Victory of Reason – Choosing Life
 

Deplorable Humanitarian Situation and Comprehensive Moral Shame

This issue is not a trivial first priority; many in the world see the struggle to return the hostages as pathetic and rightly so, in light of the near two-year-long destruction in Gaza with a rising number of victims, hunger, bereavement, disease, shame, and unbearable human sorrow witnessed by the whole world.

All this occurs just tens of kilometers from Israel’s fertile cities, while most Israeli citizens blatantly ignore this acute and grave matter, whereas waving the "antisemitism" card and the condition of the hostages does not help at all and provokes ridicule on every possible platform.

The struggle for the hostages deserves a brave and correct turning point; the plight of the families and the hostages must not be separated from the immense human sorrow experienced by two million people—women, children, elderly, disabled, handicapped, and even brave men with resourcefulness and courage in the Gaza Strip. The struggle to save the hostages must be moral, just, complete, open, and incisive—without fear and without masks—in favor of life, justice, and humanity. Therefore, there must be a call for a complete cessation of the war, a full withdrawal, and agreement to binding conditions, while providing appropriate responses to the human needs in Gaza and taking part in the rehabilitation process.

Asymmetric War Is Not War

Every graduate of a military academy understands the concept of asymmetric war, but it does not always come with the understanding that in fact most of the political-military struggle of the IDF is such—an endless war against civilian entities. Symmetric war indeed involves destruction of infrastructures, equipment, cutting supply and logistics lines, and that alone suffices to decide much larger wars than the one we witness without causing such a great humanitarian disaster.

Asymmetric war is a war against civilian organizations or, in Western terms, "terror organizations," whose actual sole purpose is to sow terror—no matter how severe the results of their actions, they cannot bring about a political or military decision. Yet, the entry of a systematic military organization into a full-scale war against such organizations has proven ineffective and losing throughout history. Indeed, during the first year the army destroyed Hamas’s organizational capabilities. However, this organization does not rely on a static organizational system but on people and ideology. Its members become filled with greater mission and pride following the extent of means and efforts made against them. The war increasingly becomes ideological rather than military; the victory of consciousness is the main victory of these organizations.

Every entry into a prolonged struggle against these organizations strengthens their goals, supporters, and the zeal and idealism that drive their members, resulting in the opposite and far more difficult outcome.

Stopping the War

Stopping the war begins with stopping the internal war within the people of Israel. In recent years, many internal struggles among the people of Israel have led to a danger even greater than the external organization of Israel’s enemies. It is true that empty words about unity and "together we will win" do not heal the soul of the fractured people. But the recognition that internal wars bring system breakdowns and real security danger leads us to the simple realization that our unity is not found in intellectual recognition but in the wisdom of the heart.

As One Man with One Heart

Just as the internal storm raging in the human soul, so too is the storm and the struggle of strength among the camps of Israel; these will not calm by any intellect, but only by quieting, by a soft voice, by lowering the gaze, humility, and submission filling the hearts of Israel. Only these give room for faith and truth to grow.