A nation of lions

If you want to see the best of Israel, go to the supermarket. In behaviour that some would say is out of character, it’s as Israeli as it gets. Since 7 October 2023, we have been able to communicate with each other without saying a word. We don’t need to. We know what we’re going through. So, in a trip to the overcrowded supermarket on Sunday, 15 June, as we all stood patiently in lines – okay, that’s out of character – we were a little kinder. Sure, I’ll watch your baby as you run to get something you forgot. Here, let me help you with that. May we be able to have a little bit of sleep sometime in the day. A little bit of sleep before the terror that ruptures the eerie calm.

The nights are horrendous – the loud warning from the phone telling everyone to get to shelters, then the inevitable drone of sirens, followed by massive booms. Most are interceptions; some are direct impacts that are very close. It shakes our buildings as we try to remain calm until we get the all-clear to leave the shelter from the Israel Defense Forces Home Front Command.

It’s important to know that this is unlike anything we have endured. This isn’t a barrage of rockets from Hamas, Hezbollah, or even the Houthis, that requires some time in the shelter and then life is pretty much normal. This is different. An enemy more evil, more insidious than any other. An enemy sworn to our annihilation, with a nuclear programme to make that threat a reality.

Israel has launched Operation Rising Lion with the intention of disabling Iran’s nuclear programme. Israelis are united behind this operation. This isn’t a partisan issue, this is our fight for survival. We are the vanguard in the clash of civilisations. We don’t expect anyone to fight this fight for us, we ask that you support us.

We knew the price would be high, and as bone tired as we all are, we know this is the right decision. Israelis, along with the brave people of Iran, have lived under the jackboot of the Iranian regime’s tyranny through its proxies like Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and others. Iranians have been oppressed for decades. Women have been beaten and even killed for not wearing the hijab properly, members of the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning) community executed, some as young as 13, and any dissidents arrested, tortured, and executed.

It’s time to end the Iranian stranglehold over the region and the world.

We have never had our resilience muscles tested so hard. Israelis are still deep in the trauma of 7 October, and cannot even begin to heal until the remaining 53 of our captive brothers and sisters are returned to us. With the focus on Operation Rising Lion, we haven’t lost sight of our hostages.

We’re all exhausted from lack of sleep and hyper-vigilant, waiting for the alerts to get to our shelters and anticipate what’s incoming. The country is in a state of emergency, so only essential services are operating, and parents are at home trying to balance work commitments and frightened children.

It’s an extremely challenging time for all of us.

I have never been more proud of or loved my fellow Israeli as I do now. This nation has risen like a lion – fierce, proud, and magnificent.

To our Iranian brothers and sisters, we stand with you. This is your moment. Our noble people go back millennia, and we, too, dream of a day where we reunite our ancient bonds and bind them with the Cyrus Accords in a pact of peace.

To our enemies and those who seek to destroy us, don’t test the resolve of the lions of Zion. We may have taken painful knocks, but our resolve is strong. We’re tempered in Swords of Iron. You awoke the lion of Judah, and as he has done throughout history, he will devour his enemies. Your hatred is no match for our love, and fight for survival.

This nation has risen like lions. Now if we could only get some sleep.

• Rolene Marks is a Middle East commentator often heard on radio and TV and is the co-founder of Lay of the Land and the SA-Israel Policy Forum.