Reuma Kedem Meets Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant at Kibbutz Nir Oz

(And A Brief Note on the International Court of Justice)

PART I. Reuma Kedem Meets Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant at Kibbutz Nir Oz

Important Note: This article contains graphic language and refers to violent incidents. Please take this into consideration before reading.

Agony does not begin to describe the unending reality that life in Israel has become.

Yes. There was lots of talk about “unity” in the early days of the October fog. As the shock became familiar, and the war intensified, and the hostages remained in captivity, the veneer of “unity” began to wear thin. It is now eroding rapidly.

I have often remarked that we do not have a vocabulary to express the devastation of October 7^th. Many hostage families say they inhabit an alternate reality. Where time stands still. The horror remains fresh. The torment unrelenting. It is almost one hundred days since the savage Hamas attacks forever altered Jewish history.

On Wednesday night, Israel’s most-watched news show on Keshet channel 12 led the broadcast with a clip I have watched dozens of times. Each viewing is as heart-stopping as the first.

Reuma Kedem, is an elderly resident of Kibbutz Ein HaShlosha, located in the area that was ravaged by Hamas on that Black Shabbat. Her daughter, Tamar lived on nearby Kibbutz Nir Oz with her husband, Jonny, their 4-year old twin daughters, Shahar and Arbel, and 2 year old son, Omer. They were slaughtered as they huddled in the family safe room. Hamas terrorists broke in and murdered them all. The whole family. We do not know if they were spared the torture that Hamas sadists indulged, exultantly, on that day. We do know that their bodies were incinerated. One can only hope that they were not burned alive, as were so many others.

Jonny’s mother, Carol, also a resident of Nir Oz, was murdered that day too.

Earlier this week, Reuma went to Nir Oz to salvage toys that her grandchildren played with. Dolls. Anything. Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant, happened to drop by the kibbutz at the same time. He was likely in the area and decided to look around. By chance, he came upon Reuma. Minister Gallant said hello.

Reuma stood. She seemed stunned. Then she began to gesticulate with her hands. Her mouth was open. No sound came. She was unable to speak. Muteness is a not uncommon symptom of extreme trauma. We know that this condition afflicts many Israelis post-October 7^th. Watching Reuma struggle to form words, to utter sounds, is profoundly moving. She is stuck on October 7^th. Trapped. Unable to move away. Through.

After some time we hear whispers. And then soft speech. Her words are searingly honest. She looks at this man before her.

Reuma tells him that he knew. Senior military, intelligence and political officials knew. Some knew more than others. But they knew. On Thursday night, on the investigative TV program “Uvda” (meaning “fact” in Hebrew), host Ilana Dayan reported on the massive failure of the military and civilian government. Among other facts, she confirmed that an urgent, highly classified telephone call had taken place at 4 a.m. on the morning of Saturday, October 7^th. Many senior IDF and government officials were on that call. Clearly, the top brass knew something was up.

We’ve been hearing these rumors about frantic activity early in the morning on October 7^th. But it was only recently confirmed, publicly.

We also know that for more than a year, military intelligence and others had analyzed a copy of a Hamas blueprint to attack Israel. It was dismissed by the men in charge as Hamas fantasies. What transpired on October 7^th was set out, in detail, in the plan that was mocked. It was followed and executed, Ilana Dayan states on her show, to a “T”.

We also know that repeated reports by IDF intelligence scouts, who are all women, were disregarded by their male commanders. The scout’s job is to stare at a screen for hours each day. They analyze movement along the border with the Gaza Strip. I have been to bases in other parts of Israel where scouts observe a designated area. If a rock moves, they say, they know. And by how many centimeters. It is grindingly dull and dreadfully important work.

These units are all female. Apparently, there is much empirical evidence demonstrating that women are the most disciplined and accurate observers. They do not miss detail.

For months, these young women reported, repeatedly, of highly unusual activity near the border with the Gaza Strip. They reported on paraglider training. Replicas of Israeli border guard towers being stormed in repeated drills. All manner of unusual and intense military exercises. Right under their noses. And much more. All of the scouts’ work was ignored. Marginalized. And worse. An officer was threatened that if she persisted in continuing to report on these concerning observations that she would face a court martial.

We know all of this now. We did not know this on October 6^th. But many did.

