This week, Jews around the world will be celebrating Chanukah, a holiday that commemorates the victory of the Israelites over the Hellenist Greeks, who had taken over the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and converted it into a Temple for their god Zeus. Chanukah celebrates a lamp that held enough oil for one day and yet miraculously burnt for eight days. Chanukah always falls out on the 25th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev. Because the Hebrew Calander is lunar, Chanukah can fall anywhere from late November all the way to the end of the year. This year, the first night of Chanukah coincides with Christmas.
Another thing that Chanukah shares with Christmas is the giving of gifts. Some rabbis assert that the source of Chanukah presents dates back to the offering of gifts by the Princes of the Tribes at the consecration of the Tabernacle in the Sinai Desert described in the bible in the Book of Numbers. This makes sense. After all, the Hebrew word “Chanukah” means “consecration,” in our case, the reconsecration of the Holy Temple after it had been taken back from the Greeks. But if we want to be honest with ourselves, it is a whole lot more plausible to assert that the concept of Chanukah presents comes from Christmas presents, so as not to leave Jewish children staring with raw envy at their Christian friend’s new 1000-piece Lego set that Santa left him under the tree.
A gift that many Israeli children will be receiving this year is called “Israeli Heroes.” “Israeli Heroes” are G.I. Joe-esquian action figures of Israel Defense Force soldiers. There are seven different soldiers to choose from, including men, women, an Israeli Arab, an Ethiopian, and a wheel-chair-bound soldier named Yisrael Amar who works in the Cyber Division. Each soldier comes with accessories that include guns, a helmet with night-vision goggles, a real dog-tag, and a miniature Israeli flag. Each soldier comes with a biography and a message for children who purchase (or are purchased) the doll. For instance, Tomer Tal, also known as the “Guardian of Justice,” “believes wholeheartedly that the world can be a better place, and so since he was a child, he has fought for justice and goodness. He is a born leader, who knows how to carry everyone along with him, and even in difficult moments he overcomes all difficulties.” Tomer’s message to children is, “When we train and prepare for anything in life, nothing can scare us.” Meital Cohen, a female Border Policeman, tells children, “Be who you are no matter what anyone tells you.” Each doll costs 139 shekels, nearly 40 dollars, quite a steep price. That said, the dolls are of very high quality – they are produced in the same factory that produces Spiderman and Marvel Comics Action figures, which cost about 15 dollars on Amazon, sans the accessories. Specially designed dolls in the image of a soldier who was killed in action can be specially ordered but this costs significantly more than 139 shekels.
“Israeli Heroes” is not just another Middle Eastern G.I. Joe. The idea for the figures came from Yarden and Elad Stefanski, two Israelis who have done more than their fair share of reserve duty since October 7. The dolls – which were designed while the inventors were still serving in emergency reserve duty – are designed to address two major needs of Israeli children that have come to the fore since the beginning of this war: The first is the need of a child who has been living continuously under fire. Many Israeli children have spent the last year without a father figure. And while the statistics are still being analyzed, many Israeli children are already suffering from PTSD. Their fathers return from reserve duty once every few weeks. When a father does come home, he spends much of his time resting and recuperating. The “Israeli Heroes” dolls are not intended to supplant the role of the father, but, rather, to augment it. When the father is away, the doll can serve as a temporary surrogate. Parents report that this is indeed happening.
The second need of Israeli children is the need to believe that our soldiers are fighting in a just war. Israelis have never gratuitously flouted power. Israel does not glorify the projection of power. While Israel has by far the most powerful army in the Middle East, it does not throw military parades as in other countries. Once a year, on Independence Day, a few Israel Air Force jets fly over the country for about an hour. In Israel, the army means something else entirely: the army is here to protect us. Even more than that, the army is us. Each Israeli must serve three years of mandatory army service and then afterwards must serve in reserve duty until the age of 45 – even older for some soldiers. In 2024, Israeli reservists will serve 70 days of reserve duty. Each soldier is someone’s father or brother or uncle. The country is still small enough that there is no person I have met that does not have a close friend or relative who was killed or injured in action since October 7. Because our soldiers are protecting us from a horrible enemy, we call our soldiers “Heroes.” It is the enemy who have killed people in their homes and who will do it over and over again until we stop him, an enemy who has fired rockets incessantly, keeping us locked in bomb shelters and making even a trip to the supermarket perilous. This “Hero” title is especially pertinent to a soldier who has been killed in combat. He immediately attains the title “Hero of Israel” appended to his name. Pictures of those soldiers adorn streets all over Israel in tribute to their ultimate sacrifice. Children know their names. They are our heroes. They are their heroes.
Yarden Stefanski summarizes things succinctly, “There was a sense of a crisis of trust between the people and the army [after the debacle that led to the massacre of October 7], and on the other hand, a new generation of heroes emerged who left everything behind and went out to fight for the country… We started thinking about how to get out of this loop and restore morale and unity in the people, certainly around our soldiers.”
“Israeli Heroes” is not an Israeli invention. In 1940, before the U.S. entered World War II, Timely Comics created a new superhero called “Captain America.” This move was intentionally political. Timely Comics was stridently opposed to the actions of Nazi Germany and supported U.S. intervention in World War II. It intended the hero to be a response to the American non-interventionism movement. Timely worked out the details of the character, who was eventually named "Captain America." Captain America was Steven Rogers, an undersized youth who wanted desperately to fight overseas. Classified “4-F,” or unfit for military service, Rogers accepted a role in an experimental program meant to create an army of super soldiers to defeat the Nazis, only to become the program’s only participant when German agents murdered the scientist leading the research. Together, he and the United States would – in the words of the first issue – “gain the strength and the will to safeguard our shores.” While Captain America has become a blisteringly successful comic franchise and has produced multiple blockbuster movies, the concept goes back to a time when Americans brimmed with national pride, when Americans believed that while America may not be exceptional, it was certainly just. “Israeli Heros” replicates that feeling and transplants it into 2024 Israel.
The public response is good. The Stefanskis are inundated with requests from soldiers to design dolls for their units. Right now, a series of dolls is being specially designed for the police force. The question is if the “Israeli Heroes” will survive after the war is over. Yarden Stefanski believes that they will: “The war was just the trigger. The soldiers and security forces in Israel are an integral part of culture and life, and we will continue to make sure that the children of Israel see those who protect them as superheroes.”
I believe that Yarden is right. One of the most popular songs during the war is a song by a band called Hatikva 6, whose songs often consist of Zionist overturns to a reggae beat. The song is called “Superheroes (Giborei-Al)”. Here are some of the words:
So the Bible teacher serves in [the] Givati [Brigade]
The language teacher in Intelligence
The neighbor upstairs is a construction contractor but has been in the reserves for a month
The lawyer is a Operations Officer
Does shifts in the division
Her brother is a senior high-tech guy now he's a sniper on rooftops in the Gaza Strip
The tough bank branch manager is a General in Judea and Samaria
Doron is a toy store owner now he's a company commander in the Armored Corps
And [Fauda actor Idan] Amedi who usually sings in Caesarea
A fighter in the Engineering Corps
Is recovering bravely after being wounded in the heart of Gaza
[Chorus]
It's true that everyone here looks ordinary, but
We are a nation of superheroes
There is always a soldier hidden inside everyone
Ready to save the world
This war has changed Israelis, ultimately for the better. Ask anyone you meet if he is willing to return to October 6. The answer will be a resounding “Never!”
“Israeli Heroes” are available now at https://israeliheroes.com/. Buy now while supplies last.
Wishing one and all a happy holiday season,
Ari Sacher
Yorumlar