by Seven IDF Reservists
Some reservists are sure about where this war is headed; others are unsure. But they're all absolutely sure of their duty to keep serving.
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We seven reservists, ranging in age from 23 to 65, men and women, have together served nearly 2,000 days since October 7. We repudiate those few, but well-publicized, reservists who have taken to The New York Times and other publications vowing not to serve – which means to abandon their comrades now in the field.
Three of us are mobilized now. One of us, “V.,” will return to duty soon – on crutches, in week five of a six-week walking ban to heal a broken foot. We represent most reservists, Left to Right, religious and secular, who keep showing up to protect our country – and watch each others’ backs.
Some serving with us are sure about where this war is headed; others are unsure. But we’re all absolutely sure of our duty to keep serving.
Since October 7, we have buried dozens of friends. “Y.,” 28, approaching day 400, who says “I don’t see myself as a man of war, I’d rather hike in nature with a ukulele,” was fourth in his chain of command. His three commanders have fallen, two Druze heroes and a medical student who only wanted to save humanity but first had to save his country.
The stakes involved for reservists
We know the stakes involved in continuing to fight.
We repudiate the illegal, immoral, pile-on against Israel, during this seven-front war for our existence, continuing 100-year-war against Zionism.
Defending the State of Israel, the Jewish people, and Western civilization against these jihadists is the only way we can survive.
V. finds it “belittling when people call this ‘Bibi’s War’ as if we’re fighting for the ‘king.’ I might see things differently, but I’m not going to war for Netanyahu or anyone politician. I’m going to war for those slaughtered on October 7, for the people in the South and the North, and for our future.”
“A.,” a 65-year-old lawyer volunteering to spend the Jewish holidays away from family, explains that anyone denying the annihilationist threats we face remains stuck in “October 6” thinking – forgetting how close Israel came to destruction.
A. fought bureaucrats stubbornly to return to duty, having aged out in 2004. Disturbed by the disproportionate military burden a minority carries, A. says that “If my volunteering can help those who have served hundreds of days serve 10, 20, 30 days less a year, I’ve done my share. It’s simple. The army needs soldiers. It’s not about politics. We must strengthen the army now, not weaken it.”
Similarly, “L.,” a 54-year-old government official and brigade commander completing his 524st day, explains that “defending the State of Israel and the Jewish people is our foundational mission, given our enemies. Without an adequate defense, there is no state – and without all of us called reporting for duty, there is no defense.”
He adds: “My grandparents who were murdered in the Holocaust would never have imagined that we would have a state and that their grandson would be privileged to defend it.”
Acknowledging the complexity
As civilians, we debate the searing choices Israel faces militarily, politically, and diplomatically. It’s too easy to judge from afar, without acknowledging the hard decisions of today – intended to prevent much harder decisions tomorrow – and the catastrophic outcomes we saw on October 7.We understand that the Zionist rebirth of the people of Israel in its land is a long process transcending this war or that challenge; this or that prime minister.
We criticize this government – which some of us voted for; others didn’t.
L. remembers patrolling near Jenin years ago. “I oppose serving in the West Bank,” his commander, an unapologetic left-winger, proclaimed. “But I serve here proudly because it’s part of the unwritten contract uniting us all.”
Having watched this war up close, none of us believes Hamas will ever release all the hostages willingly – these terrorists keep leveraging our fellow Israelis’ suffering to divide our country and somehow defame us worldwide too.
If we stop fighting now, Hamas will declare victory. Arab states considering expanding the Abraham Accords will spurn what they perceive to be a weak Israel. Even worse, we will be forced to fight again soon. We take Hamas’s vow to replicate October 7 very seriously.
Two of us are lawyers and one, a law student. We understand the laws of war and the impossible choices that urban warfare entails. We’ve fought this four-dimensional war – underground, above-ground, in the air, and online. “Proportionality” in war doesn’t mean balancing one side’s suffering with the other. It asks whether targets are legitimate military aims.
The threat of terrorism
We’ve seen terrorists pop out from closets, not just from hidden tunnel shafts. We’ve had necessary military operations aborted abruptly to avoid killing civilians. That’s why we reject “war crime” accusations and the “genocide” libel.The terror tunnels of Hamas – and Hezbollah – prove that Israel hasn’t bombed Gaza wantonly. Our commanders keep choosing between destroying the enemy’s infrastructure and risking our lives. We buried a 23-year-old newlywed whom a Hamas sniper killed because the army didn’t collapse a six-storey building. So, while critics judge us by standards no democratic army meets, as we salute Israel’s moral compass, we wonder how many friends we’ve lost by constantly warning terrorists before attacking.
Since the war began, the international chorus keeps shrieking “ceasefire,” sure that continuing the war is futile. However, morale among many fellow soldiers remains high because we keep seeing, month to month, since October 7, a safer Israel – and world.
Y., the 28-year-old captain commanding 30 tank corps reservists, adds: “I grew up with thunder clouds over my head, knowing that any day Iran’s mullahs would keep to their promise and destroy us. I grew up hearing Nasrallah’s threats that Haifa would be destroyed. I grew up knowing Hamas’s end game is to destroy the Jewish state, which they never hid.” Today, residents, even international hi-tech companies, are returning to a safer North. Together, we’ve reduced those threats dramatically, without yet eliminating them.
Yes, we’re tired, aching to return to normal. Yet we know that a just war like World War II didn’t end until the evil instigators surrendered unconditionally.
We take pride in our comrades, our commanders, our army, and our people. Our generation has proven itself. We will continue fighting when necessary, while enjoying and building a better world always.
So we serve as Zionists, appreciating that it’s our responsibility and privilege. Our persecuted ancestors would marvel at our uniforms and our little democratic Jewish state’s achievements.
We serve because we recognize the lethal threats to our nation. We serve because if we don’t do it, no one else will. We serve for our comrades in arms because we need each other.
And we serve for our children – and our shared future.
A., D., J., L., R., V., and Y. are all IDF reservists who have served hundreds of days since October 7 – and before.
Seven IDF Reservists
Source: https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-867644
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