The Miluimnikim Will Save Us

Over the last months I have been writing that there is a large reservoir of talent that could be tapped to lead the country once the war ends and rebuilding of our unity begins. I have featured cameos of a number of such people. But earlier today, the New York Times published a video documentary of three reservists (the miluimnikim) who are committed to making this goal into a reality.

You can see the video here….

https://tinyurl.com/4d837buz

Following is some background information about each of the three people featured in the video.

Yehuda Lapian is the Community Relations Director for Peace of Mind, a division of Metiv, the Israeli Center for Psychotrauma.

What is Metiv? All Israelis were witness to Hamas’s brutal attack on October 7th. The feeling of shock is profound, and with the country at war, everyone has been affected. As Israel’s leading experts in trauma, Metiv is working around the clock to treat survivors, to support soldiers, parents, teachers, and community members, and to train mental health professionals in trauma treatment.

For a year and a half Yehuda has been working in a unit under Metiv which was established at a time when there was no awareness of trauma in Israeli society, and the campaign to relieve stress from the military experience was thus established immediately after the Second Lebanon War when Israel realized that there were hundreds of fighters returning from the battlefield intact in body but not in mind.  This program invites every group that went through the events of the battle together to enter their website to register and receive much needed psychological support and services (https://peaceofmind.org.il).

Anat Arbel served in the IDF on active duty as an operations officer from 2010-2013 and is now back in uniform as a reservist with the rank of major. She was active in the Pink Movement against the government’s push for judicial reform during the first nine months of 2023. She is a professional criminologist with Israel’s Sphinx Research and Consulting. An outspoken representative of the miluimnikim, she believes strongly that the current government cannot and should not be given the responsibility to make the changes that are necessary after the events of October 7^th and what followed.

Eitan Turgeman is an oral surgeon on the Faculty of Dentistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a reservist who was severely injured and on the verge of death from his service in the Hamas war. Just before heading into battle, someone brought a stack of letters written by children in America for the soldiers. Among the letters, he found one from a girl named Emma Platt that deeply touched him. She wrote, “Thank you for fighting for us. I am davening (praying) for you. Am Yisrael Chai (The nation of Israel lives).”

When he was wounded, he remembered the letter from Emma Platt, which he had folded and kept in his combat vest. The thought of a little girl, Emma Platt, praying for him gave him the determination to survive. During his recovery he had the opportunity to communicate with Emma and in an emotional video call thanked her for giving him the strength to continue to fight. Eitan believes he recovered for a reason and is now one of the leaders of the movement to reinvigorate the spirit of Israel and recapture the incredible unity that was present here on October 8.

These people and their compatriots are out demonstrating each Saturday night even though some go back into uniform on Sunday morning. Nobody knows how this realignment can actually occur, how the government can be changed or even if we were to go to new elections, how to guarantee that the same people will not be re-elected. Nevertheless, many of us have been hearing for months that the miluimnikim will not let the country lapse back to where it was pre-October 7^th.  They deserve our support and encouragement as they have proven their mettle under the worst circumstances, the threat to their very lives.

May the work of their hands be blessed.