This past Shabbat, I was present at a discussion—initiated by students of psychology—regarding the human capacity to feel happiness and sadness at the same time.
The discussion began as a theoretical one, regarding studies that have been done and more.
But it is not just theoretical: This describes the people of Israel today.
We are going about our lives; mental health specialists advise us regarding the importance of seeking opportunities for fun and socializing. We go to concerts and celebrate weddings. The joy we feel at these events is real.
Yet it does not override or eradicate the tears in our hearts; those tears are ever-present.
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It began, of course, with October 7, and a massacre of obscene, unimaginable dimensions. We know what we know – whether the world wishes to know or not…
And now that we know there is no forgetting. Not the almost 1,200 innocents murdered. Not the fact that rape was utilized as a weapon of assault, or that some murdered individuals were decapitated, or some babies tortured, and some victims so badly burnt that it was near impossible to identify their bodies. Nor do we forget the innocents who were grabbed by Hamas as hostages.
We grieve… For those who suffered attacks and for their families.
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But this overwhelming massacre is not the end of the story.
What we learned very quickly was that the world did not choose to know. Within days, there were denials of what happened in the Israeli communities adjacent to the border of Gaza on October 7, accompanied by rationalizations: It was just a response to the “occupation”; there was no rape or torture.
In various places in the world, including most horrifically on US ivy league campuses, Hamas—just when it has shown its most vicious face—is being celebrated. Anti-Semitism of a stunningly virulent nature, passing as anti-Zionism, has been exposed. Such hatred does not appear spontaneously. It was there, beneath the surface; the current political situation made it politically correct to bring it forward.
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Israel— while devoting more attention to protecting civilians while fighting an existential war than any other nation ever has —has been accused of genocide in Gaza by the International Court of Justice; the charges were brought by S. Africa. This is a new, modern version of the classic blood libel that we must deal with.
Last Friday, the ICJ released a ruling. Most people focus on the first part of that ruling, that Israel must “halt its military offensive and any other actions in the Rafah Governate.”
But the other half of the sentence reads, “which may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.”
Most people believe this means Israel was told to stop the Rafah operation. Israel’s position was explained by National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi: “What they are asking us is not to commit genocide in Rafah. We did not commit genocide and we will not commit genocide.”
Many jurists agree with this reading because of its precise wording. According to this interpretation, the Court is not demanding we stop the operation.
Whatever the Court intention is, Israel’s intention is to keep going in Rafah. (More below on this.) But the ruling fuels anti-Israel sentiments around the world, making matters yet more difficult for us.
At the very same time, our leaders Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Gallant have been threatened with arrest by the International Criminal Court.
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While fighting our just war, our war that must be fought, we pay a price in the loss of soldiers on an almost daily basis. Turn on the news in the morning and see the faces of the beautiful and brave young men who are with us no more. The sons and brothers, husbands and fathers, who go willingly.
I doubt there is anyone who does not know, or know of, someone who has been lost.
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While facing down this ugliness, this pain, of course we carry tears in our hearts. There would be something wrong with us if we did not.
But I hasten to assure you, my friends, that these tears are not a mark of weakness, but of our humanity.
We are a strong and resilient people, buoyed by a sense of purpose.
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We also know that we have friends in this world and are not alone. Here I mention the supportive Nikki Haley, former US ambassador to the UN, who came for a solidarity visit at the invitation of MK Danny Danon; he was with her in the UN as ambassador from Israel.
She gets it, and, after a visit to communities adjacent to Gaza that were attacked, declared:
“If there’s anything I’ve known over the years, [it’s that] Israel values human life just as much as America does, just as much. And what they are having to do now is surgical, to go in there and make sure they eliminate Hamas. They need to finish Hamas. Don’t stop until they finish. But also make sure that security is intact so that it never never happens again from Hamas or anybody else.”
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So was our loyal friend Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) in Israel for a solidarity visit yesterday.
Acknowledging the awful time Israel is going through, he told Netanyahu, “I promise you that we will do all we can, Mr. Prime Minister, to hold the ICC account for this outrage against the people of Israel.”
He then referred to the head judge of the ICJ [Nawaf Salam of Lebanon] as “a raving antisemite.”
https://www.jns.org/netanyahu-israel-has-no-better-friend-than-sen-lindsey-graham/
This is Graham’s fifth visit since October 7.
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What is most dangerous to Israel’s solidarity and determination to continue the necessary war against Hamas is a movement on the left within Israel.
We saw a similar phenomenon when there were attempts by the government, before the Hamas attack, to bring about judicial reform. Certainly, there were those genuinely opposed to those reforms, but a great many others used this issue as a hook upon which to hang protests against the Netanyahu government.
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And this is happening again now, with the focus on return of the hostages, an even more volatile and deeply felt issue. We all carry tears in our hearts for those captives, and I would say the pain of the families of those held by Hamas is beyond imagining.
But to a significant degree the demands for securing the release of the hostages, which are being made not only by many of the families but others as well, has turned into a campaign against our prime minister, a campaign to bring down the government.
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Netanyahu is accused of not acting sufficiently to bring home the hostages, when the fact of the matter is that Israel has made several offers in negotiations with Hamas that have been generous. None of these offers has been accepted by Hamas, which makes it clear that its bottom line is cessation of the war and retreat of the IDF out of Gaza. This is what many of the hostages’ families are demanding now.
The hell with the nation, let our enemy, sworn to destroy us, remain standing. Agree to this, if it will bring our hostages home. Agree even if it means hundreds or thousands of Israelis killed by an evil enemy in the future.
But this is what Netanyahu cannot and will not agree to. His responsibility is to the nation, even if many – not all – of the families of the hostages see it otherwise. Even if those on the left see this as a means of attacking him.
