Ender’s Game and October 7th
In 1985, author Orson Scott Card introduced to the world the novel known as “Ender’s Game.” The book told the story of a time set in the not too distant future in which the Earth confronts the aftermath of a nearly cataclysmic alien invasion. As a consequence of this event, governments across the world enlist child prodigies in a militaristic space academy to prepare against future threats. Card’s work was almost immediately hailed as a sci-fi classic and to this day has remained a bestseller of the genre. It found acceptance amongst both civilians and veterans alike and has even been listed as recommended reading by the U.S. Marine Corps.
“Ender’s Game” in many ways bears the hallmarks of a traditional science fiction tale. It features aliens and spaceships alongside an intergalactic conflict and a colorful cast of characters. Yet, at its heart “Ender’s Game” is fundamentally a story about empathy which is personified in the titular character of Andrew “Ender” Wiggin. Ender is a child military prodigy presented with the task of preparing humanity for war against the intergalactic invaders known as the Formics. Throughout the novel he strives to understand his enemy so that he might discover the means by which he can destroy them.
Ender’s teachers praise him for his capacity to emphasize clearly seeing how such talents might be utilized as a means of strategy. But, as Ender later confesses to his sister Valentine:
“In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment, I also love him. I think it’s impossible to really understand somebody, what they want, what they believe, and not love them the way they love themselves.”
By the book’s end, Ender proves successful in performing the grim task which his superiors bequeath on him. However, this victory comes at great cost to himself with both real world and interpersonal consequences. Ender’s accomplishments eventually translate into a legacy that far outstrip his momentary triumph as humanity is forced to come to terms with the bitter fruits of victory in war.
Since its war for independence in 1948 Israel had fought many battles against countless enemies on many fronts. Yet, among all of those foes only one can be reasonably said to have shaken Israel to the very foundations of its existence. That man is Yahya Sinwar, the architect of the October 7th massacre. How was it that a single man could rattle so badly what was then considered to be one of the most powerful militaries in the world? Moreover, how was it that Israel could be so caught off guard in spite of its reputed intelligence capabilities?
The story of Sinwar is in many way typical of that of many Palestinians. Born in the wake of the Nakba he was forced to grapple with the active reality of his people’s displacement. This in turn fueled Sinwar’s zeal for Palestinian independence which later resulted in him finding himself inside an Israeli prison cell. It was at this point that Sinwar embarked on a series of decisions which would ultimately make October 7th possible. This lay, first and foremost, not in random unplanned violence but in the study of Hebrew and Israeli culture.
Sinwar would use his time in captivity to understand his enemies in a way not dissimilar from that of Ender Wiggin. This is why he was able to hurt Israelis so badly in a way that has sent them into a seemingly blind rage. He knew exactly where to strike and how to inflict maximum damage because he had, ultimately, come to understand his foes as he did himself. He would not have enjoyed such success had it been otherwise.
And yet Sinwar’s analysis and understanding of Israel is not the full story in and of itself. The other side to this tragic tale lies in how the Israeli government fundamentally misjudged the mindset of their Palestinian neighbors. The IDF, the Mossad, and Israeli society in general were seen as be militarily and culturally superior to their Arab neighbors in every way possible. The idea that the Palestinians, who were seen as being weak, disunited, and predictable, could ever challenge them was readily accepted as the only acceptable reality.
From this mindset sprung the Israeli government policy of “mowing the grass” in which the IDF would make periodic incursions into Gaza while at the same time offering token worker visas and cash to the Palestinians. The master stroke to this strategy was to have been the Abraham Accords in which Israel would completely cut out Palestine from the ongoing Middle East peace process between the Jewish state and its neighbors. Overawed and isolated the Palestinians would be forced to accept the reality of their second class status and eventually acquiesce to Israeli demands.
This, however, was not to be the case. While much still remains uncertain about the failure of Israeli intelligence on October 7th one takeaway has become inescapable. The Israeli public were caught completely off guard and their sense of safety and security has been utterly shattered. The psychological damage wrought by Hamas on their neighbors was, perhaps, even more devastating than the physical violence that was inflicted. This has caused their foes to become completely untethered in their counterattack as they struggle to rationalize the depths of their failure.
The capacity to empathize with one’s enemy is, perhaps, one of the most underrated and, yet, essential aspects of warfare. To know one’s enemy is to love them in a certain sense as Ender came to realize in his military training. It is how Sinwar managed to fundamentally damage the Israeli psyche in a manner unlike any of it’s past opponents. If the Jewish state wishes to survive into the future it will also someday have to learn this lesson. To live by Moshe Dayan’s admonition to be seen as a mad dog is no longer sufficient. Its enemies have learned to look beyond this veneer and have uncovered the truth that Israel is, in fact, far more human than they would like to admit.