It’s the first weekend back in Kibbutz Be'eri after October 7, welcoming Shabbat in the dining room, lighting candles, and reciting the Kiddush.
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On Friday, I rode my bike through the fields to the Nova Music Festival site: there I saw rows of pictures of the dead, flowers, and flags. Hundreds of young people whose lives were cut short in an instant, murdered by terrorists inside the State of Israel, within our fields.
Yesterday I went for a run among the poppy fields. I was alone, I can't remember the last time I ran alone at the peak of their bloom. And in the background, sounds of war echoed. Between the Nova festival site and Kibbutz Alumim stretches one road, Route 232, a road of blood. You can still see the burning and ash marks along it, a memory of the massacre on that Saturday.
You can hear the gunfire, the loud cannons in the war in Gaza. There are commanders, soldiers, and people in the Strip who sacrifice and have sacrificed themselves for us, for the citizens of Israel, the residents of the south, for a better future. The most important phrase is "follow me" – the call of a leader at the head of his men, an example and value, it’s a secret code deeply ingrained in our heart passing down from generation to generation.
I hear the wounded in hospitals saying maybe things could have been different, maybe the soldiers and the wounded could have been saved in that battle. They too take responsibility for their actions. There's no weight to responsibility – it is not something you put in you back pack that you carry on your shoulders. "Follow me" is the essence, the distilled meaning of responsibility. It characterizes the values of every IDF commander. Where are those values in Israel’s politics? Where is the government's responsibility?
While running, as my feet carry me through the fields, I think about the gap between the soldiers and the politicians, the wide divide between sacrifice and nonsense, between those who give their all and political slogans. 1,400 people were murdered, 136 are still being held hostage, and the Israeli government doesn’t accept its responsibility. They only want authority. That's why we must restore the public’s trust in their leaders.
I don't point fingers or look for people to blame, even a public inquiry won't bring back the murdered and kidnapped. I'm looking for leadership that will say "follow me" and take responsibility.
I'm looking for leadership with values that will lead to unity and an exemplary society. I'm looking for 120 Knesset members who’ll represent their voters and are willing to sacrifice themselves for the people of Israel, without fear for their seat or for their political career.
Haim JelinPhoto: Herzl YosefThe Israeli Knesset and government, for the sake of the State of Israel, for the sake of the fallen and their families, must head for elections before October 7, 2024. We must be worthy of the sacrifice of the fallen.
- Haim Jelin is a resident of Kibbutz Be'eri, a public figure who served as a Knesset member during his time at the Yesh Atid party and headed the Eshkol Regional Council.