Since its outbreak, the Iron Sword War has produced more and more surprising nostalgic bridges, which return us to the atmosphere of previous wars in the long history of Medid Nat Israel. After the battles in Gaza forced the fighters to give up their direct connection to civilization, and first and foremost to temporarily separate from their mobile phones, any dialogue with the worried families at home became a luxury that for now can only be dreamed of. Understanding the distress, the 36th Division Headquarters decided to embark on an exciting initiative for its fighters: they were given the opportunity to write real letters to their loved ones, pen on paper, in order to transmit signs of life from inside Gaza. For their part, the families of the fighters enjoyed a few moments of comfort with the scent of yesteryear.
Have a cup of coffee in a fancy house
Judging by the content of the letters, the morale of the fighters at the front seems high, and sometimes there are good moments to hold on to. "I enjoy myself here, even drinking coffee like this on the sea in a fancy house with sofas," writes one of the fighters in Gaza. "You would love the view here just like the Herzliya sea," another fighter writes to his beloved at home. Although the letters are accompanied by words of affection and love, it is hard to ignore the hidden pain hidden between the words. "Maybe I was wrong," the fighter continues, telling his longing lover, "There is a chance that it will take us a little more than two weeks here. I hope you're as strong as I know you."
Letter from the fighter Roy, photo: None
Warrior Roy Altar, writing to his beloved // After Effects: Liron Ezer | Israel Hayom Editorial Board
Letter from the fighter Uri, photo: None
Warrior Uri Cohen writes to the family // After Effects: Liron Ezer | Israel Hayom Editorial Board
Letter from fighter Guy, photo: None
Warrior Guy writes to his beloved // After Effects: Liron Ezer | Israel Hayom Editorial Board
Letter from warrior Danny, photo: None
Warrior Danny Marczewski writes to Mom and Dad // After Effects: Liron Ezer | Israel Hayom Editorial Board
Letter from the warrior Idan, photo: None
Warrior Idan Geva writes to family and spouse // After Effects: Liron Ezer | Israel Hayom Editorial Board
What exactly is the color of the sunset
One of the letters includes a surreal literary reference given the circumstances. One of the fighters, Ron, chose to quote the first two verses from the poem "Urban Evening" (which opens with the words "Pink sunset between the roofs, asphalt on the street below"), written by poet Nathan Alterman and composed by Yoni Rechter.
Letter from fighter Ron, photo: None
0_eqrYg12bloKD6CyR4s | Israel Hayom Editorial Board
Ron doesn't quote all the verses and writes half-apologetically: "Well, come on, I'm out of energy to write all the words of this, love you." The Warrior's choice of a poem first published in 1934 is particularly interesting in light of the literary interpretation given over the years to the prophetic work. One of the lines that Sharon preferred to miss – "A bright sad electric spring, from whose intoxication it is forbidden to escape" – alludes to artificial urban light that shines and blooms for a brief moment, but hides behind it evil, malice, evil and violence Ord Bat. It is possible that by omitting these words, Ron sought to convey the feelings that accompany all IDF fighters, who are now working to cleanse the city from which the monstrous malice emerged in full force on the morning of October 7.
Literary scholar Ziva Shamir explains in her book "In the City and in the Forest" that Alterman's poem was inspired by the important book "The Decline of the West," written by the German historian and philosopher Oswald Spengler at the end of World War I. The book contained a chilling prophecy about "the expected decline of Western civilization after a period of unbridled materialism and ideological weakness."
In Urban Evening, Shamir also saw an attempt to use the description of an everyday natural phenomenon to illustrate a broader social and cultural phenomenon. The setting of the sun in the poem, for example, comes in contrasting colors of red-blue or pink-blue, which, according to Shamir, "contain
contradictory connotations of pleasantness and gentleness, on the one hand, and of death and destruction, on the other." Of course, this was also the message that Warrior Ron sought to convey in his choice of the song in his letter.
A long-awaited moment of relaxed routine
Ron concludes by saying, "I hope everyone takes care of yourselves, we'll take a trip to the occupied coastal strip soon." Here, too, in a kind of private poetry of his own, the soldier blends messages of great pain with the hope of reaching a long-awaited moment of relaxed routine - precisely in the difficult city. All these are wrapped in sorrow and mourning for the fallen who will no longer be able to travel.
Wrong? We'll fix it! If you find a mistake in the article, please share with us