The famous images of victory are strongly ingrained in our minds. The ink-drawn flag raised by Avraham Adan (Bren) at the end of the War of Independence, the paratroopers at the Western Wall and Yossi Ben-Hanan in the Suez Canal during the Six-Day War, Ariel Sharon with the bandage on his head in the Yom Kippur War.
It's not for nothing that we remember these images, even after all these years. Something about them crystallized the drama and encapsulated the whole story. If "one picture is worth a thousand words," as the cliché goes, then a good picture is worth far more, sometimes even victory in war.
The search for a victory image can be deceiving. The thought that a single frame can sear what happened (and didn't) into our consciousness is almost utopian. Life is too complex to be summarized by one click of the camera. This has always been true and is true seven-fold when it comes to modern warfare, the current era of advanced technology, and the global influence and reach of social media.
The wars today are mostly waged from within the population (of the enemy) against our own population. In these wars, the IDF has no control of the information, and certainly not its dissemination. Anyone with a cellphone is a journalist or photographer; everyone with a social media account can transmit news far and wide.
In this reality, the ability to influence and determine outcomes with a single photo is close to zero, even more so when the very idea of "victory" has become so elusive and controversial. To a large extent, it's actually easier for the enemy to attain a victory image, as he is unrestrained and unbound by ethics. Media outlets sometimes even publish photographs that theoretically serve the other side.
On the modern battlefield, there are no more flags on hilltops or enemies that declare surrender. The last rocket will always fly in our direction, and even the successes are open to debate and interpretation. An Iron Dome interception, for example, is undoubtedly an impressive success and is also a clear technological victory, but it isn't a victory image in the classical sense. An explosion at an Iranian nuclear facility is also a tremendous accomplishment but is far from being a victory blow that ends the war.
Modern-day life consists of a tapestry of images that cannot be distilled into one single picture. Therefore, the search for a "victory image" in the next war (which, god willing, won't come) will likely be an exercise in frustration, not to mention futility. This doesn't mean we should or can surrender in the battle for hearts and minds, but this battle won't come with an easy win in the form of a lone image.
Hence, we should be modest and suffice with victories that resonate less, yet are more significant than a single photo. And we can also take solace in victories that occur away from the classical battlefield, in other areas. The connection forged between IDF soldiers and the Haredi public in Bnei Brak is a clear victory for Israeli society, in terms of overcoming its fears. At this time, it seems a thousand of these pictures are better than the price that comes with one classical victory image.
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