Can we stay united?

I keep wondering about the day after – what will Israel look like? How will we go forward as a society?

On the 7th of October everything changed. In the worst possible ways, And in the best ways.

We became a nation that loved each other again.

In the deep pain of all the horror of that dark day.

We dropped all the labels. We saw past them.

We became one nation with one heart.

And how lovely and heartwarming that is.

I keep wondering how we get to hold onto this love for each other.

How do we remain a society that values the “other”?

How do we see our commonalities more than our differences – because there are many many things we have in common.

To understand how to move forward, we must look at the mistakes of the past. I have no intention of making a political analysis. I’m more interested in looking at the interactions and assumptions that were made about each other.

Somehow it became that if someone had a different opinion, they no longer had any value as a person. One could supposedly no longer connect to anyone who was “other”.

But is that true?

I remember an Israel where 2 men could get out of their cars, scream in each others faces and get back in their cars and drive away. (Not exactly the way we’re looking to interact!) But the point is that even though they were angry they did not hate each other.

So much togetherness has happened since October 7th:

Brothers and sisters fighting together.

Finding out that they agree more than they disagree.

Random people showing up for other random people, regardless of what community they come from, how they dress or their views.

Somehow all the barriers fell away, as we came together to grieve, fight, hope and care for each other.

And we absolutely have to find a way as a society to hold this as we move forward.

We have to find a way to argue and still be connected and respected.

We have to find a way to be united and different from each other.

We have to find a way to show respect, especially when we don’t agree.

We have to.

Or else we cannot share a future together, and that would be a tragedy.

Let’s not wait for someone else to bring this acceptance into our society.

Let’s each take it on as our own responsibility, let’s each take action daily. Let’s nurture respect!