What a year it’s been. It’s hard to imagine that exactly one year ago, there were still hostages in Gaza. I’m not sure that we adequately appreciate how amazing and fortunate it is, for them and for all Israel, that they were released. (This is something that even expert analysts such as Haviv Rettig Gur thought could not happen, because Hamas would only give them all up in exchange for being able to stay in power, which Israel could not and would not allow - but in the end Trump strong-armed Israel into agreeing to let Hamas stay in limited power.)
Then we had the Iran war, or at least, another significant stage in it. At first, it seemed to be going better than our wildest hopes. Then Trump suddenly stopped it, and was ready to make an absolutely disastrous deal. Fortunately, “God hardened Pharaoh’s heart,” and the Iranian regime wouldn’t even accept it. And so now we are at a low-intensity conflict, with uncertainty in the future, but at least Iran has been hopefully greatly weakened.
Meanwhile, on the domestic front, the clash between charedim and the rest of Israel has never been more far-reaching. This was the year when the charedi leadership and much of their community not just detached themselves from helping society, but even declared themselves to be in a state of war against Israel. Even more horrifically, Bibi/Likud along with so-called Religious Zionism and so-called Otzma Yehudit capitulated to them. But with elections on the horizon, and a new political party of charedim who have had enough of the craziness and irresponsibility, there is hope for change, and for Israel being saved from economic and military collapse.
Then there were all the other wild events this year. There was the Mir yeshiva student who spied for Iran, the crazy crocodile plan, and the rise of Flat-Earthers and other conspiracy theorists in Israel. Never a dull moment!
Most of my posts here were about the major topics of war, IDF service, and the charedi-Israel conflict. But this was also a year in which I wrote about various other topics and experiences - leopard skin scams, war elephants, New York lions on the ark, plunging into the ocean with Leviathan, how a hyrax led to some of the worst and best things in my life, and my childrens’ IDF service.
Writing this column doesn’t just take a lot of time; it also takes a lot of mental (and sometimes emotional) energy, as well as occasional professional and personal costs. On behalf of not just myself but also everyone who benefits from these posts - and they have suprisingly large reach and effect - I’d like to express my profound gratitude and appreciation to all the paid subscribers who make it possible for me to do this. And I’m going to take this opportunity to mention that if you’d like to support a meaningful cause that is close to me personally, the Biblical Museum of Natural History helps inspire, educate, and provide respite for nearly fifty thousand people annually, from across the full spectrum of society.
Wishing you all a blessed, happy and healthy new year. And may the forthcoming year be one in which we attain national healing. לשנה טובה תכתבו ותחתמו לאלתר לחיים טובים וארוכים ולשלום