Israel’s soldiers need better answers than “There is no choice left”

“It’s happening” wrote one friend recently, whose world was upended when he received yet another call-up notice to return to Gaza, after already serving 250 days since October 7. And with this, a thousand questions. About the hostages. About his marriage, kids and dwindling savings. About this government. About the children he’s seen walking through the ruins of Gaza and what kind of future awaits them. About the Jewish people and what future awaits us.

He’s just one of tens of thousands of reservists who have been called up – again – for an expanded operation. These are not just his personal questions. As we get close to 600 days since October 7, these are our collective dilemmas. My friend’s questions need serious answers.

The majority of the Israeli public – including of this coalition’s supporters – believe it is time to come an agreement that will bring home the hostages and end the war. Meanwhile, as our government chooses military escalation instead of negotiations, President Trump is advancing dramatic changes in the Middle East without Israeli interests or leaders seemingly part of the process. Where is this government taking us? We all need serious answers.

But the explanations from the political and military leadership are troubling in their confusion and contradictions – or, perhaps, in what seems to be absolute clarity.

With the decision to expand military operations, Netanyahu declared that the supreme goal is victory over Hamas – not the hostages. The IDF quickly contradicted this, declaring that the supreme mission is returning the hostages, and only then defeating Hamas. At this stage, the philosophy guiding these differing positions is not about security but about fundamentals of this country’s social contract.

Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich clarified: the purpose is to occupy Gaza, and, ultimately, sovereignty. Likud MK Miki Zohar affirmed: the goal is “the complete occupation of the Strip,” which “endangers those who remain in captivity. But there is no choice left.”

But is there no choice left?

In supporting a hostage deal and ending the war, public opinion rejects this. This position also belies longstanding Israeli strategic principles that long wars harm the country. And Israelis favor normalizing ties with Saudi Arabia, seen as critical to our strategic interests, and perceive occupying Gaza as likely to harm efforts to achieve broader Middle East cooperation. Against the weight of all these reasons to work with determination towards an agreement to end the war, Prime Minister Netanyahu is pursuing military escalation.

These decisions were met with days and waves of protests. Jerusalemites lost endless time and patience due to the protests blocking roads and snarling up traffic. I, too, protest, because it is part of what must be done to oppose where this government is dragging us. But as I, too, sat stuck in traffic logjams, reading complaints about anarchy alongside reasonable concerns about the protests’ adverse effects on Jerusalemites, and listening to the shouting and drumming of rightfully angry protestors, I was also aware of their limitations. It was hard not to feel that everything is just spinning out of control. That it’s all so much bigger than us. That we’re just bits of twigs and leaves being tossed and turned as we’re carried off helplessly in the floods.

It’s Time

It was in that dark mood that I attended various events under the auspices of last week’s “People’s Peace Summit,” organized by It’s Time. This is a coalition of dozens of organizations committed “to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through a political agreement that will ensure both peoples’ right to self-determination and secure lives.”

What did I find there? Thousands of people full of energy, determination and ideas, all rooted in our shared reality of grief and trauma. Young and old, Israeli and Palestinian, attendees brought desire for change which filled you up as soon as you walked into the convention center’s packed halls. Perhaps most importantly of all, they came with a willingness to do the work so that Israelis and Palestinians can figure out how to stop harming each other and start living together.

The voices came from all quarters, each representing organizations or movements with hundreds or thousands working with them. Aziz Abu-Sarah, an East Jerusalem Palestinian, shared his journey from vengeance for his brother’s death, to social and political change change efforts with Israeli and Palestinian partners… Mizrachi activist Netta Amar-Schiff and Russian-speaking activist Vicki Idzinski argued that their respective communities have both the history and capacity to be advocates for peace, democracy and equality… Ghadir Hani and Yael Admi told about their journeys and work with Israeli and Palestinian mothers to bring about change for the sake of their children… Two Irish activists shared their story of decades of hard work building a women’s movement which played a key role in finally securing the Northern Ireland peace agreement… And on, and on. These are just the smallest of glimpses, failing to do justice to the abundance of voices, thoughtful people and noteworthy examples of work being done.

At a time that so many of us are struggling to stay afloat in the rushing waters, being with these thousands of fellow seekers and doers felt like clambering onto a solid sturdy boat. We’re still in the same rushing waters, but being on this boat together offered a moment to breath and gather strength. To lift up our heads and look around. To get a good look at the horizon and better navigate the waters to try to get there.

Did I agree with everything everyone said? No. Were the answers perfect? No. Did we find solutions to all the difficult issues facing us? Of course not. But we don’t expect that in any other field, and we shouldn’t expect it here either.

What we should expect are leaders who will take these questions seriously and work towards much better answers. But to demand it of our leaders, we have to actually expect it for ourselves. Ideologues and extremists in both communities have worked hard to make their publics give up on peace. They’ve fostered hate towards the peacemakers who keep trying. Despair and cynicism lend them a helping hand. That’s on all of us.

Of course it’s hard to figure out how to change this situation. Otherwise we wouldn’t be where we are now. But that’s not a good enough answer. Not for my friend. Not for the tens of thousands of reservists and soldiers risking their lives, their families and colleagues. Not for the Gazans and Palestinians struggling under dire conditions, and who are and will continue to be our neighbors. Not for our children – all of our children.

Israelis and Palestinians both want something better. And we are, in fact, capable of doing better.