After the Yom Kippur War, Israel humbly bowed its head and thought. The country was traumatized, turned to itself and regretted. The arrogance and arrogance that were born after the Six-Day War disappeared, along with the militaristic cult of personality and the worship of the army. Four years later, Israel signed the most important peace agreement in its history.
It can already be seen that everything is different this time: arrogance, arrogance and the worship of military power are back at the big door. Basically, they weren't even gone after October 7, 2023. In the early days, there was shock and helplessness, dismay and even contrition, but the arrogance returned very quickly. As if Israel had not been surprised and attacked by a barefoot army under siege, as if the Israeli army had not exposed itself in its failure and its military greatness proved to be fragile. Israel is mired in pain and anxiety as in the Yom Kippur War, but with no sign of a change in mindset.
The claim that life by the sword will lead Israel to destruction is seen as heresy. Because of the damage it caused, the war of October 7, 2023 is much worse than the war that happened on October 6, 1973. After the first war, the correction came, now there is no hint that it will happen.
Perhaps a different reaction could have been expected. In Haaretz of October 8, I published a text I wrote on October 7, 2023, around noon, before all the horror of that day was revealed:
"Behind everything is Israeli arrogance. The idea that everything is allowed to us, that we will never have to pay a price or be punished... We will arrest, kill, torture, deprive of rights, defend immigrants while they carry out pogroms, we will go to Joseph's grave, to Atniel's grave, to Yeshua's altar, and of course to Har HaBajit… we will shoot innocents, gouge out eyes and break heads… Israel found on Saturday a sight the likes of which it had never seen before: Palestinian military vehicles patrolling its cities and cyclists from Gaza entering its gates. These pictures should stop the arrogance."
Now, four months later, Israel is behaving as it did after June 5, 1967, when it was intoxicated by military victory.
Arrogance is at work again. In the studios, the generals are boasting, we will strike there, we will occupy this, we will deploy military forces from Beirut to Tehran, including the Philadelphia corridor and Yemen, while soldiers and settlers run amok in the West Bank. The media discourse ranges from military convulsions to outrageous trade in national sentiments. Useless war is presented in only one light: that of false achievements. There is no evening without singing the praises of the glorious army: look at the 162nd Division and the 104th Battle Group! As if it is not the same army from October 7, as if the army has brought Israel to a better place.
Aside from the fact that there are no different voices, different opinions, doubts, subversion. Only flattery and praise of the army, the war, the people of Israel, the victory of Israel, all of us. From the betrayal of the mission and professionalism of the majority of the Israeli media through denial, hiding and engaging in propaganda to the shameful absence of reporting on what is happening in the Gaza Strip, its demolition, its killed, wounded, disabled, hungry, displaced. This is joined by arrogance that has returned to rule the narrative and life.
In the building of the International Congress Center in Jerusalem, we are building Jewish settlements in Gaza; in Jenin, we masquerade as a medical team in flagrant violation of international law, while the crowd applauds; in Gaza we are destroying everything like there is no tomorrow; in the capitals of the world we are leading a campaign to stop donating to the organization UNRWA*; and in The Hague we are trying to deceive the International Court of Justice. There is no contrition, modesty, different thinking, recalculation, listening to what is being said in the world, and all that is very important.
This wouldn't be so bad if we didn't know it was leading to the next disaster. That we consciously continue to lie to ourselves, and continue to believe that we will forever successfully solve everything with weapons and that we are always the most just and the strongest, stronger than everyone, stronger than the whole world.
(Haaretz; Peščanik.net; translation from Hebrew: Alma Ferhat)
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* The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees has been accused by Israel of 12 of its members helping to prepare the October massacre. Because of this, fifteen Western countries have decided to completely stop funding its activities, even though the UN has already dismissed nine employees. Starting next month, about 30 thousand employees will not receive salaries, the educational and health services they provided will be stopped.
Bonus video:
