The untold heroes of this war
It has been over 1,020 days of war, the longest Israel has participated in. Other records have been broken due to the ongoing multi-front conflict. We use statistics and numbers to help us understand what this war has done to us and the cost in different aspects. The most obvious and spoken of is the national budget that has been breached many times since Oct 7th.
The other issue that has the strongest impact on our society is the number of days of reserves, a very sore topic to discuss.
It is no secret that in its structure the army has to rely on a large, experienced, motivated reserve core of men and women. Some reserve Brigades have been called up for the 6th or 7th time during this war, and each deployment is 60 – 100 days, in some cases longer. Many Officers, commanders, professionals, and others have exceeded 600 days. The highest sacrifice any Israeli can make during this time.
There is another 2nd and 3rd circle of those who are sacrificing, but they are almost anonymous. I am referring to the spouses and children; they carry a burden no lighter than those who serve. According to the national security, 43% of reservists are married, and 37% of reservists have children under the age of 18. According to a study done by the Knesset, over 100k spouses were left behind on Oct 7th. 97k were wives.
Let’s look beyond the numbers- the reality has a lot of hardships no one knows except those who share it. When the average Israelis introduce themselves, one thing that is mostly discussed is the nature of service. A very acceptable way to size someone. In the dating world, today more than ever, it is taken very seriously. The spouses of those who serve had no idea they would be single parents for 2.5 years, run a household, keep a full-time job, and pretend that life is stable and everything is fine, when it really isn’t. Children have tremendous setbacks in school, textbook regression, and severe abandonment issues. All of these are at the altar of serving and defending the country. And we haven’t even talked about the long-term effects of this war.
The impression readers from outside of Israel should have isn’t the glorification of the tens of thousands that show up for reserves. But those who enable us to do so. Spouses, Children, grandparents, and entire communities that share this greater burden are the real heroes. The daily struggles are real, present, and immense, far from being over, and we can’t look the other way while dealing with the hardships of this war.
