The founders of the “The Israeli Reservists – Generation of Victory” Gilad Ach and Omer Waldman discuss the change that the events of Oct. 7, 2023, made in their lives, and taking the initiative and changing Israeli policy on and off the battlefield.
Donate now to the campaign to push Israel’s policymakers to pursue victory.
Q: Tell us a little bit about yourselves before Oct. 7.
Omer: Before the war, I worked as an event planner for large companies. I lived in a trailer for a year and traveled a lot.
Gilad: I founded two different organizations—in 2011 I founded the “Forum for a Green Israel” following the death of my older brother, who died from diving in the infected Kishon River while training for the Israeli Navy Seals (Shayetet 13). To this day I serve as the chairman of the organization. In 2013 I founded “Ad Kan,” which conducts investigations against anti-Israel organizations, and currently serve as the organization’s CEO.
Q: What have you been doing in the Israel Defense Forces since the beginning of the war?
Omer: I enlisted on Oct. 7 to the reserves in the north. At the beginning of the war I was trained to become a fire direction officer, working with the battalion’s mortars, artillery, drones and attack helicopters. My first round (of reserve duty) was in the sector of Kfar Yuval-Ma’ayan Baruch, the second round was in the Golan Heights and after that I became a fire direction officer for a tank battalion for a third round in northern Gaza and fourth round in the Netzarim Corridor. A lot of shooting.
Gilad: I fought in the north in defensive battles. I fought in Gaza, in the northern Strip. I founded the organization “The Israeli Reservists – Generation of Victory” together with Omer and other officers and soldiers. I recently returned from fighting in Lebanon.
Q: Tell us a little about your military missions and those of people around you that influenced the course of the war.
Gilad: This whole war was accompanied by many initiatives of reservists, that made the battlefield much more efficient and added a force multiplier to our side. Starting on Oct. 7, when we scrambled without receiving orders, we acquired drones and thermal night vision devices via donations, and ended with the push from below to create a buffer space north of the existing fence in Lebanon.
Omer: Immediately after the end of the first round, I joined Gilad (we served in the same battalion, where he was company commander and I the fire coordinator), to found “The Israeli Reservists – Generation of Victory.” There was the understanding that we were going into a long war with an unclear path to a decisive victory, while we and our friends were losing jobs, our families at home, and our friends were being killed and injured. Our statement at the beginning of the war, that seizure of territory in Gaza is victory, reached every media channel, and even the Knesset and the U.S. Congress. Many public initiatives on the subject began to arise, and this became a central issue in the public discourse. Only taking territory from Hamas will lead to a change the day after the war.
Q: Did the events of Oct. 7 change anything from your perspective?
Omer: Oct. 7 proved to me once and for all that we must not be complacent for a moment. The enemy is waiting at the door and will use every opportunity to start a war and slaughter us.
Gilad: Definitely. The events of Oct. 7 changed the thinking that it is possible not to decide the conflicts that the State of Israel faces and must win. For example: For years the State of Israel decided not to defeat Hamas and to allow it to continue to strengthen, in the hope that through the “conflict management” strategy it would be possible to make it abandon the path of terrorism. In fact, this method resulted in 1,200 deaths in one day and over 250 hostages. That is why we must act decisively on all similar issues: Hezbollah, crime among Israeli Arabs, the strengthening of terrorist organizations in Judea and Samaria and more.
Omer: The day before Oct. 7, we were after an intense year in which parts of the nation called for people to refuse service in the reserves, the air force, based on volunteers, collapsed, all this with great support from the media, and the day after that it blew up in our faces.
The arrogance and liberal agenda that led the army into “containing the enemy,” and that led the government to maintain and preserve the enemy in order to preserve the existing situation, have been proven to have no effect in the Middle East and in dealing with the enemy, and we have paid the price and are still paying, while 101 hostages are still being held captive.
Q: What are the places that you felt had to get up and change?
Omer: One main focal point is the army—the contractor for the political echelon regarding security, and which provides professional recommendations with regard to the management of the war. The army’s approach is to avoid friction with the enemy—which in practice caused the enemy to intensify in front of our eyes, while we refused to see.
In practice, the IDF General Staff’s promotion of conflict avoidance is reflected in the preservation of the status quo and the slow progress of the war, which affects both regular and reserve soldiers, whose lives in many cases have collapsed after more than a year of reserve duty.
Gilad: Absolutely. At a certain point in Jabalia (Gaza) that I reached during the war, I realized that this was a place that I had been to in all the recent wars, in 2004, in 2009, in 2014, and each time we lose soldiers and eventually return the area to the enemy’s control. This is a manifestation of a failed “round” strategy that stems from an unwillingness to fight to win.
Omer: The second focal point is the Cabinet and the one who heads it—the decisions come from this room. And even if the chief of staff does not present military plans or significant recommendations, it is the responsibility of the Cabinet to push him to do so. The Cabinet dictates the operational decisions and the objectives of the war. Goals that were not achieved after more than a year and fighting that has dragged on much longer than needed. The humanitarian aid, the late entry into Rafah, the “gentle” attack on Iran—all shameful decisions of the Cabinet.
Q: Why you?
Gilad: The reservists in the field who have been giving their all for over 13 months so that this country will continue to exist are the worthiest to demand from the public and the political leadership that a change be made. In addition, soldiers in the field meet the enemy, and reality, directly, and not through the media—they are the only ones who really experience what is actually happening.
Omer: Our life does not look like it did before Oct. 7 in any way. While many other people have returned to their workplaces, studies and families, we have stopped everything and are paying heavy prices for it, all to do our part in the success of this historic confrontation, and in returning the hostages home.
Our voice should be heard as loud as possible. We are there in the field, looking the enemy in the eyes every day, seeing what the government’s decisions look like in practice on the ground.
Q: What do you feel is currently lacking in Israel’s institutions in general, and security institutions in particular?
Gilad: There is a lack of leadership connected to the field, of willingness to take risks to really change reality, and a lack of ability to carry out long-term plans.
Omer: The concept of security itself must change. From understanding the enemy and analyzing his motives, to the method of capturing territory.
We’re missing the right people, those who wouldn’t have said “Hamas is deterred” two weeks before Oct. 7. We’re tired of political chiefs of staff, and of politicians who warm chairs.
More intensive international legal work is also lacking, because even when we comply with international law, more and more conditions are imposed on us.
Q: What can be done to change the current situation?
Gilad: 1. Stop the “conflict management” concept and switch to the decision-making method. 2. Don’t be afraid to occupy and inhabit territory and do things that are considered breaking the rules, such as taking territory from the enemy and facilitating the voluntary migration of the Gaza population. 3. To act outside the box, with the main guiding value being the security of Israel and the destruction of any factor that threatens our existence.
Omer: Stick to a different public discourse. Do not “put up” with the status quo. The government is elected by the public and therefore it should represent the public. The public must exert pressure and persist with a strong message about what kind of victory we demand. Our movement is a great way to do this.
Q: How will the activities of “The Israeli Reservists – Generation of Victory” help?
Omer: I think that my decision to put my life, my family, my work, my studies aside for a higher purpose, like all my fellow reservists, gives my voice a place. The organization has existed for a year, and we’re looking forward. We have had a great impact and we cannot be ignored. From here we will only grow and get stronger.
Gilad: We operate on several levels. The first and most significant level is the national mindset. Although it is difficult to measure, we see its impact in a broad way since the organization was established, in creating a discourse of decisive victory. In spreading the message of imposing a territorial price on our enemies both in the north and the south. In addition, the interface with government ministries and the Knesset produces a positive dynamic of legislation that favors reserve officers and soldiers in the face of non-serving members of the public.
please click here.
