There are a great many stories about Israelis who have demonstrated a core of inner strength, a resilience, an embrace of life that is extraordinary. Here we will consider two of them.
Yuval Raphael, 24, is a survivor of the murderous attack on October 7 at the Nova Music Festival. As the assault began, she hid in a shelter with friends. When the terrorists broke in and began shooting, she pretended to have been hit and hid beneath dead bodies for eight hours until rescuers arrived. Then she climbed out over those dead bodies. Of some 50 people who were in that shelter, she was one of only 11 who survived.
Shortly after, recognizing how life can change in an instant, before aspirations are fulfilled, she resolved to pursue her dream of becoming a professional singer.
~~~~~~~~~~
This past Saturday night, in Basel, Switzerland, Yuval sang as the Israeli contestant in the Eurovision Competition. She came in second, a favorite of people watching and voting across the world; they gave her the highest number of public votes in the contest. (These votes were combined with the more politicized votes from the international juries.)
She was keenly aware of the pro-Palestinian protests at the periphery of the event. While well-protected by Israeli security, at one point she saw a protester screaming at her in Arabic while making throat-slitting gestures.
But she moved past it with fortitude, mindful of why she was there: “to spread light and love and to give a great performance. ..I’m so grateful to be on this side of things, the loving side. It feels like a huge win to do this as part of my career — for my people.”
https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/synfnf7blg
How well put: to be on the loving side of things.
~~~~~~~~~~
And giving a great performance, a stunning performance, is precisely what she did. Her song, “New Day Will Arise,” includes the lyrics: “New day will rise/Life will go on/Everyone cries/Don’t cry alone/Darkness will fade/All the pain will go by/But we will stay/Even if you say goodbye.”
At the end of the song, she cried, “Am Yisrael Chai!”
See it all here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7zHp51j2WM
~~~~~~~~~~
Another sort of bravery was exhibited last week, as well.
Tze’ela Gez, in labor with her fourth child, was being driven to the hospital by her husband Hananel. They were outside of Bruchin, in Samaria, where the Gez family lives, when terrorists shot at their car.
Tze’ela, who was critically wounded, was rushed to the hospital. Her son was delivered by emergency C-section and remains in stable but serious condition. She passed away shortly after.
Tze’ela is remembered by her community as a very special person, always there for others. A therapist, she had been volunteering in her community to help those traumatized by Oct. 7. “She never stopped smiling, always gave strength to those around her, and was always there for others,” said her sister. “She was the best. A powerful, radiant presence with a big smile.”
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/bkpg3gxzeg
~~~~~~~~~~
The baby was named today—Ravid Chaim, a name that had been chosen by Tze’ela before the tragedy —in an unusual ceremony at the Gez home, even though he is not well enough yet for circumcision. (Normally boys are named during the brit milah ceremony on the 8th day.) The family requests prayers for the full recovery of Ravid Chaim.
~~~~~~~~~~
Every terrorist murder grieves our community. But this horrific act? Murder of a mother in labor? It stunned us with its obscenity.
Yet this is the way that Tze’ela’s husband, Hananel, described his situation:
“We are very sad. It really hurts. We have no words to describe the pain. But still, the nation of Israel lives. We deal with a lot, but we will manage to overcome…We will survive, we will succeed, and we will prosper.”
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/408427
~~~~~~~~~~
I am not sure how Hananel found the strength to speak this way, although it is clear that his words came from inner faith. (“God loves us,” he said.)
What I do know is that this extraordinary resilience, demonstrated both by Yuval and by Hananel, is Israel’s secret weapon. It is because of it that we will overcome, survive, succeed and prosper (always, with help from the Almighty).
~~~~~~~~~~
Yet even as I, too, believe we will succeed, I ask myself why it has to be so hard.
Over the weekend, Israel initiated the heightened action in Gaza that we had indicated we would begin after Trump’s Mid-East tour was over. It is being called “Gideon’s Chariots.”
On Sunday, Chief of Staff Zamir conducted a tour of northern Gaza and told commanders and troops:
“…We will continue until we dismantle the enemy’s combat ability and achieve a decisive defeat wherever we operate. We cannot go back to the reality of October 7th. We have two main objectives before us: the return of the hostages and the defeat of Hamas.”
The IDF, he noted, will “provide flexibility to the political echelon to advance any hostage deal. A hostage deal is not a halt, it is an achievement. We are actively working toward it.”
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/408554
~~~~~~~~~~
Here I want to take a brief detour to clarify a serious misunderstanding that constitutes an injustice to our prime minister:
After Edan Alexander was released by Hamas, Trump and Witkoff, who engineered this, were praised highly. At the same time comments were made about how Netanyahu had done nothing to bring him out. But let’s look at the reality:
Witkoff is in bed with Qatar – and after his Mid-East tour it’s quite clear that Trump has strong Qatar connections as well. Hamas was advised by Qatar – which is its benefactor and supporter, no matter the double role the Qataris play – to allow “the American”(Alexander has dual citizenship) to go free; Trump would then be expected to respond with a large “gift,” certainly political in nature.
Netanyahu, who has negotiated the release of roughly 130 hostages since Oct 7, on the other hand, is in a tense adversarial negotiating position with Hamas, which is seeking major gains in any deal. It has been reported that Qatar at one point advised Hamas to hold out in negotiations in order to secure a better deal. See:
These are not exactly parallel situations, are they?
