Seeing isn’t believing

A massive blast shook our entire home and startled us awake just before 3AM. Having lived in Israel through the war with Hamas, and most recently the war with Iran, this should have been business as usual. But the noise was louder and felt much closer than ever before. Did a rocket hit nearby? Is shrapnel falling all around us? Despite the massive sound there were no sirens in our area. Confused, we nervously fell back to sleep.

The next morning we learned that Yemen had fired another rocket at us, as they continue to do. The noise we heard was an interceptor breaking the sound barrier en route. As hard as it may be to believe, these middle-of-the-night disruptions still feel like minor victories. And if you’ve seen the devastation a ballistic missile can cause, you’d know why. A single rocket can turn a city block’s worth of buildings into sheer rubble.

Despite the conflict, and the daily disruptions it causes, there is still much to celebrate — though many fail to notice.

The war with Iran was a win in every aspect. The terrorist state did inflict damage. But we are also aware of how much worse it could have been. Each life lost by the rockets is immeasurable. And the infinite amount of research lost in the strike on the Weizmann institute can’t be overstated. But only 5-6% of the ballistic missiles reached their targets in populated areas. And of the 1,000 drones that fired, only 1% penetrated our defenses, translating to a 0.1% strike rate in populated areas.

The offensive Israel carried out was also miraculous. Not a single pilot was injured during the 12-day operation. In fact, only eight unmanned drones were shot down by Iran. 

The precision strikes carried out by the United States’ B2 bombers were also a marvel. Whether the damage caused by the bunker bombs set Iran’s nuclear program back two years or indefinitely, we are thankful. We pray the result is the latter, but either delay is better than the mere weeks they had until nuclear break-out.

Some consider the protracted war with Hamas as a failure. There are still 50 hostages in captivity and the terrorist entity has not been eradicated. While we all wished for a faster, more complete outcome to this war, this still is not a failure. The Israel Defense Forces control the majority of the Gaza Strip. Hamas is on the run and we’ve brought 200 hostages home already. Please God, the rest will be home soon and Hamas will be vanquished.

But such stats are signs of apparent success.

Contrary to the media reports, the Gaza Humanitarian Aid Foundation is a major achievement. Even though Hamas continues to attack the workers and Gazans on site, 60 million meals have been delivered directly to civilians in need. The organization is circumventing the terrorists and thus weakening Hamas’ hold on Gaza. Compare this to the Biden administration’s Flotilla, the failed U.S. initiative to deliver aid by sea, and it’s easy to assess, that even with its flaws, this project continues to improve the situation.

Through these trying periods, life still goes on. People are still holding their happy occasions, which, as a rabbi, I’m blessed to be a part of. But one of the most memorable moments came in the midst of all the rocketfire from Iran. Rabbi Leo Dee, who lost his wife and two of his five children in a terror attack in April of 2023, got engaged. The story has been covered in almost every Jewish publication because not only is it an amazing moment for Am Yisrael, but we can always use some good news.

There’s much to be thankful for even beyond the military successes. As fractured as our country may seem at times, there remains a deep sense of unity and purpose. The 12-day war took us back to the days of Covid — huddled in our homes and shelters, relying on each other. It reminded us how much we still need one another and how much strength we can find when we come together. 

Those few days felt like a reawakening — of resilience, of spirit and of the might of the Jewish State. After the devastation of Oct 7, we desperately needed that. And thank God, we received it.