November’s Roses and Thorns

November has passed, a bittersweet month filled with both roses and thorns.

Among the long series of happenings, in Israel and abroad, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on November 25 stood out, as well as the annual conference of WIZO federations in Europe (ECWF), which took place in Helsinki, Finland. This event, in which we both participated, was also an opportunity to mark 100 years of WIZO Finland’s activities.

This past month’s “thorns” come from the antisemitic incidents worldwide, particularly in Europe, topped by the Hague Court’s decision to issue arrest warrants for elected leaders of Israel. Like the Dreyfus trial in its time, this too is a defining antisemitic event that has nothing to do with justice. The IDF is the most moral army in the world, which even when facing a monstrous enemy and countless fronts and existential threats, operates according to a strict ethical code, with legal and humanitarian consideration that goes above and beyond any other army in history: warning the enemy in advance before operations to minimize civilian casualties, postponing eliminations that might endanger uninvolved persons, transferring humanitarian aid to the enemy during wartime, avoiding damage to civilian infrastructure, and even providing medical treatment to wounded terrorists! No other country that judges us has ever conducted itself during wartime with such human sensitivity and such far-reaching moral principles.

But none of this helps! As far as the antisemitic court in The Hague is concerned, Israel is forbidden from defeating the enemy and must settle for endless defensive measures. This ruling is hypocritical, evil, disconnected, and antisemitic, and we have no doubt that the future will deliver historical justice regarding these judges and their countries.

But there were also sweet moments of satisfaction this month. In one of them, we hosted at one of our youth villages the Commander of the Israeli Air Force, Major General Tomer Bar, who came to visit the pre-military flight course trainees studying there.

The Israeli Air Force stands out these days with heroic activity that is changing the reality in the Middle East and creating clear military superiority for Israel. The Air Force’s actions give us all a sense of pride, amazement, and security. And despite their huge workload, the Air Force Commander still found time to visit a group of our youth before their enlistment, who dream of becoming future pilots.

This says it all. It demonstrates an army that recognizes that its essence isn’t just planes, tanks, and submarines, but first and foremost – the people inside them. Shipments of F-35 planes from the USA are only good when they ultimately meet our amazing young people who will fly them and lead them on missions. The Air Force Commander’s visit shows us that the Force looks beyond the horizon not just in geographical terms, but also in human terms.

Particularly noteworthy is the Air Force’s achievement in gender equality: how much pride and satisfaction we feel when we hear about women pilots or combat navigators participating in the Force’s most daring operations. Women in the cockpit are the best proof that gender equality is possible, and that women deserve to be in all other “cockpits” in Israeli society. Once they used to say: “The best men go to pilot training,” today it’s the best men and the best women, together, as it should be, as we dreamed it would be, and for this too – our hearts swell with pride.

With this we conclude, hoping for a December with more roses and less thorns.

Anat Vidor, World WIZO President & Anita Friedman, World WIZO Chairperson