Enough! We’re all tired

We’re all caught in a state of waiting for the rockets. The nights have grown longer, anxiety is playing tricks on us, unsettling thoughts are creeping in, and the anticipation of a devastating blow has overtaken the national mood. “Continue as usual but be ready for the siren,” the IDF spokesperson reassures us. Most of us have already prepared shoes and clothing by the door, just in case we need to rush to the “protected space”—if we have one. This is a victory for the Iranian regime and Hezbollah, where the mere threat paralyzes us and clouds our judgment.

Our national mood is a topic of extensive discussion in the Arab press. The Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, which supports Hezbollah, is checking our temperature daily. Its editor, Ibrahim al-Amin, knows everything about us and takes great pleasure in our anxiety. “The public in the Zionist entity [his term for Israel], including its military and security leadership, know that any attack by Iran or Hezbollah will not be aimed at civilians or civilian facilities,” he writes. Those who wish to believe him may find comfort in his words.

However, it’s ironic that this Lebanese journalist is less interested in looking at what’s happening in his own country. If he were true to his profession as a journalist, and not a propagandist, he would report that the same anxiety is also felt by the Lebanese themselves, many of whom have fled Beirut. They understand that Nasrallah is leading them toward another colossal disaster. The slogan “Enough – We’re Tired,” displayed on billboards across Lebanon, reflects the national mood.

As in the case of the Palestinians, so in the cases of Lebanon, Iran, and yes, Israel, there can be no viable state without leadership, without an economy, and without democracy.

Nasrallah’s solidarity with Gaza is indeed impressive. He has mobilized all his resources to engage Israel in a secondary campaign, trying to relieve Hamas.

Yet, Nasrallah has never shown such compassion for the Lebanese. In 2020, his explosives warehouses caught fire, causing a massive explosion that destroyed the port and part of the city. He consistently blocks the formation of a functioning government, wanting to determine its composition, and the result has been economic collapse. The Lebanese people are struggling to survive, with no electricity and no medicine, living hand-to-mouth. Despite this, Nasrallah remains indifferent, caring only for his close associates. The Lebanese are exhausted—they cannot withstand another war, lacking hospitals and civil defense. They believe Nasrallah prefers to avoid solving Lebanon’s crisis, using solidarity with Gaza as a cover. They especially don’t understand why they should bear the consequences of a war initiated by Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, whose goal is to eliminate the Palestinian Authority and ultimately hand the Palestinian people over to Iran.

We in Israel are not alone; our anxieties are also shared by those in distant Tehran. Like in Lebanon, the Iranian people are held hostage by the Ayatollah regime, which sows terror through the Revolutionary Guards. Like Lebanon, Iran is in a severe economic crisis, with one of the highest poverty rates in the world, skyrocketing unemployment, and crushing inflation. What the regime offers instead of a livelihood is the stale slogan “Death to America, Death to Israel.”

Not only Israel is far from Tehran, so is Gaza. The Iranian people don’t understand why they should sacrifice their lives for a cause that is primarily Arab. Hamas’s extreme religious ideology doesn’t resonate with Iranians, who launched a massive popular uprising after the regime murdered Mahsa Amini for wearing her headscarf improperly. The Iranian people are also clearly saying, “Enough – We’re Tired”: tired of the regime’s corruption, the state’s mismanagement, the sanctions, the regime’s intrusion into their private lives, and the restrictions on dancing, singing, and walking hand-in-hand with their partners in the park.

Similarly, in Israel, we tell each other—some loudly, some in whispers—“Enough, we’re tired.” The current government has plunged us into a deep, dark abyss, turning the question “What will be?” into the main topic of public discourse. Like the citizens of Lebanon and Iran, Israelis have also risen up against their government. Before October 7, they protested against Netanyahu’s intention to turn Israel into a “semi-dictatorship,” signaling his desire to integrate into the region and perpetuate his rule, much like the dictators in neighboring countries.

Perhaps the fatigue of the citizens, their distrust of their governments, and their aversion to war will eventually lead to a resolution in Gaza and the return of the hostages. Since the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, we’ve learned what the citizens of all three countries think, what they truly believe, and the level of public support their leaders have.

At first Netanyahu failed to suppress the rebellion and was forced to retreat under enormous public pressure. Yet the surprise attack by Hamas, with Iran’s encouragement and guidance, inadvertently quelled the protest in Israel. Dictatorial regimes view democracy, the right to organize and demonstrate, as a sign of weakness. The truth is the opposite. Only a strong, developing, and modern society can sustain a democratic regime and embrace its internal contradictions and debates. It’s important to clarify that Sinwar, Khamenei, and Nasrallah have imposed a war on Israelis, Iranians, and Lebanese—none of whom desire it.

While we’re on the topic of waiting, it’s likely that one of the reasons for the present delay in the Iranian attack (I write on August 15) is that both in Beirut and Tehran, citizens echo President Biden’s admonition: “Don’t.” The Israeli government also understands that its citizens are not eager for an all-out war. This is evident in Israel’s declaration that it has no territorial or other ambitions in Lebanon and prefers an agreement over war.

Perhaps the fatigue of the citizens, their distrust of their governments, and their aversion to war will eventually lead to a resolution in Gaza and the return of the hostages. Since the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, we’ve learned what the citizens of all three countries think, what they truly believe, and the level of public support their leaders have.

The outcome of the struggle in the Tehran-Beirut-Tel Aviv triangle will also determine the fate of the Palestinians. Although their leadership has caused a disaster of historic proportions, they are absent from the public arena. Hamas has elevated the Palestinian issue on the international stage, but a tragic result of this success has been that the Palestinians have identified with Hamas. By supporting Hamas and its actions, they have tied their fate to the Iranian regime that oppresses its people and to a sectarian Shiite organization that holds Lebanon by the throat. The Palestinians may have gained sympathy in global public opinion, but they have aligned themselves with the darkest and most dictatorial regimes.

Mahmoud Abbas’s visits to Putin and Sinwar’s complete dependence on Khamenei demonstrate the lack of historical vision that has characterized Palestinian leaderships throughout the generations. The pro-Palestinian demonstrations in the streets of New York and London, the recognition of the State of Palestine in Oslo and Madrid, and the lawsuit against Israel in The Hague do not solve the key issue: the lack of a leadership that could take these measures to a successful conclusion. Instead, the Palestinian leadership is divided, and the power struggle between its two factions has led to the terrible disaster we witness today. As in the case of the Palestinians, so in the cases of Lebanon, Iran, and yes, Israel, there can be no viable state without leadership, without an economy, and without democracy.

Meanwhile, Israel is not exempt from striving to resolve its conflict with the Palestinian people. The Achilles’ heel of the Iranian regime is undoubtedly the Iranian people; the Achilles’ heel of Hezbollah is the Lebanese people; and the Achilles’ heel of Israel is the oppression by occupation of the Palestinian people. Before October 7, the attempt to “manage” the conflict with the Palestinians, rather than resolve it, led the Israeli government to feed the Hamas monster, and this conflict has become the door through which the Iranian regime, under the guise of protecting the Palestinians, has entered our lives. The only way to prevent another October 7 and the nightmare of the current war is to resolve the conflict with the Palestinians.

Although trust between the two peoples has hit rock bottom, the understanding that continued control over another people will continue to determine the lives of Israelis, and that they will not find peace and stability until the Palestinians find theirs, is already seeping into the consciousness of a significant portion of the Israeli public. The Palestinians will have to part with their extreme religious messianism, and the Israelis will have to part with their extreme nationalist and messianic tendencies and reach a compromise based on democratic and liberal values, foremost among them the principle of equality.