A portion of my heart belongs to the sands of the Negev.
This wasn’t a conscious choice. But time and time again I’ve been drawn back to Israel’s south. It is where the majority of my army training happened, and where I’ve often brought visitors seeking to understand the country’s history. It is a magical place that both feels unchanged but is also undergoing a dramatic transformation.
It is Israel’s final frontier.
I ended up in the desert this week because for the first time in seven years I was called up for miluim - reserve duty in the Israel Defense Forces. When my family and I relocated to the US in 2014 in order to start my doctoral studies, I remember texting my officer notifying him that I was leaving for an indefinite period of time. “Wishing you the best of luck,” he replied, “we will be here when you return.”
It wasn’t that simple. Militaries are complex and at times confounding bureaucracies. Four years after saying farewell to my reserve unit, we returned to Israel. But while my officers and peers remembered me, the system did not. I had to fight to return, pestering the right people in order to be reinstated back to my former unit (successful military service is 99% about the people you serve alongside and 1% blind luck - I wanted my people). Three years later, I finally got what I asked for: two days of reserve duty…in the desert.
Being thrown back into a 65-ton steel behemoth after seven years away is just as painful as it sounds. While certain physical skills - say, loading a shell into the main gun - return to you like riding a bike, the passage of time is a cruel reminder that what you were able to achieve at age 22 isn’t as repeatable at age 38. Navigating the army’s unique bureaucratic culture also doesn’t get easier with age. And even though Israelis joke that miluim is an opportunity for husbands to escape their wives, I don’t know how that is possible given the technology and instant access that the 21st century affords. Yes, we worked hard and performed all of the tasks set out for us. But everyone was also WhatsApping their coworkers and loved ones.
I may have arrived on base with little more than my gear and a sleeping bag, but I essentially brought my family with me. My daughters were confused when they woke up to find me gone (they forget that pre-Covid I traveled for weeks at a time). They demanded I share videos and pictures so they knew what I was up to. And they tried on my boots when I returned. Perhaps they didn’t feel the heat of the tank engine or the sting of a sandstorm across their faces, but they were active members in my experience.
For all of the ways that miluim is a reminder of the passage of time, some things remain the same. Israel’s security is dependent on a combination of national military service that most (but not all) of its citizens buy into, career officers and NCOs, and a core group of reservists who give their time - and under certain circumstances their lives - in the continued service of their country. This is one of Israel’s few constants and is unlikely to change in the near future. As a brigade commander bluntly shared this week, “we may be option 6 or 7 available to the IDF in the event of a major operation, but we’ve seen that option employed in recent memory and we need to be as prepared as possible for that scenario.” On the surface that sounds cliched, something to motivate rusty reservists before two days of training in the summer heat. Following the recent escalation between Israel and Hamas in May however, such statements carry a bit more gravity. The situation in Gaza and Jerusalem remains fragile. The ceasefire may not hold.
Here are some recommended pieces on what is taking place around Gaza:
Grant Rumley and Neri Zilber wrote an excellent and concise military assessment of May’s conflict that explains why the most recent round of violence hasn’t changed the balance of power between Israel and Hamas.
One of the biggest obstacles to building a more sustainable ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is the lack of clarity about Gaza’s reconstruction - a sensitive issue for Israel because of its security concerns over dual-use products (materials that Hamas could potentially use for military purposes) but its awareness that without improving the humanitarian situation the peace is unlikely to last long. Where the money goes is priority number one for the US as well, so I recommend reading several pieces that help frame this conversation, including Gaza-based journalist Hana Salah’s article in Al Monitor, NPR’s report (with audio), and Ambassador (ret) Dennis Ross’ recent analysis.
The Middle East Institute in Washington DC is hosting a virtual event on the future of Hamas and Gaza on July 1, which I think could be quite engaging. Details are available here.
I hope you find this week’s content engaging.
Best,
Gabi