A young generation to watch

Like the young Diggers who scaled Gallipoli 110 years ago during World War I, young Israelis are carrying their beloved nation’s fate – and that of the free world – on their broad shoulders. Israelis have been battered by two years of regional war, a fortnight of Iranian missile barrages and the odd rocket taunt from Houthi terrorists, but their fortitude and resilience in a shell-shocked land where people are strung out and exhausted are extraordinary.

As Yoni Bashan and Liam Mendes write in Inquirer: “What other society crowds the beaches and keeps playing volleyball after its third dash to the bomb shelters for the day?” Sounds that resemble air-raid sirens or rocket alerts put Israelis’ raw nerves on edge, understandably.

As Israel’s government and what is left of Hamas – provided it is prepared to lay down its arms – edge close to a ceasefire, the 18 to 21-year-old Israelis, who have seen more horror than any war room decision-maker, may finally have the chance to be carefree again. “We need to kiss the land that they are walking on,” Zohar, an Israel Defence Forces reservist in his 30s, tells The Australian. “Most of the citizens of Israel cannot even imagine what they’ve been through and we need to honour them and do whatever we can to support them.”

They did something you do not expect from 20-year-olds, especially nowadays, says Guy Poreh, 53, a tech investor injured in Gaza 30 years ago. They show up, put down their phones, don’t go to parties, enlist and help out their friends: “Nobody asked them to do it but they did it.” They were prepared for die for their country and for Western liberal values, and saw that fate befall their friends.

However a modern-day war poet in the mould of Wilfred Owen captures their exploits, or where life in Israel takes them from here, they will be a generation to watch.