There are moments in history when a civilisation must decide whether it still believes enough in its own values to defend them. Across the Western world today—in Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and North America—that moment has arrived. Many of our fellow citizens remain blissfully unaware or wilfully focused elsewhere, yet the stakes could not be higher.
We live in an age where an increasing number of people walk through life with a God-sized hole in their hearts—a void that leaves them unmoored, susceptible, and searching for meaning in all the wrong places. Others have drifted from the spiritual and moral anchors that once shaped our societies and have instead placed their trust in modern prophets of fear and grievance—figures whose pronouncements command obedience but offer little wisdom. In this environment, the ‘woke mind virus’ spreads easily: a worldview that elevates feelings over facts, grievance over gratitude, and ideology over reality. The result is Orwellian levels of gaslighting, distortion, and cultural confusion. As Orwell reminded us, “To see what is in front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle.”
At the centre of this civilisational test stands Israel: battered, resilient, morally challenged and defiantly alive. At the time of writing, all but one hostage illegally seized by Hamas has been returned. It is a profound achievement—yet it marks only what Churchill might call “the end of the beginning.” We are now entering what I believe future historians will describe as the Great Competition for Western Civilisation itself.
The notion that history had reached some benign conclusion—a belief popularised in 1989 by Francis Fukuyama
—has been thoroughly disproven. Liberal democracies did not glide into inevitable peace; we drifted into complacency. We lost the instinct for danger that earlier generations possessed. Like the proverbial frog in warming water, the cultural deformation has been gradual enough to escape notice, yet profound enough to reshape our understanding of truth, identity and responsibility.
It is into this landscape that I released my book, A Light Still Burns: Israel and the Values Worth Defending, published in October 2025 in the United States by Wicked Sons. Part memoir, part historical reflection, part call to action, the book was written not merely to describe the problem but to provide a tool—a way for reasonable, open-minded people of goodwill to recognise and comprehend the challenge before us.
It draws on my three decades of military service, including 27 months in Jerusalem with the United Nations, as well as more recent experiences such as entering Gaza with the Israel Defense Forces in September 2024. Above all, it draws on a deeper conviction: that the West remains worth defending; that Israel is not merely a strategic ally but a moral lighthouse; and that truth—once spoken clearly—still has power.
Yet no book, no foundation, no single effort can carry this burden alone. The challenges before us require a community—Jewish and Christian, secular and religious, young and old—working together to reclaim moral clarity and rebuild cultural confidence. As Isaiah wrote, “Arise, shine, for your light has come.” The light still burns. But we must choose to tend it.
My hope is that this book will serve as a catalyst for conversations, a bridge between communities, and a small spark that strengthens the resolve of those who understand the stakes of this moment.
The task is large, but as Churchill reminded us, “It is not enough to wish; we must act.”
May we act together—with clarity, courage and faith—so that the light of our shared civilisation continues to burn for generations yet unborn.
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NB: This article was written prior to the 14 December 2025 Bondi Massacre.
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