Can one halt to mourn for one day, when one mourns every day? 

Can one halt to celebrate for one day, when one doesn’t feel a celebration is proper?

These are the two questions under which Israel marked the powerful duo of Memorial Day and Independence Day. These are the two questions for which different answers are a marker of different attitude. No – we can’t celebrate! That was the answer of many Israelis who don’t seem to see a reason for any celebration when the hostages aren’t back, when the military isn’t winning, when evacuees can’t go back to their homes. Yes – we must celebrate! That was the answer of other Israelis who see celebration as part of the battle. We do not celebrate because we won. We celebrate – because us refraining from celebration is our enemies’ marker of triumph.

It was difficult to mourn on Memorial Day, because, in many ways, it felt like just another day. Since Oct. 7, every day is a day of hearing stories about brave soldiers sacrificing their lives, every day is a day of heartbreak, every day is a day of solemnity. 

It was difficult to mourn on Memorial Day, because, in many ways, it felt like just another day. Since Oct. 7, every day is a day of hearing stories about brave soldiers sacrificing their lives, every day is a day of heartbreak, every day is a day of solemnity. In an average year, the sirens of Memorial Day are a wakeup call, a reminder of the heavy burden and the heavy price we must pay for independence and sovereignty. But this year we were all awake, we can’t sleep. We pay in the morning, we pay in the evening, every news cycle is a reminder, every IDF announcement is a wakeup call.

So Memorial Day was unusually awkward, and Independence Day even more so. The way Israelis treated this day is demonstrative of the way they think and the way they respond to current realities. In some fashion, Independence Day was a litmus test. And not an easy one to watch.

For some, it was almost like a second Memorial Day. It was a day in which to ponder the future of the country, about which many Israelis are pessimistic. Compared to the recent past, compared to January of this year — that is, less than six months ago — there is a significant drop in the level of optimism of Israelis concerning the future of both country and self. The rate of Jews who are very optimistic about the future of Israel decreased from 48% to 37%. The rate of pessimists rose from 21% to 30%. 

The trend is downward. But this is a general trend, which hides currents whose direction and pace are different. The Israeli average is going down, because there are more Israelis who have become more pessimistic. But not all Israelis became more pessimistic. In fact, there is a considerable gap between different groups in the population according to national affiliation (Jews and Arabs), ideological tendencies (right, center, left), religious beliefs (secular, traditional, religious).

This gap may testify to a different reading of reality. Some people see black where others see white, or gray. It may testify to something else: All agree that reality is bleak, but some believe that Israel is able to change course and pull itself out of this situation while others don’t. On Independence Day we could see these differences expressed by different attitudes to the holiday. The pessimistic Israelis – and of course, this is a gross generalization – did not feel like celebrating. The optimistic Israelis – and again, a gross generalization, but these came mostly from religious and highly traditional circles – celebrated, sometimes in a way that seemed almost forced, as if to make a point, to spite Israel’s enemies, but also other Israelis’ reluctance. Yes, some of them were saying, times are tough, but we are a tough people with a long history of overcoming challenges. Yes, some of them were saying, we are not quite satisfied with how things are, but would you rather be a Jew in 1936 Germany, in 1947 Iraq, in 1970 Russia? 

There was more than a grain of bitterness in the way both camps of Israelis treated each other’s attitudes. The celebrating Israelis felt that the not-celebrating are showing signs of defeatism. They are quick to forget that the times in which they live are miraculous compared to most of Jewish history. The not-celebrating Israelis felt that the celebrating Israelis are somewhat indifferent to the pain other Israelis feel, that they are being insensitive to the fact that hostages are still being held in tunnels, that the residents of Kiryat Shmona in the north and of Kibbutz Beeri in the south live in temporary locations. They think that celebrating at this point is an indicator of delusional reading of harsh realities.

The present is bleak, and the future is unknown, said the pessimists. So, let’s skip the celebrations today. If things get better, we can always celebrate tomorrow.  

The present might be bleak, but the future is still bright, said the optimists. So, let’s celebrate today as an advance payment on our bright tomorrow.

Something I wrote in Hebrew

Here’s what I wrote concerning Biden’s threat of ammunition embargo if Israel operates in Rafah:

Even if you are not Netanyahu’s biggest fan, and assume that Biden is a true friend of Israel — there is no reason for you to defend an unfortunate statement at an unfortunate time by the American president. This is not an appropriate time for an arms embargo on Israel … Even if you are Netanyahu’s biggest fan and believe that Biden is an antisemitic wolf in sheep’s clothing, there is no reason for you to talk about Biden as if he, or America, owes you something. Israel has no birthright to get American weapons … 

A week’s numbers

On Rafah, the Jewish Israeli public is more convinced by the arguments of the Netanyahu government than by the no-to-Rafah objection of the Biden administration (from JPPI’s monthly Israel index).

A reader’s response:

Avi Roth writes: “when a country no longer believes it can win – it can’t win.” My response: I don’t disagree, but beliefs can change back and forth.

Shmuel Rosner is senior political editor. For more analysis of Israeli and international politics, visit Rosner’s Domain at jewishjournal.com/rosnersdomain.