A few months ago, I had a lengthy conversation with a friend – a liberal Zionist, physician, and university education professor. After discussing everything that's happened over the past year, he finally arrived at what he saw as the crux of the matter: Israeli society, he argued, simply cannot sustain a perpetual state of war. "We're not built to be a militaristic society," he insisted. "We can't keep killing and being killed indefinitely. It will destroy us." From there, he retreated into familiar territory – wishful thinking about "agreements," "arrangements," "rational actors," and the ever-popular "international coalition."
This perspective, I believe, stems from a deep-seated trauma in Israeli society, one that crystallized after the War of Attrition and especially following the Yom Kippur War. It's a trauma captured in the biblical phrase "Must the sword devour forever?" and it has shaped Israeli policy ever since.
The aftermath of the Six-Day War had been euphoric, filled with celebration of a new generation of heroes. The renowned 7th Brigade Commander Shmuel Gorodish gave his famous "My brothers, heroes" speech. Ari Jabotinsky (son of the renowned Ze'ev) visited the frontlines along the Suez Canal and wrote glowingly about a new generation willing to sacrifice everything for the cause. But then came the Yom Kippur War, creating the first crack in our national spirit – a fissure that only deepened through the Lebanon War, the Intifada, and the Security Zone occupation. Our "glorious heroes" began burying their heads in the sand, spinning fantasies about Arabs building a Middle Eastern Singapore. Then came October 7th.
We need to return to that pivotal moment when the "eternal sword" trauma was born and understand where we went wrong. In our preoccupation with who bears the burden of conflict, we neglected a far more crucial question: How do we maintain our resolve? How can our generation avoid repeating past mistakes? We can't simply say "it won't happen to us." Sustaining the costs of prolonged conflict requires tremendous fortitude – and that requires study.
Who Gets to Decide When Wars End?
From Abraham's first steps toward Canaan until today, the Jewish people have faced existential threats in every generation. Antisemitism has no quick fix – it would require a fundamental transformation of human nature, which may come in its own time.
The pioneering groups who arrived here a century ago to build a "new world" forgot this harsh reality. They imagined, as historian Anita Shapira describes in "The Sword of the Dove," a thriving Zionist enterprise without conflict. They saw themselves as a dove seeking rest after generations of pogroms and persecution. Their shock upon discovering they would have to live by the sword indefinitely was profound.
But those who are truly rooted in this land, rather than floating rootlessly, understand there are no rational solutions to the visceral hatred some harbor toward Israel. Even in the darkest times, the Jewish people as a whole didn't abandon their identity or assimilate to avoid persecution. The biblical promise that "Israel's eternity shall not falter" proves stronger than any dove's desire for rest.
A Meaningful War is Strategy Enough
To avoid falling back into the trap of chasing illusory peace deals, merely acknowledging reality isn't enough. We must find meaning in it. We didn't choose war, but war found us because it serves a purpose. The struggle against evil is part of the Jewish people's moral mission in the world. The war isn't just about security – it's about purpose. This is what Colonel Shmuel's post-Six Day War observation missed.
The Pain of War versus the Drug of False Peace
War is undeniably agonizing. Many of life's struggles involve suffering. We'd all prefer to advance the world, destroy evil, and flourish without sacrificing lives. But human courage gives meaning to these struggles and the suffering they entail.
Every soldier who enters battle does so in service of good. By fighting the evil at our doorstep, we demonstrate our ultimate faith in the world's underlying goodness.
Here's a reliable test: whenever you hear media figures asking "what about the day after?" or "but what's the strategy?" you're likely dealing with someone trying to peddle the narcotic of imaginary peace. To resist temptation, remember that the war to destroy evil is itself a strategy. The day after the destruction of evil will come, and we can hasten its arrival.
Patience and Faith Reduce War's Toll
When this spirit guides our actions, we can face war's challenges clear-eyed and minimize its costs.
When we're driven by fear that "the sword will devour forever," when we're terrified of the quagmires in Gaza and Lebanon, we act tentatively and ultimately fail. When we resist the difficulty of the path, we're essentially taking out high-interest loans from dark forces – loans that come due in sudden, devastating massacres that shatter our illusions.
When we accept reality and the challenges ahead, finding meaning despite the difficulty, we progress faster and reduce both hardship and pain.
When we free ourselves from the paralyzing worry that "the sword will devour forever" and accept our destiny to fight evil in the world, we actually reduce the sword's toll.
When we're humble about our ability to impose peace, we paradoxically bring true peace closer.
Those prepared to fight in David's army without growing weary will hasten the coming of Solomon's kingdom – a reign of true peace. Nothing could be more messianic, yet simultaneously more realistic.
I'll close by referencing a policy document written by MK Amit Halevi that embodies this spirit while remaining grounded in reality. It demonstrates how facing reality head-on – with moral courage and determination to see the war through, without hesitation or doubt, without fear of taking territory, without the paralyzing worry of endless conflict, without succumbing to false peace – can dramatically improve our results and reduce war's costs. This should be our aim.
This thought-provoking piece was written by Ezra Hyman and published on the Whatsapp group 'Path Pavers'. You can follow Path Pavers here: www.solelim-derech.co.il
