Two weeks from now, on the Hebrew calendar, will mark twenty years since one of the most divisive and painful chapters in modern Israeli history: the so-called “Disengagement” from Gush Katif, other parts of the Gaza Strip, and the northern Shomron (it was also known by other, more ideologically charged, terms, such as “uprooting,” “evacuation,” and “expulsion”). Twenty years ago this month, Israeli soldiers and police forcibly removed over 8,000 Jews from their homes, dismantled thriving communities, and handed the territory over to the Palestinian Authority. Less than two years later, the Gaza Strip was to fall under Hamas control.

I remember those orange (the color chosen by the anti-Disengagement protestors) and blue (used by those supporting the plan) t-shirts and ribbons, the passionate demonstrations, the tears, and the profound sense that our nation was being torn apart.

Many Israelis (including me) believed at the time that this was a catastrophic mistake. Others genuinely thought it would bring peace and security. Today, in the aftermath of the October 7, 2023 massacre, I want to examine what we can learn from that painful period – lessons that are desperately relevant as we navigate our current challenges.

Lesson one: Face reality, acknowledge mistakes

The most obvious lesson may also be, for some, the most uncomfortable one: the Disengagement was a huge strategic error.

At the time, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon promised that after the withdrawal, the IDF would redeploy along the border with the Gaza Strip, thereby reducing friction and danger to our troops. He promised us a much safer and calmer reality than the terrorism and violence that had been directed against Israeli soldiers and civilians inside Gaza. Turning a previous ultra-right-wing slogan on its head, he declared: “We will be here, they will be over there, and there will be peace in Israel.”

Instead, though, we got thousands of rockets, multiple military campaigns, terror tunnels, and, ultimately, the October 7 massacre, launched from the very territory we evacuated. This required us to reinvade the Gaza Strip, leading to hundreds of additional IDF casualties over the past 22 months.

Those who........

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