While traveling in Israel this past winter, I personally witnessed the overwhelming resilience a country in mourning was able to exhibit.

The debilitating stroke that left Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on life support removed Israel's Sabra from heading a nascent centrist party in Israeli politics. Though a number of political prognosticators and pollsters immediately signaled the demise of Mr. Sharon's Kadima party, surveys showed it miraculously retained its overwhelming popularity.

If Kadima is to survive and win a majority of the Knesset seats in the March elections, it must present the Israeli public with a strong and bold platform for dealing with its most existential threat: Iran.

Speaking at the "World Without Zionism" conference last October, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told a number of representatives from the terrorist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad that "Israel must be wiped off the map." Mr. Ahmadinejad went on to threaten the existence of the United States and deny the existence of the Holocaust, calling it a "myth" and a "legend" that was "fabricated … under the name 'Massacre of the Jews.'"

After reading Mr. Ahmadinejad's words, I wondered what my grandparents, survivors of concentration camps and death marches in Germany, would have made of these insidious comments.

Mr. Ahmadinejad's wild rhetoric does not end there, however. On December 8, 2005, he proposed moving Israel to continental Europe, telling a crowd of Muslim heads of state, "If European countries claim that they have killed Jews in World War II … why don't they provide the Zionist regime with a piece of Europe? Germany and Austria can provide the … regime with two or three provinces for this regime to establish itself, and the issue will be resolved." Most recently, he called on Europe to take back Jews who immigrated to Israel, adding that no Jews would remain in Israel if Europe were to open its doors.

Though the world continues to be laden with political leaders who utter anti-Semitic and anti-American remarks, none have the nuclear aspirations that Iran continues to profess and openly build upon. A nuclear Iran, headed by a capricious bully, not only threatens the stability of the Middle East, but global security as well.

In September 2005, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) found Iran in non-compliance with its obligations as a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Rather than refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions, the IAEA did relatively nothing. Iran went on to break the IAEA seals in front of its officials and resumed nuclear research after a two-year hiatus.

According to comments made on Monday by Meir Dagan, head of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, if Iran is able to reach the "point of no return" with uranium enrichment in the next few months, it could build a nuclear bomb in less than three years. Though Iran has steadfastly denied any research involving uranium enrichment, which creates the essential material for a nuclear weapon, evidence shows that it has begun to convert uranium ore into the gas needed for nuclear armaments.

American intelligence reports suggest that there are two dozen suspected nuclear sites in Iran. Most of them are underground and hardened, able to withstand major bombardment or air strikes. Some were intentionally constructed near major population centers, ensuring civilian casualties in case of an attack. This blatant disregard for human life shows exactly the kind of nefarious characters the world faces.

There is little doubt where Iran's nuclear weapons will be aimed. There is little doubt that they will be placed on missiles adorned with banners reading, "Israel must be wiped off the map." There is little doubt that they will seek to destroy major urban areas, possibly precipitating a second Holocaust.

While military action seems impractical and rushed at this stage, due to American forces being stretched thin in Iraq and terrorism continuing to percolate Israel's own borders, diplomatic, political and economic sanctions may prove to be extremely useful. Despite its oil production, Iran has tremendous unemployment, especially amongst its younger citizens, who tend to favor political reform and change. Designated a rogue state, it may follow the lead of Libya, who agreed to relinquish its WMD program in exchange for an end to sanctions that left it an economic pariah.

Whatever the decision, if Kadima is to win in March, it must join with the world in exercising all options to prevent Iran and its leaders from acquiring nuclear capabilities.

Josh Moskowitz ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in political science and journalism.