Leaving the Underdog Behind

“This Yom Ha’atzmaut feels so much more hopeless than the last ones,” my wife reflected over coffee this Sunday morning. I’ve heard the same from friends, that despite the difficulty of the past three Israeli independence days (the first in 2023, after the current government’s pursuit of the judicial overhaul tore our society asunder; the second in 2024, after the terrible attacks of October 7th; the third in 2025, as the war dragged on and our hostages remained in Gaza) this one feels, well, hopeless. This Yom HaZikaron sadder, as questions abound whether Israel will survive to honor the sacrifices made by so many of our loved ones.

I believe many Israelis feel this way because we are wading through the wreckage of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s broken promises: the promise that Hamas would be defeated; the promise that Hezbollah was defanged; the promise that Iran’s nuclear program was set back generations, that we would see the fall of the Islamic Republic. Israelis sacrificed their loved ones, their economy, their sleep, their health, in the hope that the government would make good on their promises. Yet with the Iranian ceasefire ending and no agreement in sight, with Hamas flamboyantly reconstituted and rejecting demands to lay down its weapons, with Hezbollah firing indiscriminately at civilian centers, many Israelis feel like they can give no more. Like they’ve been asked to run another lap after finishing a marathon.

I feel their pain, but do not feel........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)