Is Israel really prepared for a Hezbollah confrontation?

Who would have thought that an obscure scripture from the book of Isaiah, written more than 2,800 years ago, would be as relevant as today’s Israeli headlines? The passage in question is from the 51st chapter and the 18th verse which says, “There is none to guide her among all the sons she has born, nor is there one to take her by the hand among all the sons she has reared.” 

This is the conundrum in which Israelis find themselves. Not only is there no plan for what happens when the Gaza military operation is completed, but there is no one offering a reasonable and sound path forward when it comes to our preparedness as we now face what looks to be an impending confrontation with Hezbollah.

Just a few days ago, the government app Hamal, texted an ominous warning from the CEO of Noga - Israel Independent System Operated Ltd., Shaul Goldstein, who minced no words when as he described the nightmare of a 72-hour period with no electricity in Israel, a very likely scenario, claiming that “Hezbollah could easily take down our power grid,” rendering life in Israel to be impossible. 

Laying out exactly how it could be done, he said that all Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s head, would need to do is make one phone call to an electrical engineer, and that person would be able to cripple our system, since theirs is identical to ours. 

As frightening as this thought is, it’s even more disturbing that we do not have a backup survival plan in place, in order to avoid such a doomsday catastrophe, which would result in the end of many vital services, especially for the sick and vulnerable among us. But that has been our Achilles Heel, which became all too obvious on October 7.

The lack of second level thinking by “the experts,” who made us believe that we were safe, well-informed and prepared, caused us to suffer grave consequences which are still being felt today, and while those errors and miscalculations were made over the course of several years, preceding October 7, you’d think that we would have learned something from that kind of disastrous unpreparedness. 

Goldstein’s stark warnings reminded us that we still remain in a state of unreadiness, lacking a leader who is able to properly rally agencies, directors, the military and whoever else is responsible for making sure that we remain in full operation in the event of a major war. 

In an attempt to bring calm to the situation, Israel’s Energy Ministry did its best to assure the public that “Israel’s energy is robust and ready to deal with all possible scenarios,” while the CEO of Israel’s national insurance services, Bituach Leumi, called Goldstein’s comments “irresponsible and disconnected from reality.”

So, who do we believe, and when will we find out who was right? Because once the battle gets started, “oops” just isn’t going to cut it. 

This is just one of several worrying concerns over who is steering this great ship called Israel, because now that our war cabinet has been dismantled, as a result of the June 9 departure of Knesset member Benny Gantz, who cited Netanyahu as an obstacle to Israel “achieving true victory, important decisions are being made by the prime minister, guided by his two good friends, Shas party head, Arye Deri, a convicted felon and Minister of Strategic Affairs, Ron Dermer, a great devotee and confidante of Bibi – not exactly someone who would challenge his strategy in any way. 

Sadly, at a time when a strong, capable and prepared leader has never been needed more, no one seems to be standing front and center, claiming to have a good plan for how we proceed in the fight against evil terrorists whose only aim is to completely wipe out the Jewish nation, followed by the entire Jewish race.  

Interestingly enough, a recent poll, conducted by Machon Geva, whose results were broadcast on Friday night’s N12 evening news broadcast, revealed that, among all of the likely political candidates, former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett now has the greatest lead when pitted as a running mate against Netanyahu, Gantz or anyone else. Also disclosed was that 51% of those surveyed do not want to see another religious government win in the next election.

The results were surprising because Bennett has not been a visible presence or spokesperson since the events of October 7, offering any alternative to the way our government has been executing the war, so why what would account for a sudden rise in the public’s perception of his leadership ability? It might be as simple as his having taken a low profile since he left his role as prime minister, back in June 2022, leading many to believe that he played no part in the negligent and irresponsible management of what led up to the massacre. In other words, his hands might seem cleaner than all the rest.

But that does not necessarily qualify him to take the helm of this very complex and bewildering morass in which Israel seems to be unable to successfully manage. If Bennett truly had a good solution, why has he not come forward to suggest it at a time when it’s most needed? It is probably because no such solution exists. 

It would take the wisdom of 100 Solomons to carve together a winning master plan which would include who runs Gaza after the war, what measures are needed to properly protect our southern and northern communities so that they can safely return to their homes, how Israel weathers a full-scale attack without being paralyzed and what would constitute the best way to restore our broken relationships with countries who have abandoned us in favor of the establishment of a Palestinian state. 

Such a tall order cannot be the blueprint of one man whose two political allies are unlikely to confront him or hesitant to say no. It is for this reason that a broad and varied coalition must work together in order to implement the best and most effective ideas, policies and strategies which will benefit the majority of Israel’s population rather than a small preferential sector of Israeli society.

Our present government woefully falls short of this kind of plurality of thought, cunning and masterful ideas. That only happens when diverse minds connect, and it’s the reason we need a change – in order to be as best-prepared as possible for whatever comes our way!

Until that happens, we can only pray that the Almighty takes the helm of the Promised Land, because short of His guidance, even 100 Solomons won’t do the trick!