We reservists are burning out

We reservists are not burning out because of the number of days we are serving. We’re burning out because we’re being asked to risk everything while being prevented from finishing the job.

For the last 18 months, combat reservists have placed our duty to the state and people of Israel above all else. We’ve left jobs, put careers on hold, sacrificed time with our families, and given up on education plans. Financially, emotionally, and mentally, we have paid the price. And each time the phone rings, we drop everything again. We don’t know when the next call-up will be. We can’t plan a vacation, commit to work projects, or tell our kids with confidence that we will be at their birthday next month.

Employers hesitate to hire us. Universities don’t know what to do with us. Our spouses are holding the fort alone. Our children are adjusting to life without us around. Students among us have essentially lost an entire academic year, with no end in sight.

And we do it all willingly. Proudly. We believe in the fight. We believe in our country. We believe in our mission.

What we don’t believe in anymore is the way this war is being managed. We conquer one block in Gaza and retreat the next day. We risk our lives while fuel trucks cross into enemy territory. We train to defeat the enemy, but are ordered to avoid confrontation. The leadership calls for victory, but delivers hesitation. And in the background, the entire country is held hostage — emotionally and politically — by a narrative that centers on victimhood rather than on strength.

Let me say it clearly: the morale collapse we’re seeing at home is not just because of the war; it’s because Israeli society has started choosing weakness. We idolize victimhood. We elevate pain over purpose. Instead of rallying behind the fighters, we obsess over the hostages. Instead of demanding victory, we asks whether we have done enough for international approval.

We’ve let the Hostages Families Forum — not the IDF or the government — set the terms of public debate. Their grief is real, but their influence has become disproportionate. Their message is clear: everything must stop until the hostages are returned. Even the war. Even the mission. Even our future.

But victory doesn’t work that way. Nations are not built on feelings; they are built on vision and strength. Our society has forgotten that. We have traded our founding ethos of proud Jewish strength for a culture of fear, doubt, and dependency.

The State of Israel was not re-established so Jews could beg for international sympathy. We came here to stand tall. To defend ourselves. To create a society that reflects our values — resilience, courage, and leadership.

We are soldiers. We are ready to fight. But we can’t carry this mission alone. We need a society that remembers who we are and what we’re fighting for. A society that chooses to be strong again.

It is time to end this paralysis. Time to demand victory. Not just from our leaders, but from ourselves.

The time has come to stop merely enduring. The time has come to win.