Betrayed, Exhausted, But Still Standing

JERUSALEM, Israel – Today, the people of Israel feel very sad, disappointed, betrayed, and abandoned by their best friend who stabbed them in the back. Not only was the war stopped in the middle, but our hands are tied from doing anything. The enemy will exploit these sixty days and all the money they are getting in order to rearm the ballistic missiles and secretly rush to finish their nuclear weapon, which is enough to create twelve atomic bombs. Are we in a stage where it cannot be prevented anymore? How weren’t the proxies like Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and Hamas in Gaza included in the agreement? How come Iran makes an equation where Hezbollah attacks our citizens in the north, we shoot back to defend ourselves, and then Iran attacks us for that?  

The clock hung in the center of Tehran is still ticking to the year 2040, which they claim will be the last year of Israel to exist. We have fourteen more years (if not less) to figure out what to do. 

The poor youth of the north, with their prom and matriculation exams canceled or postponed. Seven years of no routine, beginning with Covid. The online education system could not work during the war because pupils and their teachers (who have their own anxious children at home) were interrupted by sirens. Children in Israel know the difference between “Katbam”- an unmanned aerial vehicle, and “Rachfan”- an explosive drone. The first is a large vehicle that carries heavy missiles, and it is easier to disrupt its mission, while the second one is a small, very cheap vehicle that can carry two and a half kilograms of explosives and cannot be attacked because it works by direct communication with the operator, therefore causing many casualties. These are the ones used by Hizballah in addition to the rockets to attack Northern Israel. These drones are sent to attack children standing at the school bus stops.                                                                                                                             

We try to live a normal life in an abnormal reality. Every evening on the news, they speak about the economic challenges facing reserve soldiers’ families, especially in the north. They ask the people of Israel to purchase products from citizens in the north online, like wine, flowers, vegetables and fruit, olive oil, and baked goods, and invite alternative medicine therapists, artists, etc., to work in the center where they can, because no one goes north. Of course, many volunteers continue to help farmers harvest their crops across the country. 

The many Hizbollah tunnels found on our northern borders remind us how lucky we are that they did not attack on Oct. 7th, together with the massacre in the south by Hamas. If they had attacked, Israel would not be here today. 

What were all our sacrifices for? The citizens and the soldiers who were killed? When, in the end, the results are worse than before. When we went from funeral to funeral and to console the mourning families in their unbearable pain. Three months during which our whole country was fired on with hundreds of missiles, sirens, and booms every day. People were afraid to take a shower because there might be a siren, and hardly any time to go to the bathroom. One tried to finish a meal but was interrupted several times by sirens, having to run to the shelter again.  It still does not prevent the shooting from continuing against the citizens in the north of the country. Little children in nursery schools cannot go out to play in the yard. They basically live in their shelters.

There is a lot of post-traumatic stress in this country, anxiety attacks, nightmares, physical pain, and stress. Many people have decided not to watch the news anymore because it has harmful psychological effects. 

It’s very difficult having to live with all this uncertainty- When will the missile arrive, where will it fall? Inside the country, we also experience terrorist attacks. Terrorist drivers run over citizens standing at bus stations, or stab passersby in the streets. Hospitals moved to underground parking lots, where women giving birth are behind the next curtain, while surgery is performed on others.

As of today, we do not have deterrence against Iran. The new missiles Iran used during the last war had split heads, which means every head exploded into hundreds of dangerous fragments over a huge radius, which caused many homes to be hit. If we left the house to get food or medications, we had to plan ahead to find the nearest shelter along that route. 

During this “cease-fire war”, or war of attrition, we change from one extreme emergency mode to another.  People had their flights canceled several times. Shows are canceled, and weddings take place in underground parking lots. Children are afraid to go out of the house. You do not know till the next morning if the school will open. Public shelters are locked and reopened. 

Albert Einstein said, “The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.” We in Israel are proud of the Hollywood stars and broadcasters, Jews and non Jews, who stand with us. They are heroes because they cannot stand aside when they see people in distress. 

The world does not understand that the fighting is not about land; it is about the hatred of the Muslims towards the Jews. No matter what we do, they want to exterminate us.                                                          

If this is not enough, we do not have unity inside the country. The orthodox who refuse to join the army versus the secular and real fights between the right-wingers versus the left-wingers. We await the elections in about three months. We must change the leadership. 

To the tune of the song “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina”:

Don’t cry, dear Israel

We’ll never leave you

We’ll keep our promise

As best as we can do.

All you have to do

Just look at us to see it’s true

Our love and devotion to you.