Today is a new morning.
The first sign was that we woke up to the alarm clock rather than to a siren, after a solid night’s sleep. A ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon has been signed and approved; however, the terms remain obscure, and we are only partially aware of its content. This created a fair level of anxiety among the residents of the north and the majority of local council heads across the northern border and the Golan Heights, who have expressed their concerns about the uncertainty surrounding the agreement and its implications for security.
Nonetheless, everyone, everywhere, smiled today with a sigh of relief, further indication that the ceasefire was so welcome after 14 months of an intense, multifaceted war filled with loss and trauma.
As Israelis, we have learned to cautiously enjoy the moment, while still being vigilant in advance of the next crisis. There is a cautious sense of relief—we are in a ceasefire, yet the directives from the Home Front Command have become more stringent. (Children are still required to stay home until the end of the week, for example.) This is compounded by peoples’ lack of trust that the ceasefire will endure, and anxiety about when and where the next threat might arise again.
The hope is that perhaps we can return to our normal lives, and that this could even lead to the war actually ending soon, allowing us to begin healing and building a new future. “Hope” will be strengthened one day at a time if the peace holds in the north and we are able to regain the sense of security needed for the residents of the north to start rebuilding their lives (something that has slowly begun in the south already). Once safety can be fully secured, the north will too start to see further investment in jumpstarting the economy, agriculture, housing, and education, making it attractive once more for people to settle and reclaim our lost, beautiful land.