These IDF scouts were based in living quarters on Kibbutz Nahal Oz, which was also brutally attacked on October 7^th. Many of them were burned alive and also tortured with noxious fumes that aggravated their suffering exponentially. Some were brutally raped, beaten, bound and taken hostage to the Gaza Strip. Just this week, the families of four of these young women, aged 18 to 20, agreed to make public photos and a short video of their loved ones. One young woman is wrapped in a white sheet, splattered with blood and torn in spots. Her face is bloodied, her stare vacant. Sitting beside her is another scout, whimpering primally. A third beaten soldier stares blankly at the ground. The fourth looks straight at the camera. They are seated against a wall, on the floor, bloody, battered. The hands of all but the woman wrapped in the sheet are bound behind their backs.

We know that they have suffered extreme sexual torture. It has been reported that some of the young women (there are more than these four) have “lost limbs.” This is information that has been shared with the Israeli public by hostages who have been released. These permanent handicaps, the freed hostages have conveyed, are bearable. The psychological and sexual depravity is not.

All of this information has been made public in the past week. The rage that has been contained among Israelis is about to explode. This nation that has seen and suffered so much has been pushed beyond the brink. It is palpable and everywhere. It is all people talk about. All they think about. All that matters.

One can only assume that Minister Gallant was among the small number of people who were fully informed about irregular activity in the Gaza Strip. It is his job to know. Reuma Kedem certainly makes this assumption.

And so, when she unexpectedly found herself before this man, she reflected the anguish of the nation. And the rage. No. Rage is too mild. I cannot conjure the right word.

For almost 100 days, Israelis have been told to refrain from criticizing the government or the IDF.  We must unify, “they” say. We will hold an Inquiry in due course, they say. But today, we are told that we must stand solidly behind the army and the government. The same government which created this mess. The same army which so totally let us down. The same government and army which determine the course of the war. Which make critical decisions every day. Which failed to fulfill its most basic duty on October 7^th: protect the people of Israel. This is why the country exists. To ensure our physical safety and existence.

We must trust them, they say, and be quiet.

Well, Reuma Kedem has had enough.

Not only did the government and IDF fail its citizens, spectacularly, but both institutions were absent. Gone. For days. Not a word. Silence. Reuma’s loved ones, like thousands of others, were left to fend for themselves. For hours. In some cases for days. Civilians waited. Terrified. Helpless. And no one came.

Watch this clip from channel 12 of the exchange between Reuma Kedem and Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant. It is subtitled in English:

Video translation and subtitles: Maya Naftolin

For me, Reuma stands as a metaphor for this surreal Hell.

As you will see, throughout their encounter, Minister Gallant just stands there. Looking blank. Saying nothing. Like an automaton. Reuma cannot hide her disgust. Contempt.

“Who are we?” She asks Gallant.

(“What have we become?” I ask us all.)

How? How could this happen?

We will never have answers. Nothing will be adequate. And from October 7^th, I have said and believed that we should not have an Inquiry. We know enough. We know that the government and IDF failed us. Absolutely. The details of who knew what and when are irrelevant.

I do not think that the nation can withstand the trauma of an Inquiry. As so many people who have survived and fought in many wars have said, never has the state of Israel been so low. The psychic blow of the Hamas attack was near lethal. I fear that to force the nation to relive that moment, endure months of testimony, will be fatal. We can only withstand so much.

Watch Reuma. She is Israel in this moment.

PART II:  A Note to Readers About the International Court of Justice Hearing Charging Israel with Genocide

State of Tel Aviv will be covering the International Court of Justice hearing into the charge brought by South Africa alleging that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people. As I expect you are aware the threshold hearings into the case, with submissions made by South Africa and Israel, were held in The Hague on Thursday and Friday.

As we always work to do, we will be bringing analysis and perspective that you will not find in your usual news sources. The hearings and challenges are being covered extensively in the news media. Stay tuned for some extraordinary podcast discussions in the coming week and following, as the story develops.

I see this as perhaps one of the greatest tests challenging the future of Israel. Ever. This is Israel’s Nuremberg moment. Except that Germany was defeated. Israel is on the knife edge. Whether the ICC is a politically motivated court is irrelevant, as a practical matter. What it decides will determine the viability of Israel’s continued existence, particularly as a liberal democracy.

We do not have the luxury of pretending otherwise.