Park Roni – A Manifestation of Hope and Ambivalence
I work really hard. Long, tireless hours, especially since October 7th, 2023. As a psychologist who works primarily with children and their parents, you can imagine that my docket is full. But even a psychologist has got to eat sometimes. And when I do take a “break” for primary needs, as we say in my profession, I usually check the news. At least since the 7th of October, that has been my pattern. No way around it.
Sometimes this checking-in with my beloved nation via the news yields a meeting with things that are heart wrenching. Others, it is uplifting. And if I’m in luck, it’s both.
Today it was both.
I flipped on the news just as Eyal Eshel, the father of Roni Eshel, was talking about the realization of his vision coming to fruition in the form of a park near his home in Tzur Yitzchak; a park in memory of his heroic, murdered daughter and all of her young colleagues, the brave young female soldiers who served alongside her.
If you do not know who Roni Eshel is, you very well may have seen her face, with a smile as wide as it was warm. And if you cannot recall her face, you may very well have heard her voice, as she was the first to raise the alarm on that fateful day that terrorists had breached the barrier between Gaza and the Kibbutzim. Roni, the slain military observer from the Nahal Oz base comes across in either form as a vibrant soul who loved life and her country. But in the audio, you cannot escape the fact that she was a sharp, smart young woman who knew exactly what her eyes were observing. Although she must have been terrified, her voice is on point, cool and collected and as clear as day.
There is no escaping the fact that whoever needed to hear the voices of Roni and those young, female soldiers’ voices before October 7th, didn’t hear them. Or they didn’t listen. And they definitely did not heed the message that they carried from their border observation consoles through their eyes and out of their capable mouths. Because if they did, we would be in a different story.
Back to my lunch break.
As I listened to the interview today with Eyal Eshel, I was brought to tears with the manifestation of his vision. A park, something green and alive, that will go on and bring joy to those who visit. A park called to commemorate the name of his beloved, fallen daughter Roni, to be dedicated this afternoon. So simple, but so poignant and powerful. Hope incarnate. And truly a manifestation of who we are as Jews and Israelis.
We don’t lay down and die just because they kill us.
No, we fight. And we re-build. And we give life. And we hold on to hope and spread it far and wide. We demand that it GROW and FLOURISH.
So, where is the ambivalence?
Eyal went on to explain that other than the normal, regular things the public will be able to find in Park Roni – trees, grass, flowers and paths – there will also be two border observation consoles placed in the area of the park to commemorate the important work his daughter and her fellow female soldiers did before October 7th. The park will also include QR Codes placed strategically, so that if visitors want to know more about Roni and the military observer position in the IDF, they will be able to access more information and educate themselves.
This information brought stinging tears to my eyes. Hot, stinging tears. Tears of pride. This father wasn’t willing to dedicate just any park in memory of his daughter. No, he wants the world to know what important work she and her fellow, female soldiers did! And what important work young female IDF soldiers are still doing and for the foreseeable future, will continue to do.
So yes, I felt pride. I felt pride in this father who thinks ahead, doesn’t plant for today, but plants seeds for tomorrow. Am Yisrael Chai. We’re not going anywhere. We need now and will need in the future, unfortunately, more brave, female soldiers to do this important work in our army.
But right next to my tears of pride, there sprung up in the right-hand corner of my eyes, a blemish. Pain, a hurt and a doubt.
Will there be a next time?
And if there is a next time, will the male dominant society I live in, with its male dominant army structure, LISTEN to the warnings of the Roni Eshel’s of the future?
Or will they brush them off as the establishment of macho, patriarchal ethos of my chosen nation has done for decades? To paraphrase the sentiment of a former highly decorated airman turned President of our nation, Ezer Weizman z”l, “Maidele (Deary), don’t worry your pretty little head. Have you ever seen a man darn socks?”.
Only time will tell if finally, we have moved on from this type of stereotypical thinking and action. Only time will tell, if maybe we have learned to not only call these young, dedicated female soldiers “the eyes of the nation” but to take them seriously when they do their job with astounding competence BEFORE the fact.
Only time and education, will tell.
