Rockets are fired toward Israel from the Gaza Strip, Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
Gabe Ende: Intensified Fighting in Gaza may Boomerang on Us
According to the government, the IDF is on the verge of a “maneuver” in Gaza which will lead us to “total victory”, including the dismantling of Hamas. Smotrich and his friends are elated, sensing an opportunity for settlement, annexation and “Jewish redemption”. Bibi sees an opportunity to further delay the establishment of a National Commission of Inquiry on the war and possibly even the upcoming elections. Others—myself included– are apprehensive. Why?
- If it were possible to dislodge Hamas from its rule in Gaza within a few months, there would be greater support, because the enemy will have much to gain from its demand for a guaranteed, long-term “hudna”. The likelihood of our troops miring themselves in extensive guerilla warfare for years—such as happened in the First Lebanese War—is much greater, however. Many “hamasniks” will die in the fighting, but an even greater number of Palestinian civilians—and, of course, many soldiers. We recently received a frightening “promo”, in which five of our fighters were killed in surprise attacks and booby traps in only ten days. Hamas has had months to plan for our operation. Ron Dermer, a close associate of Netanyahu, predicts a year of fighting. Others are less optimistic. There may very well be a public outcry to end the offensive long before “total victory” is achieved.
2. The offensive may well result in the murder of the (hopefully) twenty-four live hostages, who have become an important national symbol. This would have a very painful impact upon our morale. We have a strong moral commitment to bring them home , a commitment shared by a large majority of Israelis in every poll.
3. In light of the overwhelming refusal of the nonetheless privileged Hareidim to serve in the army , the onerous burden upon the reservists and their families and the likelihood of casualties, the morale of the soldiers will suffer—as will the solidarity of our already divided nation.
4. The international image of Israel, already significantly stained, will suffer additional damage. We have the support of Trump and the Republicans—but will that be more important in the long run than the growing image of Israel as a state characterized by “genocidal” war crimes? The planned offensive will produce daily televised reports of terrible suffering in Gaza. Hamas, though indifferent to the suffering, regards it as a strategic asset and will do whatever it can to have the media focus upon it.
5. Essential programs of rehabilitation –in the north and south, in the army ( Note the rising level of accidents and disciplinary problems), among some of the demobilized soldiers injured physically and psychologically and in our beleaguered society as a whole—will be further delayed. How much longer can these essential programs be put on hold?
6. Should we ultimately capture Gaza and “remain in order to rule”, in the words of the PM, what can we expect? Within a year another “intifada” will erupt, because what Bibi characterizes as “the fulfillment of Trump’s vision” can only materialize in a brutal but unfeasible expulsion to nowhere.
7. The emigration of Israelis will jump forward. Many reservists—and others—have a “full stomach”, not only from their personal situations but from “the direction in which the country is going”—and most choosing “relocation” are people whom Israel very much needs.
8. Economists warn of frightening repercussions. A developed economy in the global village needs a wide network of contacts, without barriers or boycotts.
9. And what about the values of the Jewish heritage? Are we interested in creating a Jewish identity based essentially upon wartime heroism, violent struggles to promote interests and the nurture of animosity toward “the other”? The unending fighting has provided conditions not only for encouraging violent assaults on Palestinians but also for a discourse on their future of a decidedly dehumanizing, even fascist, nature, involving—shamefully–even rabbis and other public figures. Is this the kind of Jewish Vision that we want to flow from Zion?? A Judaism that rejects all moral criticism as expressions of “hypocrisy” and “antisemitism”?… A struggle is going on for the soul of Judaism and the Jewish people and the ongoing war is strengthening ignoble forces and directions held in utter contempt by a large consensus only a few years ago.
Has Bibi taken the trouble to seriously consider these fears? Or is he attentive only to the assemblage of jingoistic ultra- nationalists, ethically venal Hareidim and demagogic sycophants who surround him?
