The day that changed everything
Ari Shavit writes about the meaning of October 7, three years later. He warns against a return to the blindness and the concept that preceded the massacre, but also against turning into Masada or Gamla. Shavit calls for understanding the Israeli tragedy, realizing Israeli greatness, and turning the Jewish state into a strong, united, democratic, and unique model state.
Ari Shavit writes a broad opinion column marking three years since the October 7, 2023 massacre. He states that the terrible day is not over and will never end, and that no Israeli has returned to who they were before the attack. Shavit describes the murder of nearly 1,200 Israelis by Yahya Sinwar, the war in which about 800 more Israelis fell, and the deep psychological damage to an entire people that rediscovered its vulnerability. He outlines Israel's history as a country aware of an existential threat, which became complacent in the 30 years before the massacre, disconnected from geostrategic reality, and told itself it was California. Shavit notes that the IDF turned the tables, Hamas was repelled, Hezbollah was struck, and Iran was destabilized, and that Israel became a regional superhero. However, he warns of three strategic threats from Sinwar that still loom: disconnecting Israel from the West, a creative elite brain drain, and turning Israel into an inseparable part of the Middle East. He calls for finding the right balance between military strength and preserving a democratic-liberal identity, and warns against turning into Masada or Gamla.