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Ceasefire? There's a war on
Today we mourn our fallen soldiers, but tomorrow we must do what we do best – win this war
Were someone to say three or four weeks ago that Israel would be spending its summer at war, or that this is the way the war would look, he would have been dismissed as a "lunatic," a "prophet of doom," or even a "right-wing warmonger."
But here we are, and the facts are there for all to see: We are at war, and this is the way the war is shaping up.
The shock alongside the pain of yesterday's victims testifies to the anomaly of the current public feeling: Most Israelis, except those who live in the north, have yet to internalize the fact that we are at war.
To them, it is yet another operation, far away, that can't be ended quickly for some reason. God forgive me for the next sentence, but it is true: The victims of this war don't come from Tel Aviv.
Who cares if people in Tzfat and Kiryat Shemoneh , or Arabs in Majdal al-Krum are sitting in bomb shelters? Who even knows where these places are?
In war as in war
History (and perhaps some annoying journalists) will be the judge of whether we were right to fight this war (or why Ehud Barak and Ariel Sharon, two men who not exactly shy about the military, didn't fight it), but at the moment, this is the story: We are at war. It is not an "operation" or a "broad maneuver." It is war.
And in war as in war. The IDF must call up the reserves, the home front must get ready, the market must prepare for a new situation. We must call all our resources, all our physical and mental powers into service, to see this war through to victory.
Today, there is no choice. We must push on through to the end (This sound hysterical? Outrageous? Just wait a few more days).
Crucial meaning
What is the "end"? where does it all end? When Hizbullah has been thoroughly humiliated, and the Lebanese government quietly praises the Israeli liberator.
This operation, maneuver, war, whatever it is, could well have crucial meaning for the future of Israel: This is a war between two cultures. Failure could bring ghosts out of the closet – the entire fundamentalist Islamic world is baring its teeth at the Western world and moderate Arab countries.
It is no coincidence that Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan , the Gulf States have sent their blessings to the IDF. Our failure in northern Israel could influence the fates of Mubarak and other moderate leaders.
Therefore, there is no choice: Israel today is mourning the soldiers killed yesterday, and tomorrow we must do what we do best of all: gather our forces, head out to battle – and win.
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