Yom Kippur reflections: Atonement in a post-October 7 Israel - opinion

Forty-five minutes before the beginning of Yom Kippur, I received the following SMS (in Hebrew): “Every morning your grandfather used to put on tefillin. He was not a foolish man. Do you want to try putting them on? A taste?”

I responded: “You idiot, I am a woman, and my grandfather stopped putting on tefillin when he was a young man.” In fact, my maternal grandfather – an orange grower in Rehovot and a wise man who continued to go to synagogue every Saturday morning until he died in 1952 – led a secular lifestyle, and all his offspring have remained secular till today.

I resent strangers attempting to interfere with what we believe, and how we live our lives as secular Jews – especially on the eve of Yom Kippur.

As a secular person, I do not fast on Yom Kippur but I do spend the day taking stock of what occurred in the past year, while considering whether there is anything I did that I should atone for, and whether I feel there is anything I wish that my kin, friends, foes, and leaders should atone for.

This year, my thoughts were focused on the awful year we have experienced since October 7, 2023. From the start, I knew that we must hit back with all our force, in a way that will not leave Hamas with any doubt that it had failed to gain anything from its brutal, criminal, and atrocious attack on our territory and against our civilian population, while enduring a fatal blow at our hands.

I also had no doubts that both the military and political levels in Israel would have to account for their horrific failure to foresee what was about to happen, despite warnings – especially the reported real-time warnings of the all-female IDF field observation team along the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip. These reports were ignored. 

While many of the young women involved paid with their lives, and/or through abduction to the Gaza Strip, as far as we know, none of the IDF commanders who failed to pay heed to their warnings has been removed.

Though it would have been complete folly to force all those accountable to pay their debt and either resign or be removed from office while Israel was busy getting its act together (as it thankfully did), it has become more difficult to justify their failing to do so 12 months later.

A refusal to take accountability 

In particular, the continued refusal of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept and admit that he is in any way responsible for the catastrophe of October 7, or to apologize to us for it, is difficult to fathom. 

Undoubtedly, he will not be able to escape responsibility for what has happened since that day, for better or worse.

OUR MASSIVE land attack against Hamas in Gaza 20 days after October 7, with the goal of ousting the terrorist organization from power and obliterating it militarily, and returning peace and security to our border, is something that cannot but be supported full-heartedly. 

Likewise with regard to Israel’s cooperation with the international humanitarian aid operation for over two million Gazan civilian inhabitants.

A worrying reality 

The fact that so far Israel has not managed to stop Hamas from laying its hands on much of this aid before it reaches its civilian destination, or to set up some sort of alternative administration to run the Gaza Strip after Hamas is completely beaten, is worrying.

It is especially worrying since it looks like it will be an overstretched IDF that will end up having to do the thankless job – including coping with the massive (perhaps excessive) destruction and death toll we ourselves caused.

As for the hostages – 87 Jews, nine Southeast Asians, four Arab Israelis, and one African, who were abducted on October 7, about half of whom are apparently no longer alive – it is becoming increasingly difficult to support Netanyahu’s fickle attitude toward them and their families. 

The cruel dilemma is whether the Jewish command of “redemption of captives,” which has always been considered one of the foundations of the Israeli principle of solidarity, must come before any other consideration.

It took Israel almost a year to initiate a well-coordinated attack on Hezbollah forces in southern Lebanon and Beirut, following many months of rocket, missile, and drone attacks on Israel’s North and the evacuation of 60,000 inhabitants from the borderline. 

Since initiating a more massive reaction in the second half of September, Israel has won numerous brilliant tactical victories, while there is as yet no clear strategic goal in sight.

In a certain sense, this is also the situation with Iran, against which Israel is expected to launch an attack any day now in reaction to the 181 ballistic missiles fired at Israel on October 1.

Israel is operating under various constraints that the US has tried to impose on it, resulting from the latter’s desire to avoid a general regional war, and its approaching elections. 

Netanyahu has resisted some of this American pressure, even though Israel is heavily dependent on US backing. The results of the American elections will undoubtedly have an effect on the ultimate results of this war.

No one is a prophet, and none of us knows how the current conflagration will end. All who are critical of at least part of the moves Netanyahu has approved since October 7 might still have to admit that we were wrong.

Perhaps there will be a change of regime in Iran. Perhaps the Lebanese will manage to oust Hezbollah from its dominant position in their government. 

Perhaps a satisfactory administration will emerge in the Gaza Strip, especially if Israel manages to lay its hands on Yahya Sinwar. Perhaps the 101 hostages will somehow be released before they all perish. 

If even part of this will happen, Netanyahu will undoubtedly emerge as an unquestioned hero.

The writer worked in the Knesset for many years as a researcher and has published both journalistic and academic articles on current affairs and Israeli politics. Her most recent book, Israel’s Knesset Members – A Comparative Study of an Undefined Job, was published by Routledge.