The War of Restoration

A war of annihilation was imposed on us, and we are responding with a war of rebirth.

ANJULI PANDAVAR |

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to the nation at the close of the High Holidays, on 27 October 2024, was a speech to pull what has been a fractured nation together, to give voice to all the pain, to acknowledge the sacrifices, and articulate the accomplishments. It gave love, strength, inspiration and determination. To everyone.

Honourable President of the State, Isaac Herzog and his wife Michal, Speaker of the Knesser, Amir Ohana, Acting President of the Supreme Court, Justice Isaac Amit, Minister of Defence, Yoav Gallant, Ministers and dozens of Members of Knesset, Chief of Staff, Herzi Halevi, The Head of Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, Commissioner of Police, Chief Commissioner Daniel Levy, Representatives of various memorial organisations, and esteemed guests, many who, on the advice of the President, I won’t list everyone, but above all, the families of the hostages, and my brothers and sisters of the bereaved families, relatives of our heroes, the fallen of the struggle.

My wife and I visited many families, and we stood in awe [of] those family members whose lives have changed in an instant, and will never return to what they were. We sometimes stood before the bravery of the fallen, before the resilience of the families, their endurance in indescribable suffering, in grief and in a void that cannot be described.

We are in the midst of a prolonged and difficult existential war. A war that exacts painful prices from us. We are currently awaiting the final clarification of the event that took place this morning in the Glilot area. We are all praying for the recovery of the injured. And we are all, all of us, determined to continue the fight against those who seek to harm us. We will continue to pursue the murderers and their dispatchers to the very end. “I will pursue my enemies and overtake them. The finest always fall,” said Yorav Naim at the grave of his daughter, the paramedic Agam Naim of blessed memory, who was killed in Rafah.

Thanks to our outstanding fighters, who sacrificed their lives. We stand united against our enemies who seek to destroy us. Thanks to our remarkable sons and daughters who fell in battle. We jointly uphold the fabric of our lives and the stature of Israel together: Jews, Druze, Christians, Muslims, Bedouins, Circassians, united in war, united in pain, united in victory.

A few weeks ago, I was moved to hear the words of a Senior Commander in the Egoz Unit, on the eve of a ground operation in Southern Lebanon. He told his fighters, “We have a great privilege to write history. Just as we did in Gaza, we will do here in the north”. These words reflect the meaning of what we have done in the past year, its obligations and achievements.

Last Simchat Torah, we went through a horrific event of Biblical proportions, the terrible massacre carried out by Hamas terrorists set records for evil and cruelty. Human language cannot describe the depth of the horror, the massacre, from youth to elders, men and women, in a single day, as it is written in the Book of Esther. The chilling abuse, the kidnapping of innocent children from their homes, in kibbutzim, in moshavs, the burning and the destruction, the acts of rape, the ruin and the terror. We gather today and, indeed, every day, with the remembrance of those who perished.

A year ago, we endured a harsh blow, a trial, but we did not break. Immense pain struck us, but we did not fall apart. We fought back fiercely against the attackers. And so we have done from then until today. As the commander of the Egoz Unit said: “We are rewriting history.” A war of annihilation was imposed on us, and we are responding with a war of rebirth. This is an existential war, a war on seven fronts against the Axis of Evil led by Iran. And in war, as in war, we exact a heavy price from those who seek to harm us.

Three weeks ago, after elimination one of Iran’s top operatives, the mass-murderer Hassan Nasrallah, Iran attacked Israel with hundreds of ballistic missiles. This attack failed. We promised then that it would be met with a strong response, and in the early hours of Saturday morning, we fulfilled our promise. The Air Force struck across Iran, inflicting severe damage to Iran’s defensive capabilities and its ability to produce missiles aimed at us. All of this comes after recent months [in] which we systematically operated according to a structured plan to cut off Iran’s tentacles, Hezbollah and Hamas.

The day before yesterday, we struck at the head of the Iranian regime. To the people of Iran I say, our struggle is not against you, but against the tyrannical regime that has crushed you and threatens the entire region. The regime must understand a simple principle: whoever harms us, we will harm them. This is the principle that has guided us until today, and it will guide us in the future as well.

The strike in Iran was precise and powerful, and achieved all its objectives. I wish to commend all our fighters and commanders in the IDF and in the security branches who took part in the operation: the Chief of Staff, the Air Force commander, the Air Force pilots, the mechanics, all the ground crews, the Head of Military Intelligence, and the entire intelligence system, the Head of Mossad, and the men and women of the Mossad. I also wish to thank the United States for the close coordination and support.

Honorable citizens of Israel, great challenges still lie ahead of us. But standing together, we will overcome them, and with this strength, we will defeat our enemies and bring a future of peace, prosperity and flourishing to our nation. On this day, and every day, we do not forget for a moment our sons and daughters who are hostages, and we are committed to bringing them all back, both the living and the fallen, as one. This is a sacred mission, and we will not relent until we achieve it in full, for in the end, light will triumph over darkness.

Even on the dark day of Simchat Torah on October 7, the light broke through the darkness. The heroism of those serving in the IDF, in outposts and command rooms, in the Israeli police, in the Shin Bet, in the emergency response teams, the firefighting system, in medical and rescue teams, this bravery has been etched in golden letters in the history of our nation. The this was added the heroism of the faithful. Citizens who sought to save lives, they hurried to act at personal risk, for anyone who was in distress. They did this out of pure humanity, with mutual responsibility unparalleled.

Noam and Yishai Slotky, of blessed memory, two heroic brothers, leapt from Be’er Sheva into the inferno of Gaza. Both defended the surrounding settlements and both fell in battle against the accursed terrorists. Their father, Rabbi Shmuel Slotky, said after their deaths:

In the days of exile, when a pogrom occurred in some town, those who could flee, fled. Those who could hide, hid. But we never heard of Jews from one town coming to save Jews in a town under attack. Now, in Israel, it must be clear that we are all one people. A people whose sons protect one another.

This exalted message accompanies our fighters at all times and in all places. A determined and strong generation has grown from the soil of the land of Israel, and upon its flag are inscribed the words: “Now it’s our turn!” “Now it’s our turn!” This was the guiding principle of Officer Yamam Armon Zamora, of blessed memory, a hero of Israel who fell during Operation Arnon to liberate four hostages. “Now it’s our turn,” said the armoured brigade commander, Brigadier General Ihsan Daksa from Daliyat al-Karmel, who fell in battle in Jabaliya. “Now it’s our turn,” say our fighters who risk their lives time and again in the depths of the terror tunnels in Gaza and Lebanon.

In future generations, people will learn about this period and draw inspiration from our resilience, our independence, our freedom. Our existence comes at a tremendous cost in loss, sorrow and grief. But only through strong resilience can we survive in the wild region that surrounds us.

Dear ones, honoured families, my brothers and sisters, the sacrifice of our sons and daughters will not be in vain. Their legacy [gives rise to] strength and spirit, strength and honour. I wish a full recovery to the wounded who are undergoing the journey of rehabilitation, surrounded by the love of the nation. On this sacred day, we seek to embrace the families of the fallen from the beginning of our independence through all of Israel’s wars, up to today. Their burial and their sacrifice ensure our existence, ensure our future. We triumphed in the War of Independence, and with God’s help, we will triumph in the War of Restoration. May the memory of the fallen in this war be blessed forever.

Picture credits:

Screenshot from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEOcLCYtDCg