04/02/2024
An article I wrote on my way home from America.
January 30, 2024
What can the United States learn from the October 7th attack?
The breach of the IDF's defenses by Hamas terrorists and the horrific massacre of more than 1200 Israelis, with 248 of them kidnapped to the Gaza Strip, is an event that will be talked about for many years to come. Intrinsic to the barbaric attack by Hamas lies the primary essence of the terrorist organization: the destruction of Israel and the annihilation of the Jewish people.
There are also tactical reasons for the timing of the attack, and here are some of them:
The desire to disrupt normalization with Saudi Arabia.
Gaza's eagerness to kill and r**e innocent people at a large, close-to-the-border music festival.
The dilution of Israeli forces around the border.
The understanding that Israeli intelligence failed to identify the threat.
Hamas' belief that Iran would unleash its proxies (foremost Hezbollah in Lebanon) to attack with full force.
These are central reasons and the decision-makers in Gaza likely considered them along with other factors. However, there is another matter to address in this article: Arabs perceived weakness and division within Israeli society believing it was weak like a spider's web (as Hezbollah leader, Nasrallah, tends to describe Israeli society). During the ongoing war, terrorists associated with Hamas and other terror organizations repeatedly questioned why the terrorist organization chose to attack Israel in this way and take such a huge risk in response. A common answer given by those interrogated was: "Because we believed that Israeli society is disintegrating, and it would struggle to respond to our attack."
Hamas' belief that Israeli society was disintegrating played a significant role in the decision to carry out the attack and the horrific massacre. To understand why Hamas thought that Israeli society was weakening, it is essential to understand what happened in Israel in recent years.
Division and polarization have always existed in Israeli society. In fact, contention and disagreement have characterized the Jewish people from the dawn of history. However, in recent years political disputes in Israel have escalated. Politicians and public figures, from the left, right, secular, religious, Arabs and Jews, all participated in spreading toxic communication and unbridled incitement. Social media platforms and algorithms exacerbated division and hatred within Israeli society. Israel's security services also openly spoke about the involvement of hostile countries in amplifying the toxicity of social media networks. People became hesitant to express their opinions. Friendships and partnerships dissolved due to political views and bitter anger. Israelis, as former President Reuven Rivlin aptly described the situation, became like separate tribes. The political instability of recent years in Israel led to a series of repeated inconclusive general elections. Every political campaign was accompanied by waves of intense incitement and hatred. News channels, newspapers, and television programs became dominated by stark black-and-white tones, with each person aligning themselves with one camp or another. Everyone huddled in their tribal camps, firmly believing it was "either with us or against us." Dialogue became scarce.
The year 2023 was the most challenging year in terms of societal division. In January of that year, the most embattled politician in Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, formed a new coalition. Netanyahu, a political genius and a perfect cynic, realized that to survive politically, amidst complex legal proceedings against him, he had to align with the only ones willing to work with him: the ultra-Orthodox parties and the far-right parties, including a party called Jewish Power.
Immediately after the formation of the new government in January 2023, extreme politicians began promoting radical reforms in the judicial system with Netanyahu's full support. These reforms were comprehensive and extreme, and many believed they were intended solely to weaken Israeli democracy for the benefit of Netanyahu and the far-right. Therefore, they generated tremendous antagonism and resistance, even from parts of the right-wing camp. Israelis are not obedient and blind, quite the opposite. Israel was rocked by massive, tumultuous protests throughout 2023. Demonstrators were attacked repeatedly with shouts, curses, spit, and even violence by supporters of the reforms. Israel suffered reputational and economic damage due to these attempted reforms. The country's credit rating was set to decline, and the fear of democracy's collapse led to capital flight from a previously booming economy.
During this challenging year, thousands of Israelis serving in the IDF reserves threatened to stop volunteering for the army and security forces. They did this in protest and anger at a government perceived as undermining Israeli democracy. Senior officers in the military, police, and intelligence services repeatedly warned Netanyahu and his government that their actions were weakening Israel and harming the military. Some of these warnings were made public in the media. The government did not stop. Some reservists followed through on their threat, and the media celebrated the growing rift in Israel. Netanyahu's supporters began calling soldiers and officers who refused to serve "traitors."
And then came October 7th.
True, undoubtedly, the rift within the nation was not the sole reason for the attack, but one cannot ignore what the terrorists clearly stated during their interrogation: Israel appeared divided and weak. To them, it seems like an opportunity to strike.
Today I concluded a three-week lecture tour in the United States. I met with hundreds of good people, Republicans, Democrats, and some who see themselves as Independent. Each side in the United States holds firm and uncompromising positions on issues such as abortion, the economy, religion, immigration, the environment, and more. But both sides, in their own way, told me one identical thing: the United States is polarized as it has never been before. Even in the United States, politics, the media, and social networks are contributing significantly to dividing the people.
In America, everything is bigger. The coffee cup is bigger, the territory is much bigger, and it seems to me that the societal divide is more substantial than the one in Israel. Ask Hamas – when they attacked, all of Israel mobilized immediately for war. The weak society turned out to be an iron fist. However, the damage has already been done, and the massacre on October 7th is a grim fact. It is possible now to draw one clear conclusion for our big sister, America: when we, as a society, allow ourselves to disintegrate into rival factions, we bring war upon ourselves. We said that everything is bigger in America, right? Well, America's enemies are also more substantial. Israel fights against Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, and its proxies. The United States needs to contend not only with Middle East entities, but also with Russia, China, and North Korea. That's a heavyweight league in many respects.
Americans, find ways to talk and collaborate! Do not allow your society to splinter into pieces. Look at yourselves as you looked at us. Weakness and internal division lead to historic disasters."
