"Where would be the merit if heroes were never afraid-" So pondered French author Alphonse Daudet, who, with the help of his imagination, created a literary hero, a paper hero who was afraid of fear itself but managed to overcome. Israeli writers, in contrast to their European counterparts, do not need to make an effort to create new heroes. Rather, they simply appear in uniform, and they are not necessarily afraid.
Each campaign leaves us with new heroes. Such strapping young men still wet behind the ears, others who are already parents, and not only men -- they are called to the front to defend the homeland with no assurance that they will return to their beloved families, to the Holy Land. On their vests, beside the gun and the cartridge, there are also many values.
To be honest, our troops are not concerned with heroism. They are more interested in Israel's security, in defending their homes, and of course in the foremost value of the sanctity of life. And if life is so sacred, then how sacred is the soldier who gives his most precious possession to his nation-
It's a small country. This is a saying that certainly rings true. Family. It is no surprise we all know the family or friends of a fallen soldier. I too, sadly watched good friends lose their nephew in this campaign. It is hard to take; it causes terrible suffering. It takes time to understand that fallen soldiers are immortal and will be with us forever. Sixty-four such heroes were buried in the soil of the land during this campaign. On their graves, flowers will bloom in their likenesses when the rainy season starts. Those flowers will wilt, and new ones will grow, and memories of the heroes will endure like an ancient pine tree.
The campaign is over. It was not easy. Twenty-nine days of fighting in the most difficult conditions. Facing an infamous enemy that hides behind civilians or deep underground, the soldier is tasked with defeating terrorism, stopping rocket fire and finding and destroying the tunnels of death, which they enter only in order to save life. And this battle is waged under impossible conditions, when, in the field of thorns called Gaza, ordinary citizens become living land mines. Our soldiers have a conscience, and this is a difficult operation in an area filled with residents. Our army trains to fight another army, with a system of values and a code of ethics. But just how asymmetrical does the campaign become when the enemy considers its own civilians' bloodshed an accomplishment-
During the campaign, the world marked 100 years since the beginning of World War I, which claimed the lives of more than 10 million soldiers over four years. During Operation Protective Edge, French President Francois Hollande told his German counterpart that the Middle East should learn the forgiveness that was created between France and Germany.
Never mind explaining to the world that our conflict is completely different, or how we are forced to confront radical Islam and terror organizations like Hamas. And while the world is enjoying the August vacation, the ultra-extremist jihadist terrorist organization, the Islamic State, is decapitating people in Lebanon.
If only we could promise our children that there would be no more war. Instead, new threats join the old. New coalitions are being formed.
But on whom can we rely if not our heroic children? We must tell them: Thank you!
טעינו? נתקן! אם מצאתם טעות בכתבה, נשמח שתשתפו אותנו