As we approach Yom HaZikaron and Yom HaAtzmaut—Israel’s Independence Day, the country’s 78th birthday—I find myself reflecting.

This piece was prompted by a WhatsApp exchange, and by stories of people leaving Israel, alongside a growing narrative of inevitable decline.

The WhatsApp exchange, shared between a small group of former IDF soldiers, many of whom still serve in the Reserves, presented a bleak prediction: Israel and Lebanon would agree to a ceasefire; Hezbollah would nominally disarm; politicians would claim success on the eve of elections; and then, inevitably, the disarmament would fail. A few years later, we would find ourselves back in Lebanon. The same cycle would repeat in Gaza. Soldiers, the message suggested, were being used as pieces on a political chessboard.

The first message ended with a personal note: appreciation for Reserve Service, coupled with a call to reconsider it. No politician, the message argued, would stand in their place. Why, then, should they continue to put their lives on the line?

A member of the group responded: “I will continue to report for Reserve Duty”, he wrote “not out of faith in the system, but out of loyalty to the people beside me.”

His team members had a tendency to get themselves into dangerous situations. He would be there to protect them. “We have the privilege of doing important things, finding ourselves in dangerous situations where our friends really need us. Therefore, we can’t quit. All we can do is our best, and hope that our actions will have a real effect on the country.”

The WhatsApp exchange ended with “We will do what we can until it ends—one way or another—or until we leave the........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)