Forced to Fight. Still. With No End in Sight.
"It’s scary to think about Israel going it alone in this last phase of the war. But at this point, we have won nothing. If our dead and wounded are to count for something, we must finish the job."
By Rick Borenstein
Tel Aviv
In the annual “happiness” index of all countries previously done by the United Nations, and now by Oxford University, Israel again scored in the top five. The survey was done pre-October 7, but during the judicial reform demonstrations. For all the bitching and complaining we Israelis do about everything, it’s remarkable how much the populous surveys as happy with their lives.
The fact that Israel’s economy was the fourth best performing economy in the world in 2021 and 2022, certainly didn’t darken anyone’s mood. The funny thing is that I don’t feel particularly happy now, and my sense of well-being has been severely diminished. I can’t imagine Israel won’t fall precipitously in the next survey.
Israel is in a terrible position that seems to be only getting worse daily. Pressure is increasing from virtually every country in the world for an immediate cease-fire. The U.N. resolution passed a couple of days ago is just another example. Washington’s claim that America’s position hasn’t changed — despite abstaining — feels insincere. What does seem certain is that the Americans are running out of patience with Netanhayu. His reaction to Senator Schumer (D-NY) was stupid, in my opinion. It was purely political and motivated by only one thing, his fight for survival in office. How I wish we had a government that only acted in the best interests of the Israel people. Bibi is the definition of conflict of interest. As a result, Hamas has been emboldened to walk away from the hostage negotiations and we’re seemingly back to square one.
This isn’t a surprise. Five weeks ago, I asked if Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was dead. One person I quoted on Day 130, Yisrael Ziv, speculated that if a hostage deal goes through, Sinwar is dead because he would never agree to one. Here we are almost six weeks later and still there is no hostage deal. Ergo, Sinwar must still be alive, living like a rat on the run in a tunnel deep under Rafah, surrounded by hostages. Hamas laying down their arms and surrendering would be a relatively painless way to end this bilateral disaster. But if Sinwar is alive and has any kind of capability to rise from the ashes of Gaza because we didn’t finish the job, it will not happen.
Meanwhile, the mood in the country has grown significantly darker. People tried to act happy during the Purim holiday, when Israel’s playful side normally emerges. But there isn’t any normalcy and most Purim “festivities” were low key and restrained. And for good reasons. Hostage negotiations are at a standstill, low intensity fighting continues in Gaza and the reserves are being called up again to finish the campaign.
On Day 2 of the war, 360,000 reservists were called up for active duty. Most were released after 90 days service and almost all have been home for the last month and a half. Upon release, each reservist was told that they may be called up again after six weeks if conditions warranted. The thought then was that they might be needed in Lebanon. Indeed, a war with Hezbollah may still happen as the northern border is still under attack daily.
But few thought they would be needed in Gaza again. No one really knows where they're going and the uncertainty doesn't lift Israel’s collective mood.
Three architects in my wife Doritte’s office were called up on Sunday. Each has a wife and kids. Itamar, Doritte’s daughter’s partner, received his notice to report last week. Two days later it was postponed for a couple of weeks while the army prepares to enter Rafah. No one is happy to go back. In Itamar’s case, he was preparing to deliver a paper in front of a prestigious academic conference at Tel Aviv University. Every reservist struggled to come back from the ravages of war and now must face it again. I can only imagine how difficult it must be to leave again for the reservists and those they leave behind. But Israelis are resilient and patriotic. They will answer the call.
I’ve written about Rafah before. I wish there was some other way, like Hamas surrendering to end this nightmare. But no one expects that to happen, least of all our political leadership. It’s scary to think about Israel going it alone in this last phase of the war, but that is likely what we will have to do. At this point, we have won nothing. If our dead and wounded want to count for something, we must finish the job. Will we become a “pariah state,” as Chuck Schumer suggested? Maybe. Even likely. Yet what choice do we have? I believe that the Israeli public is willing to accept the consequences. Let the chips fall where they may. We have been all alone before. Too many times to count.
Lest we forget who we are dealing with — animals — yesterday one of our female hostages, Amit Soussana, broke her silence and discussed publicly the sexual assault she was subjected to. I expect other former hostages will follow suit. Sexual assault happened to every female hostage under 40. Those women and men who remain captive in Gaza will likely have been treated the worst.
Doritte asked me the other day to join her again on Saturday night to protest the Netanyahu government and call for its resignation. My flag is ready, but I’m tired and depressed with this situation. I want to read about other things and focus on my family, my companies and myself. I want to be a part of the 5th happiest country in the world…How distant that disposition feels right now.
RICK BORENSTEIN graduated from Harvard Business School and lived and worked in Northern California for 40 years prior to moving to Tel Aviv. He currently invests in and mentors many start-ups in Israel's high tech ecosystem.
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