Naturally, the signs of disaster, the feelings of mourning and shock, and the difficult emotions that accompany the news of the fall of our fighters in the ongoing battles in the Gaza Strip, still accompany Israeli society on a regular basis.
This is a necessary situation, a healthy response to events and the daily state of Israeli fighting. Israel's citizens prefer to live their lives in the shadow of war while at home, or leave them almost exclusively for essential activities – mainly studies and work – or at most for family celebrations and close social circles.
This is also evident in economic expenditures: at Sheba, which manages the national credit card payment system, the rate of credit card use in Israel has stabilized at 20% less than in normal times.
It's perfectly healthy. The mourning is justified, and the lack of desire to engage in small weekday celebrations, along with the fear of what is coming and the need to identify with the fighters who risk their lives, are a more than reasonable explanation for the Israeli entrenchment. But the situation must change in the direction of a return to routine, including in the areas of consumption and recreation.
Going out for a meal in a restaurant, stocking up on malls and hanging up for two hours at the cinema are not only legitimate – they are required, and constitute an important component not only of national resilience, but also of the resilience of the economy and the ability to manage normalcy in a situation that is all abnormality.
Of course, there is no need or justification for huge parties, waterings, cocktails or bouncing performances as if we were living in the pre-October 7 era, and the use of the word "entertainment" can also be stored next to the distress in the abdominal cavity. But going out for ventilation and living on the home front is more than necessary at this time.
The soldiers fighting in Gaza do this, among other things, in order to enable exactly this capability, the routine of life in the State of Israel. Business owners need this in order to continue to operate the cogs of the Israeli economy. Our enemies need to see that breaking the routine in Israel is not something they can write down as an achievement, and when no one hears, we can admit among ourselves that we, too, those who remain on the home front, need a respite, precisely because of the basket of difficult emotions and the tidings of Job that have landed on us in the past weeks.
A restaurant where families sit, a mall where parents wander with toddlers, and an ice cream parlor full of teenagers are not images of detachment from reality, indicating numbness in the face of the situation or bereavement, but part of the puzzle that makes up the picture of Israeli victory in the war forced upon us.
Our enemies need to see that breaking the routine in Israel is not something they can write down as an achievement, and when no one hears, we can admit among ourselves that we, those who remain on the home front, also need a respite, precisely because of the basket of difficult emotions and the tidings of Job that have landed on us in the past weeks
The fact that the expansion of the war to other sectors may, God forbid, deteriorate into a situation in which a casual exit from home would be problematic on the security level, must also be taken into account. This is a time to get out of the house, smile and even have fun on a limited scale, especially during these difficult and charged times. One of the great secrets of the State of Israel is the focus on building, development and life in the most difficult circumstances. I wish there was no need for self-prodding, but the war and the catastrophe that opened it still exist.
Maintaining as normal a life as possible is part of the war effort. Not glamorous, unnatural, not full of heroism - but legitimate and essential.
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