I long ago threw my lot in with this endeavor of returning to Zion and building the Jewish state, with all of its blemishes and faults. It’s too late to stop now, especially when the crunch time to stand up and be accounted for has arrived at our doorstep.
However, something in the concept of the Jewish homeland as a haven for all those who want to live freely and safely has mutated this week.
The grandparents of many of us fled the persecution, pogroms, and massacres Jews faced in eastern Europe for a better life in the West. Many made their way to the US and started new lives full of freedom and opportunity, but still cursed by prejudice and antisemitism.
A small minority, sparked by the Zionist dream of a homeland for the Jews, headed to Palestine. Following the Holocaust and the establishment of the State of Israel, that dream became a reality. No longer would Jews be annihilated, beaten, or bullied. We had a Jewish homeland that would be there as a haven for all Jews who faced danger. You’re home now, you’re safe.
Those of us who made aliyah to Israel in the ensuing years were buoyed by those thoughts – the wonder of after 2,000 years, Jews had a place to call home and the chance to be part of the miracle in our lifetimes. Never would we be in mortal danger again because we were Jewish.
However, the history of Israel has been pockmarked around every corner with battles that attempted to prove the safe haven theory to be erroneous. We just marked the 50th anniversary of the biggest one, the 1973 Yom Kippur War, in which complacency, a false sense of security following the unprecedented victory in the 1967 Six Day War, and poor intelligence brought the country to the brink of extinction.
Since then, all security assessments have taken the existential threat off the table as Israel’s security apparatus learned lessons, bulked up, and the country muscled into the superpower arena.
However, the last 50 years have remained more than turbulent, with two bloody intifadas, numerous wars with Hezbollah in the North and Palestinian terrorist organizations in Gaza, and a rising number of victims – killed precisely because they were Jewish or Israeli.
The turning point
BUT IT ALL paled in comparison to the large-scale massacre that took place last weekend. It was a before-and-after watershed moment in the lives of Israelis that has forever shattered a number of long-held tenets.
The colossal security lapse upended the reputation our intelligence agencies and military establishment basked as being the world’s elite. The lack of trust in the country’s political leadership is something that will never be regained.
And worst of all, that holy mantra that brought us all here promising that Israel was the safest place for Jews to be has been brought into question. For not the first time, as the exodus of many olim during the Second Intifada will attest, there are Israelis leaving Israel now for their safety. And those of us who remain will never leave our homes again without looking around the corner, and checking the media pushes and text messages about the situation outside.
That sacred vow that Israel will always be there to protect the persecuted, stateless Jew, rang hollow last week. But a different kind of vow – one among the people – has been renewed with a new Zionist spirit. The response to the atrocities administered by the Palestinian terrorists on thousands of innocent Israelis has been astounding, with the country coming together in its time of need with amazing displays of heroism, generosity, empathy, and action.
The Israelis from all over the globe valiantly trying to return home to join their army units or to just be with their people is a testament to the deep love they feel for their country.
Betrayed and scared
On the other hand, there are Israelis who feel betrayed – or simply scared. For them, a life in exile where they might be hated because they are Jewish is more tolerable than a life in a country where they might be killed because they’re Jewish. For these Israelis, the concept of Israel as the safe haven has proven false. Certainly, there’s a huge difference between 1943 and 2023, and this attempt to wipe out Jews has and will be met with swift retribution. But it doesn’t remove the awful stain that the country couldn’t protect the thousands killed and wounded.
Bruce Springsteen, in one of his more insightful lyrics, once wrote: “Is a dream a lie if it don’t come true? Or is it something worse?”
The next weeks and months might provide an answer to what that “something” is for the Zionist enterprise. The dream may have turned into a nightmare this week, but out of the depths could emerge a changed, but more unified country. The signs are already apparent.
It won’t be the Israel we’ve known until now, but a more sober, wiser and sadder place with resilient people who – realizing that the future depends on them, not on leaders or commanders – will somehow rebuild their lives and continue to believe that living in the Jewish state is their destiny.
The writer is managing editor of The Jerusalem Post.