'Cleared for publication'

For nearly 10 months, 120 Israelis have been held in captivity by the terrorists of Hamas and Islamic Jihad. For them, 10 months is a measure of suffering, pain, and despair. And they do not see the light at the end of the literal tunnel they are held in.

For us in Israel, these 10 months have been a time of worry for the fate of our hostages. The posters with their photos and names hang in virtually every bus station, and on every bulletin board. Their children, parents, spouses, and siblings are in every television studio every day, begging for a hostage deal that will end their ordeal.

Their names and faces have become so familiar to us that it sometimes feels like we are old friends-after 10 months since they were abducted, we know all about them-their ages, their characters, their professions, and their hobbies. They have become household names.

However, the ordeal that has been the center of life for the hostages and their families is only part of what we, as a nation, have become so familiar with. Over the past 10 months, the Israel Defense Forces have been battling terrorists throughout the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah along the northern border. Almost 700 of our soldiers have sacrificed their lives fighting terrorists-fighting for the return of tens of thousands of evacuees to their homes in safety, and fighting to liberate the hostages still living in captivity… and the bodies of the rest, which demand proper, dignified burials.

Just as we have become familiar with every hostage and their respective stories, families, and friends, so are we exposed to the stories of each of the soldiers killed in action. However, the hostages were all taken on October 7 and we hear their stories repeatedly with new details added at each interview, while the fallen soldiers are new tragedies happening almost daily.

Whenever a soldier is killed, the family is notified first. Only then does the IDF inform the public with a standard statement that invariably begins with the ominous expression” “It has been cleared for publication.” On most days since October 7, the citizens of Israel wake up with a news flash that we all now call “cleared for publication,” and the name of one or two fallen soldier followed by their age, their place of residence, and their marital status. It has become so common that we turn on the morning news with trepidation, expecting to hear the latest “cleared for publication.” A good day is one that does not begin with this news.

With the fallen soldiers, as with our hostages, we then hear all about each one’s life, their character, their childhood, and their hobbies. We meet their significant others, we see their children, we hear their parents, and we see their pictures in better and happier times. For a few days, we all talk about the latest fallen soldier and their life that was cut short so tragically. And on the following day, or sometimes two or three days later, there will be another “cleared for publication” and we will become familiar with yet another 19-year-old who will never fulfill their dream, yet another 40-year-old whose children will grow up without a parent.

Invariably, tragically, among those lost are olim (immigrants) from abroad, including of course those with Chicago connections-creating a shared sorrow across the miles.

The reality we have been living with here for nearly 10 months is one of a tragedy that happened on a fateful Shabbat of Simchat Torah-but has never ended. Thousands of families are still living on October 7, and the stories of those who were massacred, those who were abducted, and those who are killed in war every single week are very much a part of the lives of every single Israeli-including those of us who never met any of them.

It is a constant and unending reminder that we are a nation very much still surrounded by those who will happily give up their own lives to see us disappear. Yet, we go on fighting for our survival, and for those who lost their precious ones. We have no choice but to be resilient and carry on, even as we hear, every day, what fresh pain has been “cleared for publication.”