In ordinary years, the IDF marks Independence Day with an impressive air show over the country\u2019s skies. In the past three years, however, that festive flyover has been canceled because of the war. During this period, the \u201cair show\u201d has effectively moved beyond Israel\u2019s borders, from Tehran to Yemen. Instead of breathtaking aerobatics and colorful smoke trails once a year, the Air Force now deploys formidable power on a daily basis, sending gray plumes of smoke billowing over enemy states.<\/p>\n
This transition from the ceremonial and celebratory to the operational reflects the transformation in Israeli life over these years. Civil society, once relatively complacent and largely preoccupied with individual concerns, has become activated and determined, focused above all on national concerns, in and out of the IDF uniform.<\/p>\n
Borders that once seemed relatively stable have become fluid: in the south (the yellow line in Gaza), in the east (beyond the separation line in Syria), and in the north (the anti-tank line in Lebanon). The existential security of Jews in the Jewish state \u2013 the greatest achievement of Zionism \u2013 has been shaken in these last few years. But it has also become clear that our younger generation is prepared to do whatever is required, at immense personal sacrifice, to restore it. The spider web Nasrallah once imagined turned out to be a web of Israeli steel.<\/p>\n
On the state\u2019s 78th Independence Day, we should assess this new reality \u2013 both its darkness and its light \u2013 across four spheres: the international, the national, the regional, and the domestic.<\/p>\n
In the international sphere, activity has been seismic. On the one hand, entering battle side by side with the U.S. military against the greatest of our enemies is not only an extraordinary practical force multiplier; it is also a resounding exclamation mark attesting to Israel\u2019s unique global standing, operating in unprecedented coordination with the world\u2019s most powerful leader.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, Israel has never been so isolated from \u201cthe rest of the world.\u201d Alongside widespread criticism of the way Israel has wielded force in the war, a noxious ferment is spreading that challenges the very legitimacy of Israel\u2019s existence and of the Zionist idea itself. Especially grave and troubling is the declining value of the Israeli brand in American public opinion, among Democrats, and among the younger American generation as a whole. We must marshal all our resources to reverse this ominous trend.<\/p>\n
The same is true in the national sphere, which includes Diaspora Jewry. The golden age that followed the Second World War, when Jews were largely free from antisemitic attacks, is gone. This ancient, inexplicable disease has reared its vile head once again, and the immune systems against racism of many societies in the West, especially in Europe, are having difficulty coping with it.<\/p>\n
The Jewish state must mobilize to fight antisemitism in the Diaspora while at the same time preparing itself for the mass absorption of new immigrants, much as it did in the 1990s with Soviet Jewry. Alongside the unfolding tragedy, an opportunity is emerging for a far-reaching demographic renewal of Israeli society.<\/p>\n
In the regional sphere, Israeli position has improved dramatically. True, many of the war\u2019s declared goals \u2013 exaggerated and unrealistic from the outset \u2013 have not been achieved. But there is no doubt that the balance of power vis-\u00e0-vis our neighbors, near and far, tilts more in our favor today than at any point in the past generation.<\/p>\n
Israeli deterrence has been restored, the destructive capacity of our enemies has been massively eroded, and Israel has internalized the necessity of adopting a proactive, uncompromising posture in the face of threats. Still, we must translate these achievements into the diplomatic arena. Israel\u2019s supreme interest does not lie in the conquest of security zones, but in the creation of reliable security arrangements through diplomatic means. If these mature into peace agreements, a better future may yet dawn in the international and national spheres as well \u2013 at least among those not afflicted by antisemitism.<\/p>\n
And finally, in the domestic sphere, the fierce tug-of-war among Israel\u2019s identity groups continues unabated. The extremists in every camp have taken off the gloves, and blows are now being exchanged directly, with escalating rhetoric and a growing practical willingness to test the limits of what Israeli society can bear. Sometimes it feels that Israel is like a carob tree that appears solid from the outside but is being eaten away from within by the termites \u2013 the extremists.<\/p>\n
And yet it seems that the Israeli majority is repulsed by these extremists but is paralyzed in fighting them. I believe that in order to open the way for recovery, we must, as a first step, have a broad social agreement regarding how we manage disagreements within our society. Israel needs a constitutional framework that would define the rules of the game for governance \u2013 a \u201cThin Constitution.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Independence Day, let us acknowledge both the bitter and the sweet in each sphere of Israeli existence, look them squarely in the eye, and pray: \u201cFor all of these, keep watch for me, my good God\u2026 restore me, and I shall return to the good land\u201d (Naomi Shemer).<\/p>\n
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