With the current war against Iran and Hezbollah, our year of service in the south was abruptly cut short. We returned home at the end of February, intending to go back after Purim, but that did not happen. On Saturday morning, February 28th, a siren sounded. This time, like on the Saturday morning of October 7, the siren caught me as I was getting ready for my weekly skate in the park. But unlike October, when I was certain it was a mistake and continued to the park, this time I immediately understood that it meant war and stayed home.

In fact, staying at home in my case is no better than skating in the park. Like many Israelis (over one million), I have no safe room in my house. Several years ago, when I applied for a permit to build one as part of renovations, the municipality in Ramat Gan, where I live, refused my request. In my neighborhood, there are no apartment buildings; most of the houses are private homes. So if I don’t have a safe room, I have to run to a public shelter about 200 meters from my house. This is not a feasible solution, and I know many elderly people who, like me, simply stay at home.

A responsible state should not wage war, especially against such a powerful enemy as Iran, if it lacks the means to protect the home front. Yes, October 7 was a surprise, and Israel was caught off guard. But in the time between then and the subsequent operations against Iran, there was ample opportunity to provide mobile shelters throughout the neighborhood. We saw how easily this could be done when Netanyahu brought one for himself to a rare visit to see “his” voters in the southern town of Dimona, which was hit by a missile some time ago.

I see no point in writing about Netanyahu’s callousness, his cynicism, his corruption, and his complete indifference to the well-being of the Israeli citizens. Unfortunately, this attitude seems to have spread to those around him, we could not find even one righteous man in Sodom (tzadik echad b’Sdom) among them.

During World War II, when the people of London were bombed for eight months and so many buildings were damaged (about 70%), the government and its agents did their utmost to support the home front and instill hope. In our case, we have a prime minister who appears to care only about remaining in power. On October 7, it was President Biden, a true gentleman and a mentch, who came to Israel, comforted us, and offered empathy and hope. Especially at this time, I truly miss President Biden.

This is not a hopeful post, but perhaps the spring will bring us change and better news.

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)