An October 10, 2025 billboard in Jerusalem shows U.S. President Donald Trump with Israeli and American flags and proclaims: “Cyrus the Great Is Alive!” Cyrus was the Persian ruler who freed the Jews from Babylonian captivity and was celebrated for his tolerance toward local customs, religions, and laws, earning admiration even among conquered peoples (see 2 Chronicles and Ezra). Trump’s newly unveiled 20-point peace plan for Gaza has ignited fierce debate across the world. Far from uniting people, it has thrown social media into familiar chaos. But it’s a detailed, transactional, and unmistakably hard-nosed roadmap, and could be the most pragmatic framework yet to end this endless war.
