Between Strength and Fear a Message to Ben Gvir

Rosh Hashanah Reflections: Israel’s War, Fear, and the Forgotten Commandments

Rosh Hashanah passes this year amidst a feeling of difference – it is a time for reflection, yet this time carrying heavier-weighted consciences. The war echoes from south to north, and for the very first time in decades, Israelis are beginning to raise questions about their identity. What began as a war with Hamas mushroomed into something much larger-the pull of Hezbollah and Lebanon into the fray. The fear that swept over the south has continued right into the center, and Israel-the country that was always sure of its strength-is being stretched thin.

It is this shift that the media coverage over the past year reflects. For one year, I watched Israeli television every night-through the gamut from left to right and everything in between. What I saw were stories of celebration, victories, flag-waving, and national pride. Hostages? Scarcely mentioned, if at all, as a secondary story. The atrocities in Gaza? Over 42,000 Palestinians dead, close to 2000 Lebanese so far. Not a big deal. It was as if the media was interested in feeding its audience with their usual sight: nightly doses of victory, dopamine at 8 PM. But what the news doesn’t show you is what’s next: the sirens, the shelters, the sleepless nights. And in that one moment, just as fast as it comes, that high of dopamine does disappear, and with every second, this country sinks deeper into its addiction to fear.

Addicted to Fear, Hunger for More

On October 7th, 2023, a year after Hamas launched an attack on Israel, the media didn’t take long to shift. Stories of war become increasingly graphic, increasingly victorious. Israelis watched the broadcasts each night, looking in the narrative of victory for some consolation for the fact that Israel was “winning,” even as the war dragged on with an accumulation of casualties. Yet in truth, this was a victory that was not true: while the north blazed from the involvement of Hezbollah and other groups, Israel began to have mounting casualties among the soldiers, civilians, infrastructures, and economy.

It had become the most accessible resource of Israel, being fed each night with the news. Yet, fear only produces one fruit: more fear. And from being the country which boasted about strength and resilience, the nation became paralyzed-even to this extent that the people weren’t even capable of properly celebrating Rosh Hashanah when 68,000 Israelis became the refugees of their own country, hastening to shelters.

And so far as this government knows how to turn its backs on the UN, the ICJ, the ICC, even reports from within— rejecting all their warnings,  just like an ostrich burying its head in the sand. Yes, you can blame Amnesty, blame ICRC, accuse them of bias, but ask yourself: Is Israel any happier now?

Israel’s international standing is crumbling. The Abrahamic Accords, built over many years, are being undermined. Peace, thought cemented with Egypt and Jordan, is precarious. Even the long-time enabler, the U.S., is wearied of its continuous saving of Israel from itself. The world watches, and as much as you’d like to think you can go it alone, Israel has never really been alone. It has always needed that recognition, that legitimacy—whether in 1967, 1982, or now.

A Battle Over Dignity: Understanding the Palestinian Struggle

What Israel has never gauged and understood is the Palestinian struggle for dignity. It’s not about land or political power; it’s about Dignity, martyrdom, and Shahada, or the glories attached to it. These symbols are highly linked with Palestinian identity, and every effort by Israel to demean them has hardened this determination further.

Take, for instance, the recent prisoner exchange deal. Israeli officials had the released Palestinian prisoners sign papers promising not to celebrate their release. Clever, they thought. They missed the point. Celebration is not about release; it is about dignity. For Palestinians, martyrdom isn’t just a form of resistance-it’s a path toward honor, something which Israel has continually failed to grasp. Instead of realizing that, Israel spent decades trying to break their dignity through military might and occupation. But the more you try, the stronger and more meaningful, valuable their dignity becomes.

What if you changed the game? What if instead of trying to squash any spirit, you put in front of them another way to dignity? After WWII, there were camps that treated ex-fascists to make them fit for society and live in peace. What if Israel did that? But imagine a system wherein Palestinian prisoners could find dignity not in violence, but in building peace. Admittedly, at first, they would refuse it. They would still hunger for martyrdom, would still plead to be imprisoned or shot. But as their definition of dignity slowly changed, they would eventually realize that true honor is in the peace and not in the death.

The Prophetic Wisdom of Issachar: A Message to Ben Gvir and Smotrich

And now, to Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich: You camouflage yourselves as guardians of the Torah, as the only right-wing guardians of Jewish law and tradition. But it is something far more paramount that you lack from the Torah. The instruction to choose life (Deuteronomy 30:19) is not one of recommendation; it is a command. And so it is that, very specifically, we see how you justify war and violence in the name of security, forgetting even the very essence of the commandments to which you continue to confess.

Let me remind you of Issachar, who knew the times (1 Chronicles 12:32). From his wisdom, I send you this message: You may fancy yourselves as modern defenders of Israel, but you are treading on a dangerous course, wherein Levi replaces Judah and the voice of Benjamin is drowned out. Your rule is intoxicating the nation with fear rather than strength, war rather than peace. If Israel is to be a light unto the nations, then what light are you shining?

Israel was supposed to be that example to the rest of the world-to demonstrate what it is to live under God’s law. Right now, your example to the world is fear and violence and death. You’ve become addicted to the illusion of strength. And real strength doesn’t come from killing. It comes from healing. It takes a strong man to forgive. It takes a strong man to rebuild. It takes a strong man to choose love over hate and life over death.

The Next Decision-Maker in Wait

In this situation, if you, Ben Gvir and Smotrich, do not correct the course of things, then someone else will have to bear the responsibility. Perhaps it is Naftali Bennett who would become the decision maker in the next government. He may understand more than anyone that true victory does not belong to military powers, but to a redefinition of what it means to be an Israeli-somebody for whom peace, dignity, and the future mean more than momentary victories on the battle field.

A Nation at a Crossroads

Israel, it’s time to choose. You can continue on this path of limitless fear and endless war, high on that addictive, fleeting rush of victory, or you can stop, take a deep breath, and ask yourself what kind of nation you want to be. Fear will not bring about peace; it will only bring about more war. And if you want real peace, it must be based on mutual dignity-dignity that you can choose to offer, not just to yourself, but to the neighbors.

Ben Gvir surrounded by security, Ref: Daily Sabah