We will win. We will win, and not only because the IDF is strong, and not just because Israel is right. We will win because this is a war for home. And in the war for home, something awakens in us that reminds us of who we are, why we are here, and what we are fighting for.
There will be time for a home inspection. Imposition of liability. To draw conclusions. There will be no escape. But for now, we are at war. Very tangible. Very existential. Very Israeli. And the fact that it is literally abandoned at home, on the streets of our cities, between the houses of our kibbutzim and moshavim, between them and within them, is what makes it so Israeli. And these streets and houses, from the television broadcasts, are not Israelis. They are home.
Netanyahu: "The war will take time, but we will avenge this black day" // Photo: GPO
Every once in a while we get a reminder of the big thing we are fighting for this place for. This happens to us many times when we feel that the existential threat has dissipated, that the enemies only want to harass, hurt, strike - but no longer give them the illusion that the house will fall on its inhabitants. The campaign, which began on the morning of Simchat Torah 5724, will be remembered as one of those moments when reality knocked on our doorstep and reminded us that they were asking for home.
These are also the moments when a spirit arises within us. Yesterday's animosities are fading, last night's arguments are quieting down. Sometimes the Muses, too. Then arose an unparalleled powerful instinct, an invincible willpower. And it's bigger than even a survival instinct. the heroism of the fighters, the heroism of the civilians; A people rises up to defend its home, with all that the words "protect" and "home" imply.
IDF soldiers, yesterday, photo: Oren Ben Hakon
"The ascension of our fighters not because of iron but because of the consciousness of a supreme mission," IDF Chief of Staff Yitzhak Rabin said in his "Mount Scopus speech" shortly after the victory in the Six-Day War, "of recognizing the justice of our cause, of deep love for the homeland and of recognizing the difficult task assigned to them – to ensure the existence of the nation in its homeland, to uphold, and even at the cost of their lives, the right of the people of Israel to live its life in its country in peace and tranquility. as a free and independent people." This recognition is alive and kicking. This is the essence of unity, of "this people, divided all year round, how it rises when it smells danger."
This unity was revealed yesterday and will be revealed in the coming days. And perhaps it would be better for it to come not only from below, but also from above. That unity among the people will also meet unity in leadership. Unconditional unity. Unity for the sake of unity. This will be the appropriate strategic response to the danger. This will be the appropriate leadership response to the social climate. And it will also be the historical, Israeli response to the existential challenge that rears its head in every generation.
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