Not the Same

Ceasefire. At first i didn't buy it, but now i see photos of the official Lebanese army entering villages in the South, so it's probably good. I still think that it must be some trick, but i hope that i'm wrong.

Refugees from Galilee are returning back to their homes (my parents never left). Hotels in the North are reporting that the tourists are coming back. So what, is it like ... Peace?

Still, it's not the same country. Nasrallah is still alive, and as long as he is, he'll say that he won and a lot of people will believe him; Ironically, Israelis are the first to believe him - i don't think that any of us actually has a feeling of victory. And as long there's no victory, the war is not really over and can come back any minute.

Moreover, well over one hundred Israelis and much more Lebanese were killed in this pointless bloodshed. Questions are being asked. Was the army ready to this war? Why did the chief of staff reassigned senior commanding officers in the middle of fighting? Did we have to kill so much civilians to reach almost nothing?

Most importantly - i hear the Israeli journalists, "the keepers of the etrog", carefully asking the greatest questions of them all: Those people that we supported so strongly before the elections - Prime Minister Olmert and Defence Minister Peretz - are they capable of doing another war? Didn't they lie to us about the Disengagement? Why did we mock Effie Eitam when he said that after the Disengagement Kassam rockets will fall on Ashkelon? Why didn't we even try to listen to him? (They know the answer - because he has a beard and wears a kipa, but they are still afraid to admit it.)

No, it's not the same country as it was a year ago. And it's for the good. It's always for the good.