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Zvika Mor (pictured), whose son Eitan is being held by Hamas, heads Forum Tikva, an organization of parents of hostages who are opposed to pressuring the prime minister to succumb to Hamas demands to free the hostages. Mor has put out a statement by Yesh Atid’s MK Meir Cohen, who admitted that Netanyahu has never prevented a prisoner swap deal from taking place – despite statements by the media and relatives of hostages.
“We obviously were amazed,” Mor said. “We asked him: ‘The media is constantly claiming that the Prime Minister is torpedoing deals, that the Prime Minister does not want to bring the hostages home.’
“He told me, ‘Every time Hamas presents its demands, they are so irrelevant that no leader of Israel, from any side, would be able to agree to them.'” (Emphasis added)
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390618
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Monday night, speaking from the Knesset rostrum, Netanyahu rejected accusations that his government is not negotiating in good faith for the release of hostages.
“Those who say they are not ready to stand up to the pressure raise the flag of defeat; I won’t raise any such flag, I will keep fighting until the flag of victory is raised. I don’t intend to end the war before every goal has been achieved. If we give in, the massacre will return. If we give in, we will give a huge win to terror, to Iran.” (Emphasis added)
And what did Yair Lapid, head of Yesh Atid, the party of Meir Cohen, cited above, say:
“…It is your responsibility. It’s on your head. You didn’t bring them home. You cannot remain prime minister.”
In my opinion, Lapid is a deplorable, self-serving politician with very little sense and unrealistic political aspirations; unfortunately, he influences a certain segment of public opinion.
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During the Hamas attack on Kibbutz Nahal Oz on October 7, terrorists filmed their actions. Sequences were seized by the IDF and Shin Bet during interrogations of captured Hamas terrorists and subsequently compiled as a video. The video shows five female IDF spotters who were abducted from their Nahal Oz base and are still in Hamas captivity: Naama Levy, Liri Elbag, Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa and Agam Berger.
After it was shown to parents of the five, who edited it along with the IDF Intelligence Directorate, the parents requested that the video be made public. Intent, obviously, was to increase awareness of the hostages’ plight and promote pressure for their release.
I watched the video, and indeed, it is very, very difficult to see. Not surprisingly, it had the effect desired by the parents. Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets.
The Hostage Family Forum released a statement calling on the government to return to the negotiating table, and it appears possible that we may begin negotiations again. Netanyahu is obviously reluctant to ignore any possibility for bringing out hostages. But before we get serious about entering into new negotiations, we are waiting to learn more about the Hamas position. I don’t believe we can expect anything to come of this.
What those pushing on Netanyahu do not understand is that they are simply strengthening the hand of Hamas, which is watching with glee. They certainly will not be motivated to soften their demands, but, if anything, quite the contrary.
I find it distressing that the primary mediators are Egypt and Qatar, who are “bringing new proposals.” Neither of these parties can be trusted. Qatar is a major supporter of Hamas and Egypt is the party that had unilaterally changed the recent proposal Israel had agreed to, in order to make it more palatable to Hamas.
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The painful, painful reality is that no one knows if the girls in this video are even still alive. No one knows how many of the roughly 120 said to be held by Hamas are alive; a good number are believed not.
Recently, in two separate operations, the IDF retrieved the bodies of five people who had been killed on October 7 and brought into Gaza. For Hamas, even dead bodies are bargaining chips.
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Yesterday an opinion piece by Manuela Rotstein a “peace activist” with Women Wage Peace, appeared in the Jerusalem Post. I thought it such an incredible example of left-wing thinking that it merited attention. She says enough with soldiers dying and hostages that are not brought home. Her solution:
“Only dialogue and mutual recognition can pave the way for healing and a future of peace and security. We all deserve it.” (Emphasis added)
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-803921
Huh? It’s frightening that anyone can believe this. Dialogue with and recognition of Hamas? She may think she deserves this, but thankfully, most of us have a firmer grip on reality.
Perhaps she ought to speak with some of the survivors of the Gaza border communities. In the main, their thinking was leftist. They reached out to people on the other side of the Gaza border and lent assistance of different sorts – including providing rides to Gazans who needed medical treatment in Israel; they hired people from Gaza as gardeners and laborers. They believed they were building a better future of coexistence. In the end, some of these gardeners and laborers provided information to Hamas to assist with the massacre. The Israelis who had attempted kindness were cut absolutely no slack.
What Manuela fails to understand is that evil exists in this world and being nice to those who are evil merely brings destruction. Never, ever, peace and security.
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And so – with the blessings of most Israelis and most particularly the soldiers of the IDF fighting the war and the parents of soldiers who have died fighting – we are moving ahead in Rafah. Not as quickly as we would have liked, but moving. According to the NY Times, precision bombs provided by the US are being used to minimize casualties. Could be, because now the Biden administration has reversed its position and says it is satisfied with the Israeli operation.
Tzachi Hanegbi reports that Israel is in control of 75% of the Gaza-Egypt border, the Philadephi Corridor. He believes we will control the entire corridor in due course. This is of considerable importance if weapon smuggling is to be prevented. Without stopping the flow of weapons we cannot defeat Hamas.
Hanegbi predicts the war will last through 2024. But my guess is that after this major operation in Rafah, we will be operating at a lower level.
According to eyewitness reports, Israeli tanks have advanced into the heart of Rafah city. Airstrikes and tank fire have continued to pound the city, as movement is toward the western side of the city.
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Keep praying to Heaven for Israel. Pray that the tears might be lifted from our hearts.
Pray for the strength and wisdom of our leaders, for the safety of our soldiers, and for the rescue of our hostages.
Pray in a spirit of hope.
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©Arlene Kushner. This material is produced by independent journalist Arlene Kushner. Permission is granted for it to be reproduced only with proper attribution.
