An Eyewitness Log

by Justine Hemmestad

The Leader

10-26

ABC News reports that half the battle, for Israel, is the PR campaign, and Jerusalem resident and Army reservist, Itamar Ben David says the same thing. A tour guide by profession, Itamar is first and foremost a teacher. In fact, he’s been a teacher since his “gap year” before college, when he taught English, Arabic, and Math at the Negev desert in the south of Israel with the Bedouin community. He says that Jews are volunteering any way they can. Their solidarity is re-affirming for the entire population of Israel. He says there’s a wide diversity of people donating blood, including the ultra-orthodox community. Itamar says, “Our destiny is to always have to protect ourselves.” Then he adds, “There is a breach of trust between Israeli citizens and the government. People are angry - citizens need to know that the people in power aren’t dictators.” He, like all other Israeli citizens at this time, only trusts his fellow citizens, not the government. He says that there’s a lot of criticism of the government, and citizen anger is “massive.” Itamar grew up with the threats from surrounding powers. He knows that Israel is bullied militarily. Jews even expect to be accused of internet crimes. Why? The shared enemy of the entire region is Israel, and there is resentment for the fact that they cannot control Israel. Ben David says he’s confused about the timing of the attack, but he feels like the “long arms of Iran” are around it. Additionally, he says of Hamas, “We cannot be naive.” He says Able was murdered by Cain because he was naive. Itamar also says that ultimately the war is “a clash between two collectives,” and not about who is right and who is wrong. 10/19 Itamar tells how people across Israel are participating in Shiva (Jewish seven day period of mourning). He also makes a point to say that, “No person will be alone in his grief.” He says that, “People are resonating with the Holocaust,” since 1300 people were killed in a single day in the worst attack on Jewish people since the Holocaust. Not all of those killed can be buried because their bodies can’t be identified, as many were mutilated beyond recognition. Itamar shared a saying on social media that speaks a great truth to Jews in this time: “In Gaza there’s no water to bathe children. In Kibbutz Be’eri there are no children to bathe.” Then Itamar continues to say that the reserve army is crucial in Israel. Truly, Israel cannot have a big enough army for all the threats against it, as the burden of security on Israel is great. In addition, Itamar says the government of Israel “doesn’t function well.” Citizens themselves are helping in emergency services, and many Israelis are blaming their government. Years of Netenyahu power “collapsed in one day.”. Israel “knows the danger of judicial reform and that’s why we protest against the government,” he says. Itamar is “center-right” in his politics though he makes the point that Israeli politics are very different from American politics, in that there is a lot of nuance involved. Ben David can be for reform himself, but not at the cost of a weakened Israel. He says that judicial reform was tearing the society apart, since the government was neglecting every other aspect of life. Israel’s government has been so laser focused on reform that nepotism has grown out of it. People who are not qualified have been awarded positions in government, and because of that, Itamar says, “we see the collapse of the government in real time. There is a tectonic shift occurring right now in politics.” Itamar says that Netenyahu and his supporters were skipping over the danger that Hamas presented, and were instead looking at Hamas as a negotiation point. They used funds to “buy quiet” from Hamas, which was money that ultimately went to terror. The people of Israel feel like the government has betrayed them. Additionally, Netenyahu broke with the policy of having bipartisan support from America, as he was courting the Republicans while ignoring the Democrats. Netenyahu got reelected by avoiding crisis and kicking the can down the road. There was an over-reliance on the airforce and intelligence, and not enough attention was paid to the infantry, which was “a mistake,” Itamar says. When there’s no one on the ground, “it will be a failure.” In regard to the wall in Gaza, he says that from a military perspective, “a line of defense will always be breached,” and indeed it was. Israel needed the forces on the ground. Itamar says there’s a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, though many people in Israel are frustrated by such media focus when Hamas is still holding Israeli hostages. He specifies that one of the hostages is a three year old girl named Abigail, who is by herself in Gaza. He asserts that Israel does not want a body count, but rather, the war is about “fighting evil and making the world safe,” i.e. “preventing terrorists.” Itamar shares that the Hebrew word for vengeance is naqam, which in its purest sense means justice, not a negative emotion. Itamar learned that his beloved friend Hagit Refa’eli, who had been kidnapped by Hamas and whose picture we posted on facebook, was found dead at the end of last week. He just went to her funeral on Sunday