Together, We Will Win

September 9, 2024

by: Rolene Marks

This month, we are at the one-year anniversary since the Hamas invasion on October 7.  One year. How does one capture a year of trauma, loss, agony, miracles, triumphs, tragedies, anger, sorrow and just about every other emotion you can think of?

On October 7, Hamas invaded our country. Make no mistake, this wasn’t just a mere terror attack. This was a full-scale invasion. We are all familiar with the horror stories of that day: the murders in their grotesque and depraved magnitude; the mutilation; the rapes and gender-based violence; the torture; and the kidnapping. And as we still have young women and girls held captive a year later, we fear the worst. I don’t need to explain in detail what our fears are.

It has been a year of profound devastation, but also of exceptional resilience and heroism. Over the past year, we have lived Naomi Shemer’s iconic song, Al Kol Eleh, which highlights the profound polar opposites we often experience simultaneously in life, like the bitter side-by-side with the sweet, the honey or dvash alongside the sting or oketz. That is what we are living every single day in Israel.

I know many outside Israel look at us and see a nation so resilient, a nation that puts one foot in front of the other and simply carries on. You see us on the beaches and going to the mall, carrying on with our day-to-day business. But the truth is, if we were to stop moving, we’d fall apart.

The truth is that for every Israeli, it is still October 7. It does not matter how many days have passed since that Black Shabbat, for Israelis, every day is October 7. The trauma is still very real. It is impossible to speak about something post traumatic, because we are still dealing with the magnitude of the trauma of October 7. So if you scratch under the surface of this incredibly resilient looking country, you will find a nation deep in grief. All you have to do is look in our eyes and you will see that deep sorrow.

Many of us have husbands, colleagues, sons or brothers fighting in Gaza or fighting in the north, fighting for our very survival. Many of us are taking on the workloads of multiple colleagues because we’ve lost them to the front. Every single one of us have felt the hands of death, whether it is losing people who were murdered on October 7 or who fell in defense of the State of Israel. Each and every one of us know at least one person who is held hostage in the Gaza Strip. That makes it a very personal war.

The alarming rise of anti-Semitism is strikingly evident in the international media, city streets, university campuses and social media. October 7 seemed to have triggered a tsunami of hatred. We thought the world understood and empathized with us, but we weren’t even given 24 hours grace to mourn. We weren’t even given 24 hours grace for empathy or sympathy before the celebrations and the denial began. I believe it takes a special kind of personality that is completely enslaved by hatred to witness the most well-documented massacre in human history and to respond to the atrocities with celebration or denial—or a combination of both.

The world’s reaction has woken Israelis up to a new reality. We received the message loud and clear from the international community that despite our trauma and despite everything we’ve gone through, they still are not on our side. It has made us extremely strong and resilient, because to be strong and resilient is to be victorious. However, it has also been a massive punch to our gut and a smack to our souls. We came to the realization that we are very much alone.

That being said, I want to thank you, our Christian brothers and sisters, for your support. As we’ve moved through this year, you’ve literally held us up on your shoulders with your love and support. Yes, we are strong and resilient, but we can’t be strong and resilient all the time. Like a vase, Israel and the Jewish people have been thrown to the floor. We were broken, but the broken pieces were picked up and put back together. We might appear to be fixed, but we will never be the same again. Like the magnificent Iron Dome defense array protecting the skies over Israel, your prayers and support provide the spiritual Iron Dome resting over our nation.

A year of betrayal, a year of our loved ones fighting and our loved ones dying and a year of our brothersand sisters being held hostage in unbearable conditions has birthed a new Israeli. It is an Israel that is fiercely patriotic, regardless of where you sit on the political spectrum. It is an Israel that could not be more proud of its younger generation. Our young people have known pain and heartbreak. Many of them have lost friends and peers fighting for their country or during the massacre. But while so many others around the world are looking for their safe space or addicted to TikTok, young Israelis have risen to the challenge. They did not wait to be called up. They heeded the call the moment the rockets and the bullets started flying. They came from all around the world and they understood the mission without being told. This generation of young Israelis are like their grandparents before them who fought the War of Independence. Now they are fighting our second War of Independence. They have shown up magnificently. They run toward the danger and they do that with pride. They do that with their blue and white flag waving proudly.

It’s not only our youth though. Every person in this country knows what our mission is, whether it’s me speaking in the media, somebody visiting the sick, raising money, comforting the widows or doing whatever they need to do, every single one of us in Israel has a mission. The Israeli, the Jew that has been born one year after October 7 has a stronger sense of identity. We know how to deal with the honey and the sting, the dvash and the oketz. We’ve flexed our resilience muscles like it’s never been flexed before. One year on, we know, despite the trauma and the sorrow that is still part of every day, despite the anti-Semitism and the accusations coming against us, yachad nenatzeach. Together, we will win.

Rolene Marks is a freelance journalist and broadcaster, who features frequently on international radio and television. Her articles appear in numerous global publications and she is a sought-after key note speaker. Marks is the owner of Rolene Marks Consulting, specializing in media, public relations, consulting on Jewish and Israel-related issues as well as media training with both local and international clients.

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