Israeli Hero

Yotam Vilk is now the name to remember.

Many people have written—some fiercely, some not—about the moral crisis of war in Gaza. I just read a sermon by a friend of mine intended for delivery over the holidays ahead. She’s a big ol’ Zionist from the Pleistocene era forward, who has always taken issue with my occasional crotchets. She is the real thing, a true believer, but her words were full of grief and alarm. Where is the Israel I thought I knew? Why has it descended into ethnic erasure? Are “we” really going to keep killing Palestinian children? I don’t think I’ve written anything as fierce, but she will not be alone this year in the pulpit. Many American rabbis will echo her thoughts, and I fault myself for having been tentative and measured.

But we will all be taking our cues from Israelis who have lost faith in the conduct of war in Gaza and the unscrupulous behavior of the Netanyahu government. They know what all of us have known for months, that this is a forever war rooted in objectives that seem to have little to do with Israel’s security.

What Netanyahu needs is political and personal. His coalition partners will not sustain his government unless he supports their aberrant messianism and the dream of a greater ethno-nationalist Israel. He is personally under fire for his failures on October 7 and the months of legal turmoil that preceded it. As long as he continues to pound Gaza to rubble, he satisfies the coalition and distracts attention from himself. The casualties in Gaza may be morally offensive, but they are a win for Netanyahu and his hold on power.

Yotam Vilk knows all of this and said it plainly last week in the New York Times. I do not know him (although I’d be honored to meet) but his credentials make for an unimpeachable record. Imagine a sturdy citizen-soldier who has led others in battle and put his life at risk. He is currently a reserve captain in the Israel Defense Forces and a prominent member of Soldiers for the Hostages. He seems to be plenty smart, but no luftmensch intellectual. His English is powerful, direct, and persuasive.

The editorial rehearses all the charges against the government and points up its moral confusion and hypocrisy. Vilk is a patriot of the most important kind: a self-critical Zionist who has no respect for liars. He wants the electorate of the country to demand an end to the war and a government that will act on the true will of the people, the majority who have already turned their backs on these hostilities.

But then he takes an unexpected turn. He sees the value of mass protest in the streets, but he knows that this moment calls for more: a refusal on the part of reservists like himself to report for duty if it means fighting in Gaza. He says that the time has come for civil disobedience that is serious, long-ranging, courageous, and self sacrificing. He has already suffered abundantly for his decision by being dismissed from his command and being held in contempt. But he will not succeed until thousands join him.

There is at least a chance that this will happen, but it will be months before such a protest takes shape. In the meantime, I send blessings to Yotam Vilk. I know that my courage would fail before his, but I know a moral hero when I see one.