The biggest challenge for Israeli society the day after will be to remain silent. The wonderful brotherhood that we see everywhere is a brotherhood of days of destruction, not of ordinary days. On the day after the war, we will have to rehabilitate not only the casualties, but also the political and governmental system – and then the serious disputes will erupt again. This will be the great hour of silence.
After all, what happens to us in war? Settlers from Mount Hebron set out to rescue the kibbutz residents; Brothers in Arms volunteers rescue Bibists from Sderot; Arabic-speaking citizens set up an Israeli media room; Ultra-Orthodox volunteers work around the clock to care for the bodies of victims of a nature party; Restaurants in Tel Aviv prepare the kitchens to send food to kosher-observant soldiers. The old definitions and divisions are fading away in the face of the real enemy, in the face of endless horror. We chose the Jewish-Israeli brotherhood again. In the midst of the anxiety and pain, I walk around with the feeling that there is not a person in the country for whom I will not do everything I can, and that there is no one in the country who will not do everything in his power for me.
But there is also a second side. Many conceptions collapsed during the cursed hours, and not only the main and most prominent of them – the concept that Gaza can be fought and left intact. Few people who did not feel that whole whites fall from the wall of their worldview, leaving a void that will have to be filled with new ideas, new thoughts, and a new attempt to form a coherent perception of reality.
My worldview has also undergone a jolt. I feel it even before I know how to articulate it with intellectual tools. I have no doubt that the renewed debate that will arise here at six after the war will be more charged and explosive than one can imagine. The brave and genuine brotherly embrace that is felt in times of war will not stand us in non-war times (peace is a big word) if we do not succeed in translating it into the tools of ordinary times.
The internal Israeli debate is always a debate about life and death. At the end of every sentence you say in an Israeli, a terrorist sits with a hookah, and each of us is convinced to the core of his hair that his political opponent's opinion is disastrous. Now, after the terrible massacre in the surrounding communities and before the actual war has begun, all our new thoughts will focus on one question: what will prevent the scenes of horror from being possible again? How we analyze the events of 7/10 and what happens and will happen after them also becomes a matter of life and death. The trauma is fresh and sweet, and we are all touched. Survivors and abductees and families and neighbors and friends and soldiers and parents and siblings.
On the day after the war, we will have to rehabilitate not only the casualties, but also the political and governmental system – and then the serious disputes will erupt again. This will be the great hour of silence
People who talk about matters of life and death are agitated, anxious, focused, who don't have the time or patience for. And in the midst of this storm, we will have to learn to overcome and remain silent. "Silence" means expressing our opinions and opinions, but also giving others real space to express theirs. Build a better future, and listen carefully to the pictures of the future offered by others. To offer our perception not in the most honed and incisive way, but in the most audible way. If we don't learn this, we will be dragged into a terrifying demon dance in which anyone we disagree with will automatically be accused of responsibility for burning babies.
There is political controversy in Israel. We will never agree on the ballot box, but we no longer have the privilege of entrenching ourselves in our positions. Marking the political other as an adversary is a mistake for which we paid compound interest. We will have to learn to say: I don't agree with you, but our future together depends on my ability to listen to you, absorb your point of view, search for your logic. I was willing to sacrifice my life for you, I was also willing to do everything in my power so that we would live here side by side. Polarization fuels conception (and Twitter), a commitment to partnership fuels the future. We'll need a lot of compassion and listening when this is all over. It's a good idea to prepare your batteries now.
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