Israelis ask ‘what are we fighting for?’

(MENAFN) The time since October 7 feels suspended for me, especially after the tragic loss of my mother, Vivian Selber, who was killed in Kibbutz Be'eri. In one sense, time has stopped, as I am still reliving that moment when I said goodbye to her on the phone while the gunmen approached. In another sense, I exist in a future where such deaths should not be possible. Each morning, as I read news about the ongoing conflict, I am forced to confront a question that anyone who has lost a loved one or been involved in violence must face: "For what?" History shows that after the battles end, the murderer and the family of the victim often ask this same question, reflecting on the senselessness of it all. The answers vary, but in hindsight, everything seems futile. After a peace agreement is signed and a new reality is formed, the issue of timing always lingers: Why now, after the loss, and not before, when everyone was still alive?

For years, Israel's narrative has been that we are a peaceful people defending our right to exist, and that sacrifices must be made until Palestinians recognize this and join us in peaceful coexistence. I never fully accepted this story, but it has been the dominant belief, which has enabled successive generations of Israelis to continue enduring the pain of conflict without challenging the status quo. Now, however, this mindset is beginning to shift. The new spirit is no longer about "a few of us dying for the greater good," but rather "many of us dying for the death of more of them." This tragedy leaves us questioning where to find solace when the mourners' days are over. Where will we look for hope when the future feels uncertain?

For months, Hamas has claimed that kidnapped individuals will be returned and that an alternative administration could take over Gaza. But we have chosen to continue a policy of ethnic cleansing in Gaza, at the cost of innocent Palestinians and Israeli civilians, rather than focus on a future where both peoples share the land peacefully and securely. This is the crux of the tragedy: the Zionist left and center criticize the government for lacking a clear policy, but they are still stuck in the outdated notion that we will fight until others recognize our right to exist. Ironically, the only people who don't recognize Israel’s existence are the members of the settlement movement, who seek to ensure that Israel occupies all of historic Palestine. They are still fighting for "another dunam and another goat" as if this struggle is about the right to establish a Jewish state.

We no longer kill for peace; we kill for a mythical idea of a greater Israel. This war, which began on October 7, has moved from a futile repetition of the 1973 war to a revival of the occupation mindset from the 1967 war, accompanied by an outdated and cruel code of ethics. The question we all need to ask is not whether we are willing to sacrifice, but for what purpose. This is not yet too late for change. We must accommodate the existence of Israel alongside a Palestinian state, with equal rights for both peoples. Only then can we secure a life of peace, security, and freedom, free from the burden of constant loss. Equality between the two peoples is the only way to ensure a future not defined by grief.

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