Three years, and we have mostly changed

Three years after October 7, a column describes a nation that has undergone a profound change: tired eyes, wrinkles of alertness, a sober gaze. The sense of threat persists, the switch has not been returned from routine to emergency. The writer compares the situation to the story of Japanese soldier Hiroo Onoda, who waited 29 years for an order to end World War II. He calls for a leader to declare that the war is over, so that we can begin the battle for internal reconciliation.

Three years after October 7, Lior Ben Ami's column describes a nation that has undergone a profound change: tired eyes, wrinkles of alertness around them, a sober gaze, slumped shoulders. The declaration of a special situation on the home front is extended again and again, and the national mood remains one of survival. The writer compares the situation to the story of Hiroo Onoda, a Japanese second lieutenant who hid for 29 years on Lubang Island after World War II ended, until his direct commander gave him an order to lay down his arms. He recalls Netanyahu's statement on the morning of October 7: 'Citizens of Israel, we are at war,' and asserts that the man who mobilized us all for battle did not announce otherwise. In the second part of the column, a conversation with his mother about the need to love ourselves as a nation and accept the different parts within us. The central message: an order from above is needed that the war is over, so that we can go out to battle for internal reconciliation, just as Yariv Levin declared the judicial overhaul.

Three years, and we have mostly changed