A time of miracles

Israel and Lebanon agreed to a ceasefire. It sounds like incredible news, but is it really? How do we ensure that Hezbollah stops its war with Israel when it wasn’t party to the agreement? Is it really a ceasefire or more like a pause? These are just a couple of the many questions being bandied around, and Israelis have yet to be able to move home to the north of Israel. There’s no doubt they are champing at the bit to be able to go home, back to their real lives, lives they loved living but haven’t been able to for more than a year because of the war. In this edition, two experts, Dr Dan Diker (on this page) and Dr David Brock Katz (on page 4), unpack what the ceasefire means. They give their opinion on how we can see this politically, whether it’s a step towards ending the war, and what it means militarily.

My heart goes out to up to 80 000 people who were displaced from their homes in the north of Israel, who have for too long squeezed into rooms in places they don’t want to be. Their lives have been on hold for more than a year, and now moving back home has placed like a delicious piece of cheesecake in front of them, but just out of reach, so they can’t quite get their hands on it to take a bite and savour the taste. They can just stare at it, salivating and waiting until they are given the all clear. Who knows how long that will take.

They are displaced Israelis who have going home in their sights, but those taken from their homes down south near the Gaza border still have no end in sight. There were as many as 150 000 Israelis originally displaced down south, and many of those lost their homes on 7 October 2023 at the hands of marauding Hamas terrorists.

What I find fascinating is that we’re constantly hearing and reading about the thousands and thousands of people in Gaza who have been displaced. Their situation is horrific and untenable. No innocent people should have to live through that. I totally get it. However, how come we hear about them all the time, but only read about the 200 000 to 250 000 Israelis displaced in this war in Israeli and Jewish media? Surely, their lives also matter, and being displaced in war matters whoever you are?

My main point here, though, isn’t about discrepancies and bias, it’s actually about miracles and things moving in the right direction.

I believe – despite all the doomsayers – that the ceasefire agreement is a wonderful sign. I believe it’s an indication that the end of the war is in sight.

You may wonder how I can say that and what evidence I have. I leave that to the experts, but I choose to believe that this is the first good news, perhaps a little miracle, and others will follow.

You see, the fact that there’s any agreement means that those involved in negotiations are finally gatvol of this war, and are determined to find solutions. The truth is that the war up north on the border with Lebanon has a slightly less complicated scenario because there are no hostages involved.

No matter what’s included in the proposed agreements over Gaza, Israel cannot accept anything that doesn’t include handing back every Israeli hostage. It’s impossible to even consider anything without their inclusion. And while there are many who would like to ignore their plight, Israel cannot and will not. Israelis would never stand for that.

When Hamas released a video this week of Edan Alexander, the 20-year-old Israeli-American soldier who was captured on 7 October 2023, it brought the plight of the hostages back to centre stage. As horrific as it was to see the now gaunt and sickly-looking young man and hear his desperate pleas, it was proof of life. It means that he and other hostages can still be brought home alive. It means the fight to bring them home must continue relentlessly, and must draw to a close fast. As long we know that there’s one hostage alive, there’s the possibility there could be as many as 100 still alive.

Also, although the families and loved ones of hostages keep on protesting and putting out their message, the world forgets fast. So, although Hamas’s intention was to terrorise Israelis and their families, it brought the hostages back into the limelight. And that’s good.

When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to Edan’s family, he said that the time was ripe in the negotiations for cementing the agreement to end the war and bring home the hostages. He told the Alexanders that this is more possible now than it ever was before because of the ceasefire agreement with Lebanon.

Cynics might say that he said that just to placate Edan’s devastated parents, but I hope that isn’t true. I hope that before South Africa shuts down for the holidays, the hostages are brought home. I pray that the surviving hostages can celebrate Chanukah, the festival of light and miracles, with their families and loved ones. Here’s hoping that, as we wind down towards our holidays, the negotiations intensify and solutions are found to end the war.

At this point, we’re all tired and ready for the working year to close. We all need the break that’s just a short stretch away from us.

This has been a long and tough year for Israel, the Jewish world, and the South African Jewish community. It’s time for some lightness, love, and kindness. It’s time for us to celebrate some miracles coming our way.

Shabbat Shalom!

Peta Krost

Editor