In a divided country like Israel there are not too many events that can bring all people from all walks of life into the same jubilant emotions at the same time. The news of the successful rescue operation of the 4 hostages in Gaza on Saturday noon, was one of those rare occasions. Triumphant celebrations erupted spontaneously as Israelis were crying tears of joy upon hearing that the 4 hostages, including Noa Argamani who had become a symbol of the hostages, were rescued, unharmed and well.
This is a moment demonstrating the essence of “Israelism” which will forever be etched in Israel’s collective memory. Israelis’ hope that despite everything, we will win and get our kidnapped members of our families back home and celebrate life with them. This is a feeling that is undergirding our political conscience.
The sight of news anchors holding their tears back as they announce the return of the hostages, seeing political leaders who cannot hold back their excitement upon hearing the news are just prime examples of this “Israelism”.
This boost for morale has also important strategic implications for the remainder of the war. Israel’s internal legitimacy for continuing to pursue the war and apply military pressure on Hamas as a means to rescue the hostages has been waning over time with demands from the hostages’ families and the political Left to accept a hostage deal at all costs would in essence mean capitulation to Hamas.
The IDF proved that it through meticulous preparation, precise intelligence and stellar operational capabilities, it is possible to go right into the hornet’s nest and extract the hostages. This is Israel’s modern Entebbe Operation – daring, bold, courageous, and performed in a way that the wildest Hollywood screenwriters would not imagine.
This successful operation injected a boost of confidence to the Israeli public, reminding them what the war is fought for and more importantly that through sheer determination and resolve it can be won. This morale boost has also strategic benefits as it buys the government more public credit. Wars are long and often public sentiment is very short sighted which can make the pursue of a long-term goal without short term more difficult as public pressure can mount more quickly than public “wins”. This operation also highlighted in the international media shows the immediate benefits from applying military pressure on Hamas and releasing the hostages, providing Israel PR win which could be translated into more international credit to pursue the war.
Amidst, an atmosphere of defeatism within Israeli military ranks, the mainstream media, and pundits who call upon Israel to accept its defeat and cut its “loses”, encouraging the belief in Israel’s ability to achieve its goals- defeating Hamas as a military and governing body and releasing the hostages, is the best way to increase the likelihood that these goals would be achieved.
Through changing the public’s beliefs about the feasibility of achieving the war objectives, despite the enormous difficulties and pressure against Israel, the public would be able to tolerate more hardships in the short term in order to achieve the strategic long-term goals in Gaza which have implications for generations to come.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the movement
