The Humiliation of Jews Is the Point

The Hebrew Bible discloses the deed and destiny of the Jewish people, David Ben-Gurion thought. It gave them “an awareness of its origin, its great past, its political, military, cultural, and spiritual struggles with its neighbors, its moral and religious uniqueness, as well as its historical destiny for the future.” Abraham marshalled forces into battle to rescue a hostage, his nephew Lot. When the Israelites were camped at Refidim after escaping Pharaoh’s battalions, they repelled an attack from the Amalekites. Moses led battles against Og and the Amorites and waged a major war against Midian. And that’s all before the children of Israel arrived back in the land of Israel. There, Joshua led campaigns on Jericho and Ai and fought his way throughout the country. Nor did ancient Israel’s military travails cease once it won back its land. Israel’s national history there can be told through its military leaders and warrior-kings: from Deborah and Gideon to Saul and David. War is the way of the world. Peace is the exception: a fragile and blessed reprieve.

The Jewish state is again at war. On October 7, at 6:30 am, Israelis were awoken to rocket fire from Gaza. Soon thereafter, Hamas terrorists breached Israel’s borders by sea, land, and air, occupied over twenty Israeli communities and military bases, murdered hundreds, wounded thousands, and seized hundreds more children, women, and men, who were taken hostage inside of the very territories from which, in 2005, Israel unilaterally withdrew.

There will be time enough in the coming days and weeks to analyze the manifold intelligence and operational failures that allowed for Simḥat Torah of 5784 to become the bloodiest single day in Israeli history. There will likewise be time enough to examine the political consequences of this event for Israel’s military administration and its government. Starting this week, Mosaic will be bringing you reflections from some of the sharpest analysts of Israeli security and Israeli society. They’ll look at the origins and purposes of this attack, the geopolitical ramifications, the role of Israel’s relationship with the United States, and every other critical dimension of this war. Let me begin by sharing, briefly, two observations related to the use of technology and the war.