Israel’s new normal must not be allowed to continue
The Dayton community, both Jewish and non-Jewish, has rallied around Israel during times of crises. The anti-Israel protests that reek of antisemitism that plague so many cities have largely been absent in the Miami Valley.
The very spirit of the Israeli people, their determination, their resilience has earned our respect time and time again.
I chose to spend the month of May in Israel in part to do what I could to show support for my Israeli brothers and sisters. It was rewarding beyond belief, and my travels throughout the country were rewarded with numerous examples of that fabled Israeli spirit.
Kibbutz Nir Oz was devastated on Oct. 7. A third of the kibbutzniks were murdered or kidnapped. The survivors were evacuated and are still not allowed to return.
I went there to see Ron Paulker. Now in his 90s, he’s a founding member of the Kibbutz and for the past 75 years was the Kibbutz’ legendary gardener who turned a desert into a flourishing Garden of Eden.
Though now living in Jerusalem, Ron comes down two or three days a week, usually with some volunteers, to keep the lush greenery healthy.
He dreams of the day when families will once again live in Nir Oz, and he’s determined that when that day comes the greenery for which the kibbutz is so famous will be there to greet them.
To me, no place in Israel is more beautiful than the Judean Desert.
I spent a day off road deep in the desert with my guide, Yoni Shtern. In all that time we encountered only two people. One was Yoav. He lives in an old bullet-riddled Jordanian police station high atop one of the desert’s hills.
He believes Israel needs to hold the high ground should war break out in
Judea. He hopes one day there will be a settlement formed around his battered home; in the meantime, if necessary, he will stand guard alone. His loaded M14 is never out of reach.
No matter how inspiring these experiences and many more like them that filled my stay were, I noticed a change that should be troubling to anyone who cares about Israel.
Ever since the Six Day War in June 1967, Israel thrived without resolving its conflict with the Palestinians. The occasional terrorist attack was more than tolerable as the Jewish presence in West
Bank became more established. The occasional missile barrage from Gaza, answered in kind by the IDF, had little impact on most Israelis.
These events simply became part of the normal landscape of life in Israel, and Israel thrived.
However, Israel’s leaders are now allowing a new landscape to form, a new normal, if you will.
The threat Hamas poses is still very real. After seven months of war, their offensive capability still exists, and they still hold at least 70 hostages Destroying Hamas is no longer a tactical goal. They will remain a threat.
Prior to this war, no intrusions by Hezbollah were tolerated, but today rocket barrages are almost a daily occurrence, and we’re haunted by the faces of the twelve children killed by a Hezbollah rocket while playing soccer. Some 70,000 Israelis have been forced to leave their homes near the Lebanese and Syrian borders with no hope of returning anytime soon.
Prior to this war, Iran never risked launching any serious attacks from within its own borders, but on April 12 over 350 missiles were fired at Israel. Israel’s response was limited to targeted strikes at a couple of Iranian military bases. As I write these words, Iran is threatening an even larger attack in response to Israel’s assassination of a terrorist leader in Tehran.
The threat level facing the Israeli public has increased as the war continues, with little chance it will return to pre-war levels. This new normal is beginning to take its toll.
Very muted and only after I probed a bit, I heard a few Israelis wonder whether this is an environment in which one can raise young children. Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics reports a 285% increase in the number of Israelis leaving the country over the level of just two years ago.
As this new normal takes hold, more Israelis may contemplate leaving. What is now a trickle could become something much more; the very cohesion of Israeli society could be affected.
Something must change: Either Israel must wage a costly, unrestrained war whose outcome is far from certain or find a path to peace that has yet to be discovered, let alone traveled.
Difficult choices, but the new normal cannot persist. It could destroy Israel from within.