~~~~~~~~~~
Hostage negotiations have been taking place for about a week now – under fire, as Bibi had said. There is no one plan on the table. New proposals have been promoted and there is little clarity.
The bottom line is that Israel might agree to a temporary ceasefire for the release of a number of hostages, while Hamas wants the temporary ceasefire to lead to a permanent one, with guarantees from the US that Israel will not return to fighting.
The plan that Steve Witkoff has put forth “reportedly envisions a multi-stage agreement, beginning with a temporary ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages, followed by reciprocal steps such as the release of Palestinian security prisoners and further negotiations aimed at a permanent cessation of hostilities.”
Hamas is pushing for stronger guarantees from the US that the war would not resume again even if only a temporary ceasefire had been agreed upon.
But Israel would agree to a permanent ceasefire only if it included “the release of all hostages, the expulsion of Hamas terrorists, and the disarmament of the Strip. [Gaza]”
https://www.jns.org/israel-exploring-deal-to-end-war-return-all-hostages-exile-hamas/
~~~~~~~~~~
Hamas, however, says it will never surrender its weapons. From its Charter (emphasis added):
“25. Resisting the occupation with all means and methods is a legitimate right guaranteed by divine laws and by international norms and laws. At the heart of these lies armed resistance…
“26. Hamas rejects any attempt to undermine the resistance and its arms. It also affirms the right of our people to develop the means and mechanisms of resistance.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/hamas-2017-document-full
~~~~~~~~~~
I have not drawn final conclusions on Trump – he may yet come through for Israel. This remains to be seen. He has not withheld weapons from Israel or strong-armed us into stopping the war. But the air is awash with reports – some undoubtedly of a dubious nature – regarding Trump’s desire to see the war ended already. These reports generate an inevitable unease.
“The White House stressed Monday that US President Donald Trump wants the war in Gaza to end, as American officials denied reports that Washington was threatening to ‘abandon’ Israel if it didn’t follow suit.”
From my perspective, Witkoff’s proposal alone, if reports are accurate, gives us plenty of reason to be concerned. He is pushing a proposal that would incorporate “further negotiations aimed at a permanent cessation of hostilities,” following a temporary ceasefire. But if this permanent cessation of hostilities does not also call for the disarmament and exiling of Hamas, then it is a sure sign that either he does not care or does not get it. This is an existential issue: Hamas, which is ideologically devoted to Israel’s destruction, cannot be left standing.
~~~~~~~~~~
Right now, Netanyahu is thinking of calling home the hostage negotiating team because of the stalemate in negotiations. A lower-level working team would reportedly remain in Doha.
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-854709
~~~~~~~~~~
And then, sigh, there is the matter of humanitarian aid being brought into Gaza.
The problem with the relief had been that Hamas was confiscating a good portion of it, using some of the materials and selling much of it to the civilians in order to fund its operation. This is no way to fight a war – providing assistance to the enemy.
A plan was devised, which will be operated with American support, that will (at least allegedly) prevent Hamas from getting the relief. We can look at it in more detail when it is activated; it involves zones for distributing the aid. But it will not be activated for another two or three weeks.
Two months ago, aid to Gaza was halted; it was estimated there was then enough aid to last until the new plan was operational. But now there have been public outcries regarding starvation in Gaza. And serious threats have been made by the UK and others regarding sanctions and actions in international forums.
On Sunday, in spite of protests from the right, Bibi authorized renewal of aid. At first, five trucks were allowed to go in. Now it is reported by the UN that 100 trucks have been authorized. This relief will be distributed via the old mechanism for now, but with efforts made to prevent Hamas from seizing the materials. It has been emphasized that this method of distribution will be carried out only for a short interval.
I fully support Bibi’s action in this regard. I don’t believe he had any choice in the matter. He explained that the decision was made “at the recommendation of the IDF and due to the operational need to enable the expansion of intense fighting to defeat Hamas.”
The PMO said Israel “will allow the entry of a basic quantity of food for the population in order to prevent the development of a hunger crisis in the Gaza Strip,” as such a crisis “would endanger the continued operation to defeat Hamas.”
Our prime minister made it very clear that he would respond to demands for relief to be sent into Gaza but not demands that he stop the war. Quite the contrary.
“In a video statement released on his personal Telegram channel, Netanyahu said that Israel’s allies had voiced concern about ‘images of hunger.’” “Images” is a significant phrase. Elsewhere he referred to unfavorable “optics.” This means that there is not necessarily wide scale starvation, but that pictures can be circulated that suggest significant hunger, thereby undermining Israel’s efforts.
He further explained that Israel’s “greatest friends in the world,” including [unnamed] senators had said there was “one thing we cannot stand. We cannot accept images of hunger, mass hunger. We cannot stand that. We will not be able to support you.”
I have read reports regarding the fact that there is enough food in Gaza even now and have seen videos of Gazans meandering in open markets filled with food. And so many of the claims, such as that by the UN that 14,000 babies are on the verge of starvation, are obviously fallacious.
But the optics are out there, and our prime minister had no choice. Even Minister Smotrich, who has been solidly against sending aid into Gaza, supported him in this instance.
~~~~~~~~~~
I ask for prayers for Israel’s wellbeing.
Pray for the wisdom and courage of our leaders.
Pray for the safety of our brave troops.
Pray that the hostages will be brought home.
~~~~~~~~~~
©Arlene Kushner. This material is produced by independent journalist Arlene Kushner. Permission is granted for it to be reproduced only with proper attribution.
