I thought I would write this text at the end of the war, at 6 a.m., when it would be possible to truly mourn and weep for the thousands who had left us, when the sirens would go off, when the reservists would return home, when there would be a little more air in the lungs and the country would be able to cope with its wounds.
Netanyahu visits the air force base: "There is no ceasefire without the return of the hostages" // Photo: GPO
It is not in wartime that scores are made. Now the muses are supposed to be silent, most often rightly said. The challenges are enormous, the fighting continues, we have to support and put everything aside. The fighters must feel the spirit of the nation, the togetherness and the backing that the home front gives - and there is no other such back, there is nothing like the giving and love that unites the nation since that terrible Shabbat. But the other day, the straw broke the camel's back.
Disputes only in one place
When everyone puts their principles, anger and disagreements aside, and there is only one place that continues this controversy, maybe enough should be said, not anymore. When it happens once, a tweet or statement that causes the wounds to bleed again, an apology comes and we bite our lips. "Well, he apologized, ran away, we're at war, bite his lip and carry on." Then came another statement, another accusation, a clarification and an apology. Another round. And the stateliness that everyone practices in the face of the slime that has splashed everywhere turns into a quickswamp.
The incessant preoccupation with politics during the fighting, the preparations for the day after, ministers who fire incitement from their mouths during the battles, and those who do damage to the country are reprimanded and immediately return to their ways as if nothing had happened, all in the name of political survival, not to mention the used word "responsibility."
Prime Minister Netanyahu: "I did not give an order to transfer fuel - they help only with humanitarian aid" // Credit: Yehuda Schlesinger
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is focused on war, which will not be understood otherwise, but Bibi Netanyahu is focused on political survival. He sees his situation and thinks about the day after the war during the war, the preservation of the coalition, the preservation of power and his political instinct for survival over the years.
But perhaps because of the environment in which he is surrounded – political advisers, media advisers, close people, his lack of contact with the street, with the people – in the face of an underground stream that currently holds indescribable pain and anger and is found in almost every avenue of the people.
Just don't lose the people
We will win the war, because we are truly a wonderful people that knows that it has no other place and will therefore win, at any price. The fear is of the day after the war. It is clear that Netanyahu will not lay down the keys as the heads of the army, intelligence and who do not will rightly do. The ground for this is prepared every day, with every statement and a half apology immediately afterwards.
The fear is of the chaos that will prevail here, next to which the Kaplan protest will look like child's play, the fear of winning the war and losing as a people.
The fear is of the chaos that will prevail here, next to which the Kaplan protest will look like child's play. The Kaplan protest, week 36 (archive), photo: Kaplan Force
And such a loss we have already felt what it causes. I believe that Netanyahu is a patriot after all, but there is no one next to him who tells him: Enough, there will be no day after, we must win, put down the keys, stop blaming everyone, accept responsibility and blame as a leader, as someone who stood here at the top of the pyramid for the past 14 years, and get off the stage.
But that won't happen, all signs indicate, so maybe it's time to think out loud and not whisper – Benjamin Netanyahu should lay down the keys as soon as possible.
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