Turning to the home front, Daniel Polisar examines how Israeli society has weathered what might be the most awful year in the country’s history:

First, most Israelis (with the exception of a couple of sectors) have dedicated themselves to the war effort with remarkable focus and perseverance. This starts with hundreds of thousands of soldiers, mostly reservists in their twenties, thirties, and forties who were called away from their homes and careers, and have risked life and limb to defend their country. They could not have done so effectively and with peace of mind without the unwavering backing of their spouses, typically but not always women, who for months at a time have taken care of their families while providing emotional and logistical support to their life partners on the front lines.

The spirit of voluntarism remains powerfully alive throughout society twelve months into the war, and is shared by young and old alike—who have taken upon themselves a myriad of activities to support the troops, the Israelis displaced from the Gaza envelope and the areas near the Lebanese border, and the families of the hostages.

Quoting David Ben-Gurion, Polisar asks to what extent Israelis have succeeded at “preserving through this bloody conflict ‘a vision of life, a vision of national rebirth, of independence, equality, and peace.” His answer:

Though there are of course exceptions, I’ve seen a clear picture emerge from speaking with dozens of soldiers and hearing and reading the words of hundreds more. They are animated by a touching nobility of purpose: they are fighting so that their family, friends, and neighbors can enjoy the good and simple things in life, so that the hostages can be reunited with their families, and the displaced residents of the south and north can return to their homes, till their fields in peace, and send their children to their own schools so that they can flourish and contribute in turn to their country.

Addressing a recent meeting of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s Central Committee, Mahmoud Abbas criticized Hamas more sharply than he has previously (at least in public), calling them “sons of dogs.” The eighty-nine-year-old Palestinian Authority president urged the terrorist group to “stop the war of extermination in Gaza” and “hand over the American hostages.” The editors of the New York Sun comment:

Mr. Abbas has long been at odds with Hamas, which violently ousted his Fatah party from Gaza in 2007. The tone of today’s outburst, though, is new. Comparing rivals to canines, which Arabs consider dirty, is startling. Its motivation, though, was unrelated to the plight of the 59 remaining hostages, including 23 living ones. Instead, it was an attempt to use an opportune moment for reviving Abbas’s receding clout.

[W]hile Hamas’s popularity among Palestinians soared after its orgy of killing on October 7, 2023, it is now sinking. The terrorists are hoarding Gaza aid caches that Israel declines to replenish. As the war drags on, anti-Hamas protests rage across the Strip. Polls show that Hamas’s previously elevated support among West Bank Arabs is also down. Striking the iron while it’s hot, Abbas apparently longs to retake center stage. Can he?

Diminishing support for Hamas is yet to match the contempt Arabs feel toward Abbas himself. Hamas considers him irrelevant for what it calls “the resistance.”

[Meanwhile], Abbas is yet to condemn Hamas’s October 7 massacre. His recent announcement of ending alms for terror is a ruse.

Abbas, it’s worth noting, hasn’t saved all his epithets for Hamas. He also twice said of the Americans, “may their fathers be cursed.” Of course, after a long career of anti-Semitic incitement, Abbas can’t be expected to have a moral awakening. Nor is there much incentive for him to fake one. But, like the protests in Gaza, Abbas’s recent diatribe is a sign that Hamas is perceived as weak and that its stock is sinking.