The duality of Israel as a young, vibrant country that has struggled for its survival since its inception is never more fully on display than during the 48-hour period each year when Remembrance Day morphs into Independence Day.
According to the Defense Ministry, 25,420 soldiers have fallen in defense of their country. That weight has especially been felt over the last 18 months. Since the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, over 900 soldiers have been killed, and over 5,600 soldiers have been wounded doing their duty for the country.
That’s a heavy price to pay for the right to live freely in our own country. And there doesn’t seem to be a respite. The last week has seen the first IDF casualties since Israel resumed its contentious battle against Hamas.
Capt. Ido Voloch, 21, an officer in the 401st Armored Brigade’s 46th Battalion; Sgt. Neta Yitzhak Kahane, an officer in the Border Police undercover unit (Mista’aravim); and tank driver St.-Sgt.-Maj. (res) Asaf Cafri were all buried this week after being killed by Hamas terrorists in Gaza.
Why is the battle contentious? That’s the heart of the debate that Israel is entrenched in as its 77th birthday is marked Wednesday night and Thursday.
Like last year, the celebrations will be muted, as 24 living hostages still being held by Hamas in Gaza – as well as 35 fallen hostages – have no independence. Twenty-five hostages were released earlier in the year through a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which fell apart in March.
How to get the remaining hostages out of Gaza is the issue that is tearing the country apart and threatening to dig a deep chasm in our society that we may never be able to bridge.
There are two valid plans: one theoretical and one in practice now. The theoretical one is to make the giant assumption that Hamas would stand by an agreement that it allegedly offered to release all of the hostages in exchange for a long-term five-year truce and keeping its arms and status as the address in Gaza.
It would conceivably bring the remaining hostages home but enable Hamas to rebuild, rearm, and return to its pre-October 7 major threat status to Israel.
The other plan, put in action by the government, is to continue fighting Hamas and pressure the terror group into accepting another ceasefire deal that would see the hostages released in stages, like earlier this year.
Netanyahu's government dismisses opponents as leftists
The problem with both plans is that they sow distrust and anger from those who oppose them. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government dismisses any opponents of its policies as non-patriotic leftists.
And opponents of continuing the war in Gaza say that it’s only being done to keep the coalition in power and put off the ultimate reckoning of Netanyahu’s responsibility for October 7.
Does Israel, at age 77, have what it takes to be able to argue and vehemently oppose the other’s idea yet still be one country? We have, throughout our history – full of endless internal struggles and disunity.
But when it counted, when Israel’s existence was at risk, whether in 1948, 1967, 1973, or 2023, the differences were put aside. Can the same be said now, when half the country is calling for the current war to end, with the other half convinced that the hostages can be returned and Hamas defeated – wishful thinking at best?
Israel was founded on a promise: The government and its people will work together for the country’s security and well-being. As we mark Israel’s 77th year, that promise is no longer a foregone conclusion. It’s imperative that it be so once again if we are to stand together and celebrate at 78 and allow our progeny to celebrate at 178. The stakes are too high, and lives are hanging in the balance.
Last week, at the annual March of the Living program at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp on Holocaust Remembrance Day, freed hostage Eli Sharabi, who suffered in the Hamas dungeons in Gaza for a year and a half, said:
“This is the Jewish spirit of triumph. It is a reminder that the Jewish nation will exist for all eternity.”
We owe it to him and all of the hostages still in Gaza to make sure his statement is never put in doubt.