Even if you only count until 1985, Lebanon was Israel’s longest war and so it’s no surprise that it left some of the deepest impressions. The birth of Peace Now, the murder of Emil Gruzweig and the personal struggles of soon-to-be famous Israelis like Avraham Burg and Donniel Hartman all illustrate how far Israel’s social fabric was stretched by the conflict. Across the ocean in America Jews like Norman Podhoretz and the rabbis of the CCAR are asking about their support for the Jewish State, and the world media is focused on Lebanon. When this war ends, the story will be far from over.
