A Labyrinth or a Maze
Finding a Metaphor for the Continuing War
We are back at war in Gaza, and I admit I am taken aback. It’s not that I imagined a smooth transition into the second phase of the ceasefire deal. We all knew it was unlikely that Hamas’ leaders would agree to hand over the remaining hostages—their only leverage—and that the Netanyahu government would agree to end the war with Hamas in power. And yet, I and many other Israelis, judging from the prevailing mood of disbelief and dismay, had clung to the hope that negotiations could bring the hostages home and the war to a conclusion.
In my mind, an appropriate metaphor for the protracted negotiations was a labyrinth—an elaborate, confusing structure, but one with a single entrance, exit, and path to its center. It seemed that if we moved forward, steadily and diplomatically, we would eventually arrive at the heart of the problem—the remaining hostages—and discover the best way to get them out.
Apparently, a labyrinth was too simple an image. The negotiations were more like a maze—a complex puzzle with multiple passages, junctions, entrance and exit points, and dead ends. Finding our way out required resolve and determination. Hamas may have introduced new complexities, but we failed to solve the puzzle, some would say intentionally.
Now that the war has been reignited, we have been propelled deeper into this metaphorical maze, making it more likely we will crash into its dead ends. Our attempt to defeat Hamas militarily may cause us to inadvertently and tragically kill the hostages. Our use of force to pressure Hamas’ leaders into reentering a ceasefire may cause them to raise their demands or, tragically, to kill the hostages. Dead ends, indeed.
What’s more, this metaphorical maze is part of a larger political puzzle whose convoluted corridors include Bibi’s use of the war to extend his tenure in office, the government’s creeping authoritarianism, and the extreme right’s fantasy of resettling Gaza. These are not even veiled attempts at an exit strategy from the maze in which we are trapped; they are brazen misadventures that will only cause us to further lose our way.