Our greatest military achievement so far has been the re-creation of Israeli society. This war – the "wind restorer" war, as I heard a battalion sergeant call it this week – is a war of awakening. This war is not only intended to destroy the enemy, take over territory and remove a threat – this is obvious now – but it is also the place from which we can emerge better prepared for what is required of us in the State of Israel.
That's why the "Wonderful Land" sketch, about a fighter who returns from Gaza and discovers that his family continues to fight over the same nonsense, runs here for everyone. It is painfully accurate, an excellent metaphor for the fear of the next stage, in which there is a routine of war and not the mobilization of society.
By the way, this is not the only segment that is watched in the field. There are many fragments of news and skits circulating among the reservists. It's true that books are simpler, but there are also screens in Gaza. The disconnect is not absolute, although it seems so. There are transistors on batteries (which came back into fashion in this war), and there are the mobilizing forces that link the border to the forces on the ground. There are flashes of reception in certain places on the company phones, and most importantly, there is a lively and incisive discourse about the big dilemmas, and about how to preserve what we see here.
Clashes with terrorists in the heart of a mosque // Photo: IDF Spokesperson
After three months, preparations are already underway to release reservists in order to accumulate forces for the future. The war is not over, the threat of Hezbollah in the north has not yet been removed, and in destroyed Gaza there is still much work to be done to decisively militarily, control, demilitarize the territory and return the hostages. The coming year will probably be a routine of war for the wonderful generation of regulars in the field - but the reservists will come back to life, return home.
And here we must understand that those who come out of this war will return a little differently, and those around them will have to contain it. Get used to. They might come back more thoughtful, maybe lighter – but otherwise. War, any war, is a powerful event in the light of history, even if the political echelon does not yet understand it. A shocking event that changes the order of the world and moves chairs and positions. This war differs not only in its length, number of casualties and the size of the default on its first day, but also in its civilian strength. It is shaking and will continue to shake us on the national level, but also on the personal level of each and every one who took part in it.
One of the phenomena I've encountered over the past week is that of a lot of reservists who don't want to go home. They want to continue fighting until the end, to see with their own eyes how we destroy every shaft and tunnel, how to take territory from the Gaza Strip and turn it into our territory, for defense and agriculture, in order to send a clear message to our enemies. They want to move forward offensively and win.
Their language, ours, is military and based on common sense and common sense. There is also an ideology and a belief in the righteousness of the path and in mutual responsibility - but it also hides a great emotion, a fear that there are those who want to turn the clock back, as in that sketch.
Behind reservists from every sector who do not want to be released, or who still want to enter another operation and another activity, there is a thought that from home, far from the front, we will not control the situation and will lose what we achieved together under fire. Not the targets of the attack, the locators we destroyed or the defenses, but the "surrounding".
Preserve the achievement
In the meantime, the great achievement of this war is the great spirit of Israeli society. This is the clearest picture of victory from the war - the ability to fight together and eliminate all the arguments that came before with a magic stick. Not because they've really disappeared, but because suddenly it's clear what's important in this country and what's not. There is a feeling that there is no one to beat us, because we succeeded in proving during an attack that we are made of iron, not cobwebs.
This clarity made us appreciate the people of Israel, which is difficult to do in moments of routine. This is an asset no less important than military achievements. However, clarity of thought disappears when you hear over and over again in politics, in the media and on social networks how terrible this nation is (of course everyone means those with whom they disagree).
And this is exactly where the belly of the reservists who do not want to be discharged. They seek to complete the military mission of restoring security and destroying the enemy, but also to preserve this asset, which can be seen with their eyes and smelled in the dust and mud. And here, when you return home, there is already a civic duty for those who did not enlist in the reserves. We don't need uniforms and weapons – just an understanding of what is required of us.
On one of the most terrible mornings this week, which began with the publication of the list of fallen, the names of Elisha Jonathan Luber, 24, from Yitzhar, and Yosef Gittertz, 25, from Tel Aviv, appeared. This was after another self-hateful debate about the identity of the fallen. People who do nothing in this war – except to crumble us from within with jagged words – have dressed up the list of fallen in order to achieve some political crumb. I saw the names, and I wanted to mention that this is what reality looks like. Yitzhar and Tel Aviv. Don't give haters guns or a stage. Stay away from them.
Good corner
Ofir Levy, principal of a high school in Tel Aviv, was drafted on 7 October to a reconnaissance company in the Alexandroni Brigade. Like him, there are many educators and principals walking around the area. It is the most vilified public system, but with the most believe in personal example. After the school was hit by rocket shrapnel, the principal and teachers went on reserve duty. The students from the fashion track in the eleventh grade decided to convey a message. Looking for a project, they decided to protest the silence of women's organizations around the world on the sexual assaults on 7 October. In it, they designed characters and distributed them to raise awareness.
In other schools, students volunteered for agricultural work through Hashomer Hadasha and other organizations. A few days of hands-on labor that the country needs. Others helped with refreshment corners for soldiers in the envelope. Younger children send letters to soldiers. The education system deserves correction and change. We have vilified the screen generation, but it is amazing to discover that the desire to contribute trumps anything else. The people of Israel live.
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