“We are reliving the spirit of ’48 in another sense because much remains to be said about the tectonic changes awaiting us at the strategic and operational levels, the new landscape of threats created by our failures, the national and security challenges we face, and the lessons we can already draw from the national mistakes we have made. We stand at a Ben-Gurion-like juncture, marked by the need for dramatic decisions and the reconstruction of our collective consciousness, as well as of our national institutions and strength.”
For countless long hours, on Oct. 7, the darkest of dark days, the state vanished. But then, in the midst of a war for survival against armed savages, an exceptional, unparalleled heroism emerged, a heroism that we had almost forgotten existed.
by Ran Baratz, TABLET October 29, 2023
First, we need to take a deep breath, confront reality squarely and speak the truth, the whole truth. For too long, we have allowed ourselves to be deceived, relying on comfortable and reassuring fictions from others. Now, we must acknowledge that the security challenge lying ahead of us is long-term and will require us to readapt and to rethink the situation. There will be a battle for Gaza and perhaps in the north too, but it would be a grave historic mistake to assume that when they are over, the security events are over too, and that we will be able to return to a situation similar to that which existed before the pogrom on Oct. 7. We will have to change our national priorities, not only because a series of convenient lies has been shattered, but because fundamental security concepts—not only ours, but of our enemies too—have been shattered.
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