ByMOSHE DANN
Updated:

Simultaneously, Israel is fighting many wars, in addition to the main one with Hamas. For both Israelis and Palestinians, it’s a war of self-definition.

It’s also a war in which civilians and terrorists in Gaza are intermingled and use an extensive tunnel system to attack and hold hostages. It’s a war that has become a political football, a humanitarian crisis, and a source of anti-Israel sentiment. And it’s a war that feeds off other wars.

Israel is also fighting an ongoing war with Iran and its other proxies – Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen – as well as terrorist organizations, such as al-Qaeda, ISIS, etc. For Palestinians – the PA/PLO and Hamas – the war is a precedent.

The war is also against many countries that have turned against Israel and support Hamas and Palestinians. It’s a war that involves the international community, especially the United Nations, which operates agencies, such as UNRWA, that are affiliated with Hamas and other terrorist organizations, and with the UN’s judicial organizations, the ICJ and ICC.

It’s a war about the “two-state solution” (2SS) and the recognition of “Palestine” – which was promoted in the Oslo Accords (1993 and 1995) – attempts to appease PLO leader Yasser Arafat; the Second Intifada (2001-2005), carried out primarily by suicide bombers; and the Disengagement (2005): the evacuation of all Jews from Gaza and the destruction of all Jewish communities there, as well as four communities in Judea and Samaria (the “West Bank”) – and anticipating future withdrawals and more evacuations.

YITZHAK RABIN and Yasser Arafat shake hands, as Bill Clinton looks on, after the signing of an Israel-PLO accord in 1993 at the White House. From the 1990s, Israel consistently demonstrated conciliatory instincts and restraint, but its neighbors interpreted this as weakness, says the writer.
YITZHAK RABIN and Yasser Arafat shake hands, as Bill Clinton looks on, after the signing of an Israel-PLO accord in 1993 at the White House. From the 1990s, Israel consistently demonstrated conciliatory instincts and restraint, but its neighbors interpreted this as weakness, says the writer. (credit: GARY HERSHORN/REUTERS)

It’s a war about Israel’s “occupation of Palestinian territory” (OPT) in the 1967 Six Day War – the Gaza Strip and Judea and Samaria, including east Jerusalem – and Jewish communities (“settlements”) in areas conquered by the IDF. Most contentious is the question of what to do with Arabs who live there.

It’s a war with Muslim countries and organizations that support Hamas directly, such as Qatar, those that support Hamas indirectly, and anti-Israel Islamic organizations, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, the parent of Hamas.

It’s a civil war between those who support sovereignty in Judea and Samaria and those who don’t and are opposed. It’s a war between religious and secular Jews. And, it’s a war about the participation of the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) community’s presence and absence in the IDF. It’s a war, therefore, about all of Israeli society and its national identity.

Netanyahu's political future

For Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, it’s a war that will determine his political future. For his enemies, losing the war will help defeat him, led by “the opposition.” It’s a war for Israel’s soul, to prove that it can and will defend itself. For Israel’s enemies, they seek to prevent Israel from winning in any way.

Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza, therefore, is a test for where the only Jewish state is going, its future, and its application of sovereignty. Fundamentally, it’s a war about the meaning of Zionism.

Hamas’s attack on October 7 was a wake-up call for Israelis about many dangers that confront us. First and foremost is the failure of Israel’s political, military, and security leadership to understand Hamas’s preparations for war and to heed the signs and warnings of an attack. Second, it exposed the 2SS trap to lure Israel into accepting a terrorist-controlled Palestinian state, and the true meaning of Palestinianism. Finally, it revealed that this is not a war over territory – it’s a “holy war” that Islamists have declared to destroy Israel.

This multifaceted war, therefore, is frustrating and challenging because it includes many elements that are related to Israel as a society. With many divisions and differences, Israel is, in fact, not one society, but many, with conflicting perspectives and agendas. Although defeating Hamas is our primary goal, it is not the only one. We are fragmented; we are both at home and in exile.

The war in Gaza is a microcosm of a much larger and more complex world in which we are part, and more and more alone. That paradox is our destiny, as Jews, and our purpose as a people/nation. We are idealists and we are pragmatic realists. We will not only survive; we will endure and continue to be “a light unto the nations.”

The writer is a PhD historian, writer, and journalist.