Israelis Remember October 7th But Fail to Learn From It, Analyst Argues

Three years after the October 7th Hamas attacks, Israeli society has focused on remembrance rather than learning from the devastating events, according to an analysis. While the nation is capable of recalling specific political details from years past, the critical examination of responsibility for the October 7th failures remains mired in political division, akin to any other partisan dispute.

The author contends that instead of a profound societal awakening, there has been a mere recovery and return to old patterns. The same divisions, loyalties, and animosities persist, preventing October 7th from serving as the watershed moment it was intended to be. The event has been transformed from a shock into a memory, which, unlike a shock, can be managed through ceremonies and commemorations without necessitating fundamental change.

While remembering the fallen and ensuring their stories are told is crucial, the article suggests that Israeli society has invested far more energy in remembering than in learning. A true shock, it argues, should destabilize beliefs, question trust in leaders, and challenge perceptions of the state itself. Instead, October 7th has become background noise in Israeli politics, used to reinforce existing viewpoints rather than compel change.

The analysis points out a regression to measuring events by their impact on one's own political camp and a reluctance to hold favored individuals accountable. The responsibility for the nation's worst disaster has become just another political debate. Rather than October 7th changing the political landscape, politics has reshaped how the event is perceived, turning it into a tool to prove pre-existing beliefs correct.

True learning from disaster requires acknowledging past errors and potentially discarding deeply held beliefs or recognizing the flaws of one's political camp or trusted leaders. The article concludes that the most frightening aspect of the third anniversary is not forgetting, but remembering every detail of October 7th without learning any lessons, thus failing to transition from the state that existed before to the one that should emerge afterward.