The Bitterness of Av.

The Ninth of Av is a date that deepens the Jewish soul. It is the day we mourn our greatest tragedies, a grief that spans centuries. It is not just a day on the calendar; it is a symbol of our resilience and capacity to endure the unbearable. They destroyed our temples, persecuted us in the Inquisition, massacred us in the Holocaust. And here we are, still standing, still fighting.

Now, we enter the month of Av again with a bitter taste. A year has passed since the brutal attack that changed everything, and the threat of retaliation looms like a specter that haunts us. Fear is not new to us, but waiting for the next catastrophe is a slow poison, a silent torture.

In Lebanon, those who can are fleeing, fearing a total war. And we, ironically, are struggling to return to the epicenter of danger. Amid the fierce rhetoric from Tehran and Beirut, peace is a mirage. Hezbollah continues to launch projectiles, hitting our homes and wounding our souls.

Hamas, diminished but not defeated, still fire from Gaza, targeting our communities with cruel precision. In his latest bravado, Hassan Nasrallah said that the uncertainty about what our enemies plan is part of the punishment. Punishment for our audacity to eliminate figures who dedicate their lives to our destruction.

This uncertainty would be more bearable if our government showed little empathy. But instead of comfort, we receive empty promises and grand declarations of unity. IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari tries to calm us with regular updates, but the political leadership leaves us adrift without a word of true consolation.

What do we know? That we know almost nothing. We do not see how Iran and Hezbollah will respond to the humiliation of having their leaders blown up under their noses. Perhaps they do not know either. There is no shortage of targets, and Israel must be prepared for even the most improbable scenarios. The consequences are an enigma, a macabre puzzle that assembles daily.

Iran, after its failed attack in April, does not want more humiliation. The US is trying to bolster deterrence, while Khamenei and Nasrallah know that Israel will retaliate not just proportionally but with the fury of those who have endured too much.

There are rumors of a preventive Israeli strike, especially against Hezbollah. But without international support, the idea is risky. A major preventive strike is implausible, but pinpoint attacks to prevent imminent threats are a real possibility.

Yoav Gallant, our Defense Minister, still believes we should have confronted Hezbollah immediately after the October attack. Netanyahu disagreed. Their relationship is tense, but it is unthinkable that Netanyahu would fire him again, depriving himself of an experienced general at a critical moment, besides being the best option for our egocentric prime minister, blaming potential failures on the next elections.

Meanwhile, the US was furious about not being informed in advance about the elimination of Haniyeh, but I do not believe they were genuinely unaware. Either way, Israel has never hidden its determination to eliminate Hamas leaders wherever they are. Netanyahu insists that weakening Hamas improves the chances of a hostage deal. I believe he does not care about that; he does not want to lose power.

Hamas, with the choice of the “new” political leader, made it clear that there is no difference among its leaders; all are committed to the destruction of Israel.

We enter Av burdened with centuries of pain and the present uncertainty. Our tragedy is that, before October 7, Israel was blind, intoxicated by our arrogance. Jews cannot afford arrogance; our survival instinct must always be on alert, unfortunately. Now, we know that survival demands more than ever from the people of Israel.

The month of Av reminds us that even in the deepest darkness, our flame of hope never extinguishes. We need to survive because we always survive. They chose the wrong people to mess with.