedom. Just like de Gaulle refused to recognize Vichy France as the true France, Pahlavi refuses to recognize the Islamic Republic as the true Iran.
The Islamic Republic has come to its end and is collapsing. What has begun is irreversible. The future is bright, and together we will turn the page of history. Now is the time to stand up; the time to reclaim Iran. May I be with you soon.
It was ordinary French citizens who formed the resistance networks, risking torture and execution to smuggle intelligence, blow up trains, sabotage factories, and ultimately pave the way for liberation. It will be ordinary Iranians who must take that same risk today — for their children, for their freedom, for Iran’s future.
This is Israel’s finest hour — standing alone to confront a threat the world is too afraid to face, just as Britain once stood alone against Nazi tyranny.
It took endurance for Britain to stand for the free world.
It took courage for the French to rise with de Gaulle.
Now, it will take that same courage for Iranians to rise.
The road to freedom always begins alone — but it never ends that way. Just as Britain and the french resistance stood alone against tyranny until the United States and other allies joined to deliver the final blow to Nazi Germany, this time, too, Israel and the Iranian people may not stand alone forever. The hope remains that the free world will rally behind Israel to end the threat once and for all.
