"Enemies"- Who Really Aren't- Shake Hands
And other affects of the last week on Israeli society
It really means a lot to me that you are here. I write this Substack because I want you to hear what you otherwise won’t likely hear. These days are tremendous. Thank you for reading.
Today, I share voices of what Israelis are saying about the affect of the monumental events of the previous week on our society. Read on till the end— you’ll get a glimpse into some of the humor flying amongst Israelis.
Shivi Froman, son of Rabbi Menachem Froman
Shivi is someone my husband and I know personally, and he is the son of a teacher of ours, Rabbi Menachem Froman, a man who was known for being at the same time a leader of the Settler movement and the rabbi of the settlement of Tekoa, and also a strong advocate of dialogue with Arab leaders— particularly Arab religious leaders— and a seeker of peace. Shivi, who is fluent in Arabic, has followed his father’s path in many ways, and he went to visit the Arab village of Tamra which is where four women of the same family were killed last Saturday night in a missile attack. This is what Shivi shared:
Last night I returned from Tamra.
I sat there with the families whose homes and worlds were destroyed, and with the city's leadership, which now needs strength to pick up the pieces.
In the rubble, it was clear that we are together in this harsh and painful present, and we are together on a journey toward a shared, good future.
On the way back, in a trench under Highway 6*, I watched the ballistic threat raging overhead.
The sky displayed a show of death torches against a backdrop of magical infinity.
The streaks of light and the circles of smoke above and below the atmosphere began to draw a blank picture in the sky.
And in one moment I received a great and unstoppable barrage of complete faith that it is possible.
There will be many challenges along the way, there are things that are not completely resolved, but we really have no choice.
*Where the writer had gone to take cover during a missile attack.
Hagay Lober, actor, public figure, and father of Elisha Yehonatan, z’’l, who fell in Gaza
Hagay writes almost daily about Israeli society from a very personal perspective, and I have shared his voice with you before. I have also shared in these pages many voices of people, among them former hostages and hostages’ families, stressing the ultimate importance of finding unity amongst Israelis. As Shelly Shem Tov, ima of former hostage Omer Shem Tov said, what we need is “unity, not uniformity.”
So to see these two figures in this recent photo, Prime Minister Netanyahu and Knesset opposition leader Yair Lapid sharing what seems to be a genuine moment of synergy, is, as Hagay writes, really quite heartening.
Victory Image
More than all the spectacular images of the successful attacks,
More than the images of the "elimination" of the senior officials of the evil regime,
More than the images of the bases that the Mossad established in Iran with sophistication and cunning,
More than the image of the (Iranian) broadcaster who curses and immediately runs away in panic,
I chose this image as my personal victory image -
Benjamin Netanyahu and Yair Lapid shaking hands and smiling some kind of mutual smile.
And hope begins to arise in my heart,
That the opposition and the coalition that waged battles and war,
Maybe will finally agree on calming the spirits and maybe even on joining forces for cooperation.
And the people will follow in their footsteps to an atmosphere of reconciliation and love.
So please let go of your sharpened cynicism too - at least for a minute.
And be as pleased as I am with this image.
It is also a miracle this war has brought.
Unity Now - The Real Victory.
Aviad Yisraeli
I know nothing about Aviad, but his words about the meaning of what Israel has accomplished in this past week, and really this past year-and-half, moved me greatly. This war is taking a long time. There are a lot of losses. It is not easy. But there is a goal we are working toward.
…Today, I must admit that I am optimistic.
I do not know when and how this war will end, but I believe that the world we will leave to our children in the end will be better.
Safer.
Less threatened.
It seems that the State of Israel, for the first time in my life, truly believes in its right to live in security.
Without the constant shadow of an existential threat.
Without terrorism.
Without missiles and rockets.
We knew it would get worse before it got much better.
I am glad that this evil is coming on my watch.
Ours.
The moral injustice of passing the responsibility to the next generation has ended here.
Admittedly, it is ours.
But at least we have picked up the gauntlet.
I am proud to be part of the victorious generation.
However long will it take.
Whatever the cost.
If my children can tell their children one day that there were once buses that exploded here, once missiles were fired at us, once a theocratic state established a global network with the aim of destroying us, and they look at them and say "Well, well, when are we going to the beach?", everything will be worth it.
The eternity of Israel will not falter.*
*I Samuel 15:29
Finally, I want to leave you with a smile.
Israelis have lost a lot of sleep in the last week, but we haven’t lost our sense of humor. Here are two of the jokes going around.
The first looks a lot like the message we get on our cellphones after a missile attack, when it is safe to leave the safe rooms. The actual message we get reads:
“It is not possible to exit the safe room. The event has ended.”
This joke-message brings lightness not only into the crazy reality of running to and sitting in safe rooms several times a day, but also to the fact that the school year ended ever so abruptly, except for those kick-back to COVID Zoom classes that never seemed to work anyways.
“The current school year has ended. You may exit the Zoom. The students aren’t there anyway.”
And then there’s this, which I also saw in a slightly different version lamenting never knowing when the mail will actually be delivered.
”We are the only country that knows when a missile is due to land, but do not know when the bus will arrive.”
Shabbat shalom.