It Took A Horrific War On Israel To Unite Its Citizens

Divided over politics, Israelis are as one in ending Hamas’s reign of terror.

Defending the land and the people: For all of the division in Israeli society over the last 10 months, there is overwhelming support for the IDF and its mission to land a fatal blow to Hamas.

Jerusalem – This is a week of funerals here and around the country. 

In a state of less than 7 million Jews, it seems that everyone knows someone who died, or was injured, kidnapped, or called up into service in the last three days. The tragic stories and images coming to light now of the genocidal slaughter of families, older people, women and children are heartbreaking and frightening. Israelis are feeling grief, outrage (at the savagery of Hamas, of course, but also at their government’s failure to protect its citizens) and experiencing a new sense of vulnerability after the series of traumatic shock waves to their hearts and minds these last few days.

The people of Start-Up Nation, proud of their country’s role as a potential home for Jews everywhere, are now all too aware of how constricted their lives have become. They are checking their apps for Home Front Command instructions about air raid sirens and restricted activity notices (beaches closed, limits of 10 people at outdoor gatherings and 50 people indoors). Israel the safe haven has now become the land of the designated “safe room” in each home, a symbolic and very real retreat with concrete walls and heavily reinforced doors.   

There is a strong sense that nothing will be the same after October 7, a day being described as Israel’s 9/11, and eerily parallel to the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War exactly 50 years earlier – in each case a day an awful, unimaginable event became a reality. But this day was like no other in Israel’s history. The Yom Kippur War resulted in the deaths of 2,656 Israeli soldiers, a huge loss. But not one civilian was killed. Wars then were fought on the battlefield between uniformed combatants, not carried out by terrorists butchering innocent civilians in their homes. 

Historians confirm that more Jews died last Shabbat than on any day since the Shoah. 

‘A Time To Be Sad, And A Time To Dance’

My wife and I had been in Israel for a week, celebrating the Sukkot holiday with family and friends. It’s the festival when The Book of Ecclesiastes is read in the synagogue, with the famous passage that includes, “there is a time to be sad and a time to dance” (Chapter 3: 4-5). This past Shabbat in Israel also include both Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, a day when Yizkor, the memorial prayer, is recited, followed soon after by joyous dancing with the Torahs to mark the completion – and beginning again – of the eternal cycle of Torah readings.

So we have a longstanding tradition of somehow blending sadness and celebration, grief and joy – the human condition. One personal example of the mix of the mundane and the meaningful: on a WhatsApp of dedicated Baltimore Oriole fans in Israel on Saturday night, the texts ricocheted between observations about the game (“the stadium is wild”) and comments like “rockets over Raanana now” and “I’m at a (blood) donation place now. If you are O positive or negative, they want you.” 

The mix of sentiments among Israelis toward the government are strong and seemingly contradictory. Most Israelis fervently oppose the coalition’s attempts to weaken the High Court, but in the wake of this war, the deep societal rift has disappeared for now. No protests were held this past Saturday night, there were no reported holdouts among reservists called to duty (now estimated at 360,00), and a unity government including Benny Gantz’s opposition National Unity party appears to be imminent. . 

How long will these signs of healing last? No one knows, but it is clear that for now, the immediate and urgent goal is for all sides to work together to win this war. Decisively, and with whatever military power it takes. 

There is widespread anger voiced over Jerusalem’s huge security failure as well as solid commitment to heed the prime minister’s call to eradicate Hamas. There is widespread resolve that the jihadist barbarians who laughed at and celebrated the torture of helpless Jews from infants to 86-year-olds must no longer be a threat to Israel, or any civilized people. And amid all the deep heartfelt concern about the estimated 150 Israel army and civilian hostages being held in Gaza, there is both support for Israel’s cutting off food, water and power to the two million Gazans, and a recognition that they are themselves hostages. They suffer in their daily lives and are ruled by a terrorist group dedicated to ridding the world of Jews rather than building a safe society for their own people.

Keeping In Touch

Being here in Israel, my wife and I have experienced more closely the emotional depths of the society. We speak with Israeli friends who describe their anxiety and fortitude in trying to keep in touch with children or grandchildren on the front lines. We are reduced to tears reading too many personal stories of 19-year-old soldiers killed in defense of their country, and young parents slain on a southern kibbutz trying to protect their two young toddlers. We are inspired by the countless volunteer acts of chesed and kindness – individual and those organized by non-profits – from donating blood to preparing meals to raising funds for additional protective gear for reservists, and everything in between. We watch the clips of flag-waving Israelis cheering on soldiers riding off to battle, showering them with food, drinks, prayers of gratitude, and love.  

It is both touching and embarrassing for us to receive anxious notes from relatives and friends in America asking about our welfare while we are safe in Jerusalem, sticking close to the apartment we’re in. We resolved to be more diligent about keeping in touch in the future with friends in Israel once we are home. But we have also become increasingly aware that whether or not we live here, Israel is the home that will always take us in – not just us as a couple but all of us, as a people. 

We pray, in the words of the official Prayer for the State of Israel, composed in 1948: “Strengthen the defenders of  our Holy Land … and crown them with victory. Establish peace in the land, and everlasting joy for her inhabitants.”

Amen.