Operation Pillar of Defense began on a Wednesday night, with Israel scoring both intelligence and operational successes. As expected, Gaza launched more rockets at the southern communities. In the background, the radio played the sad "beautiful Land of Israel" songs.
My friend Robert phoned from Beverley Hills. "It sounds like Israel is beating the war drums once again," said Robert, worried. "True," I responded, "but in Israel it's not war drums we're hearing, it's the subdued Hebrew songs that herald war or follow some other national catastrophe."
On Wednesday evening exactly one week later, I sat in the living room with my children listening to the radio reports of the ceasefire that was about to come into effect. By the time the next military operation comes around, Guy, my oldest, will probably be in uniform. "Abba, you have to write about this," urged Guy, "but try to write something optimistic."
He had not set me an easy task, writing something optimistic about a situation that does not look very optimistic. It would be easier to list some of the gains made by Hamas:
In addition to inundating Israel's southern communities with missiles, Hamas launched missiles over the Gush Dan region for the first time, giving the residents of central Israel a taste of what those in the south have been experiencing for a very long time - and the sky has not yet fallen. Hamas proved that Israel cannot carry out its threats. When we left Gaza, we threatened that if they carried on attacking Israel after the disengagement, they would suffer heavy consequences. They carried on attacking, but suffered limited consequences. When they boasted they had the capability to reach Tel Aviv, we declared that firing missiles on Tel Aviv would be an escalation we would never accept. But the fact is, we had to accept it. What next?
Hamas cemented its role as the leader of the Palestinian street and as the strong body with which Israel has no choice but to negotiate. The more moderate Abu Mazen has been weakened. Hamas proved once again that Israel responds only to force.
And perhaps the saddest of all - the levels of mutual hate, fear, and demonization have once again risen. The extremist elements on both sides have been strengthened, those who believe that there is no chance of living in peace side by side. For years, opinion has been spreading in Israel that we are destined to keep our swords for many generations more, and a large and growing portion of the Israeli public feels that is an accurate assessment of the situation.
But to survive in Israel, optimism is vital. So despite everything I listed above, what can we record as Israeli achievements in the last round of violence that (apparently) has now ended? The Iron Dome system.
Jewish brains have once again proven themselves. The anti-missile defense system changed the rules of the game. Like other game-changing technology, such as the Internet or GPS, it is already difficult to remember how things were before it existed. Just thinking about life without the Iron Dome is terrifying. It may be a little early to say this, but perhaps our enemies in the south and the north will soon have to look for new ways to embitter the lives of Israelis.
Improved preparedness on the home front.
Government ministries, municipal authorities, the army, aid organizations, and of course, the citizens themselves, were better organized this time than during the Second Lebanon War in 2006. The process of improvement must continue because we can be sure this is not going to be the last round.
The IDF's sensitivity to human life and scrupulous observance its Code of Ethics.
There is no other nation in the world that would take such care to avoid injuring enemy civilians during a conflict in which its own civilians are being attacked with rockets. Although there were PR considerations, these were certainly not the primary concerns. The IDF managed to hit Hamas targets while hurting the smallest possible number of innocents.
We seem to have achieved a period of quiet.
We certainly could not keep on putting up with the attacks on the southern communities emanating from the Gaza Strip. In Israel, a few years of "relative quiet" is still "quiet" and, as the Hebrew saying goes,
"When you don't have a nightingale, then even the crow is a song-bird."
Someone once said, "Although satisfaction is obtained by entering, wisdom lies in knowing when to exit." The Israeli leadership proved this time that it understands the limitations of force, and is wise enough to withstand the pressure to "stick it to them" with a ground offensive. Understanding that it is easy to go in but much harder to leave victorious, it stopped Operation Pillar of Defense before it got bogged down in Gaza. Perhaps it was a sign that on the very day after the ceasefire, a fierce rain fell. Had there been a ground offensive instead of a ceasefire, the IDF tanks and infantry would, quite literally, have been bogged down in the heavy mud.
So we carry on living in this complex and challenging reality. A few weeks ago, my son Ari celebrated his bar mitzvah. In our family, the bar/bat mitzvah teenager donates some of their gift money to a worthy cause. Ari chose to give his donation to Yad Vashem. "Remembering the Holocaust is close to my heart," Ari explained. At the height of the conflict in Gaza, Ari asked me if I had considered building a fallout shelter for our house "just in case." "I haven't considered it," I answered, "plus a fallout shelter would be very expensive." "Maybe I could help pay for it with my bar mitzvah money," he responded. This saddened me. I would much rather my son wanted to help pay for a family trip around the world than help pay for a family fallout shelter.
For now, we need to turn our national attention to the approaching Knesset elections. The challenge: Whom to vote for. This is not simple. Scanning the list of the various party leaders is not the least bit like a child in a candy store being unable to choose from the large number of tempting options. But we said we must be optimistic...
And in complete contrast to the smoke, blood, and destruction of the past week, we are just beginning to see the first leaves of cyclamens, anemones, buttercups and other winter flowers, bringing with them the promise of the beautiful colors of an Israeli winter, and of the continuity of life.
Looking forward to good news and seasonal rains,
Sagi
November 2012 Sagi Melamed lives with his family in the community of Hoshaya in the Galilee.He serves as Vice President of External Affairs at the Max Stern Yezreel Valley College, and as Chief Instructor (4th Dan) of the Hoshaya Karate Club.Sagi received his Masters degree from Harvard University in Middle Eastern Studies with a specialty in Conflict Resolution.His first book, "Benartzi" ("Son of My Land"), was published this year by Achiasaf Publishing.He can be contacted at: melamed.sagi@gmail.com.
As expected, Gaza launched more rockets at the southern communities. In the background, the radio played the sad "beautiful Land of Israel" songs.
