Not just the scenery Kfar Aza That shocked me when I visited the kibbutz 75 days after Hamas terrorists killed it in December.61 out of 950 residentsandKidnapping 19I was surprised at how short the drive was from Jerusalem – only about 60 miles. Of course, Israelis know that while people in other Western countries drive 60 miles for family vacations, in the Jewish state, driving that distance from the center of the country gets you to Gaza.
This fact seems self-evident, but its implications for Israel’s security do not seem to be understood by many in the West, especially those who are increasingly perplexed by Israel’s continued refusal to end the war with Hamas. Logically, international pressure is great and US President Joe Biden’sThreat of arms shipment haltTo Israel,Genocide incidentsFrom the International Court of Justice to the possibility of going to the International Criminal CourtArrest warrantFor Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant.
So why does Israel not heed international pleas to end the war?
To those who, like most fair-minded people, do not view Israel as a rogue terrorist state, this may be a puzzling question, but to Israelis, this is not just about war or policy debates — it is about the very purpose and viability of Israel’s existence.
Having fled a Europe that promised an increasingly bleak fate for the Jews, Israel’s founders understood that Jewish powerlessness was no longer tolerable. Auschwitz and Treblinka Tragically, they were right: the only solution was the establishment of a sovereign Jewish state in the Land of Israel.
After nearly 2,000 years of exile and persecution, Israel promised to fundamentally change the situation of the Jewish people: they would now be able to defend themselves and determine their own destiny.
This sentiment is echoed by 850,000 Jews and their descendants.Accounts for about halfToday’s Jewish population of IsraelBanishedPeople who emigrated from their homelands in the Middle East and North Africa after the establishment of the State of Israel.
Israelis are proud to live in a Jewish community that can defend itself for the first time in 2,000 years, but the existential fears that have taken root in the Jewish psyche have not disappeared. As Israeli philosopher Micah Goodman writes in his new Hebrew book:Day 8: Israel after October 7thGoodman said the horror of the massacre made Israelis realize “the fragility of Israel’s existence.” But more than that, he noted, on October 7, Israelis “faced the reality that the state of Israel does not exist.”
Now that the worst days for the Jews are over, the world Since the Holocaust Not so the Israelis. After October 7, when Israelis describe Hamas as an intolerable threat on their borders, they mean it in the most literal sense of the word. Israelis understand that the ability of their military to defeat Hamas will determine whether Israel has a future in the region.
After all, the Jewish state can only ensure its existence in the Middle East if it deters the forces that seek to destroy it. But if Israel loses the war in Gaza, Goodman explanation“The Middle East will lose fear of Israel, and Israelis will lose faith in the Israeli project.” In other words, “No victory, no survival.”
And no amount of international pressure or outrage can convince the Israelis to sacrifice their very existence.
If Israelis felt they had to choose between international condemnation and death, they would undoubtedly choose the former.I said last year“We will fight on tiptoe if necessary. We have no other choice,” the Israelis said.
Perhaps more than any other nation, Israelis understand that they cannot rely on anyone else to ensure the survival of the Jewish state. No one is going to save Israel. 1967Israel was not thanked eitherAttack on Iraq’s Osirak nuclear reactorIt prevented Saddam Hussein from acquiring nuclear weapons in 1981. (By contrast, U.S. officialsIt is calledWhile the US punishes Israel, the UN Security CouncilThey unanimously condemned the strike..
Indeed, Israel has learned throughout its short but checkered history to believe the threats of its enemies and disregard the promises of its friends. Gaza has proven a perfect example.
In 2004, before Israel withdrew from the zone, US President George W. Bush promised Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said that if Israel withdraws from Gaza, “the United States will work with Jordan, Egypt and the rest of the international community to lead efforts to build the capacity and will of Palestinian institutions to fight terrorism, to dismantle terrorist organizations, and to ensure that the areas from which Israel withdraws do not pose a threat that must be addressed by other means.”
Suffice it to say, that promise was not kept.
None of this is to suggest that Israelis are indifferent to the suffering of Gaza’s civilians, or that there is no domestic debate over a hostage release agreement, or that Israeli politicians are immune to international pressure. But international pressure only works to the extent that Israelis believe it will deliver an outcome they find satisfactory. Succumbing to an existential threat is a long way from that.
The Jewish people continue to exist today, despite constant attempts to annihilate them throughout history. Israelis know very well that Israel would never have survived to its 77th year if it had followed every international decree since 1948. And like their forefathers, they have no intention of succumbing.
Josh FeldmanAustralian author whose work focuses on Israel and Jewish issues.
