I really am embarrassed to admit this, but I think I must. What is this secret I must confess? OK, here goes:
In all honesty I must confess that living in Shiloh, the eastern Shomron/Samaria, it's hard for me to remember that there's a war going on here in Israel. It's hard to remember. I have to keep reminding myself that my friends, fellow Israelis to the southwest are suffering terribly from Arab Hamas terror attacks from Gaza.
Israelis of all ages are forced to run for their lives as soon as an alarm goes off, and they have only seconds to reach shelter.
And sometimes there's no time, such as when mortars are launched against
4-Year-Old Mortar Victim Identified
Boy who was killed from Gaza mortar identified as Daniel Tragerman. Sources say mortar was fired from UNRWA school.
We don't hear the alarms here in Shiloh with any frequency, and it's easy to say that there's nothing to be concerned about on the two occasions there were alarms. At work in Sha'ar Binyamin when there was an alarm, the customers barely looked up long enough to say:
"We ought to just destroy them."And then they continued to shop. Someone else said:
"Let's just send in Putin. He'd finish them off in a couple of days or less. And he wouldn't apologize to anyone."Neither of my sons has been called to fight in Gaza.
It's very much "business as usual" in this part of Israel, though we in Shiloh have two local boys who had been wounded. The story of one from my street is here, click.
Our local swimming pool is giving free entrance to southerners who have come to the Shiloh area to escape the war.
I watch news reports on television, and read news on the computer. But none of that compares to mortars exploding nearby or having 15 seconds to run to safety.
I watch these movies, and not only do I wonder how I'd run to shelter quickly enough, but I wonder what shelter I'd have to run to. We don't have a shelter in the house. There isn't a wall without a window, without glass.
The truth is that it's much too easy to pretend that there isn't a war going on.
- I can much too easily "forget" that our IDF soldiers are trying the impossible, to safely destroy the Arab Gazan terror infrastructure.
- I can much too easily "forget" that many Israelis are woken by emergency alarms and have to run for shelter.
- I can much too easily "forget" that while here parents are getting their children ready for the school year, happily buying books and clothes, other Israeli parents are wondering if school will open at all.
- I can much too easily "forget" that many Israelis may find themselves homeless, because they can't live anymore under the threat of bombs and rockets.
- I can much too easily "forget" that some children don't know which school they will attend next year, because there aren't sufficient shelters in their schools and the terrorists are targeting their areas.
I feel awful writing this. But I must say that my blogging about the war and the dangers actually helps me to remember what is happening to my friends and fellow Israelis in the south.
We must remember that we are all in this together, because the Arab terrorists want to kill us all, G-d forbid.
8 comments:
Yes, it IS very easy to become complacent. For that reason I try to often check my red alert app to see what is going on in the south....
The main point/problem is that going to war without aiming for total Victory is not only pointless but utterly cruel, putting its citizens in more danger than before the war and cheapening the lives of heroic young soldiers. They risk their lives worrying about not harming the so-called innocent civilians, and instead putting themselves in danger. Never in the history of warfare has there been such insanity. May H' avenge the blood of this innocent beautiful child. Where are the Israeli citizens who should be demanding that this war needs to be WON.
rm, must do that, thanks.
a, exactly
You know that I am in London, but my heart and soul are in Israel. I have many non Jewish friends on Facebook and so I post all day, as much as I can about what is happening in Israel. Like you it keeps my mind where it SHOULD be....in Israel, whilst telling what is happening. Plus I go to every demo. it's the least I can do when so far away. I am heartened by the fact that non Jewish ex colleagues are sharing and sending the truth all over the UK and parts of Europe. It's my way of supporting my mishpacha!
this is why I downloaded the app. People ask me, doesn't that annoy you? perhaps it is an annoying sound, but every time it sounds, I am reminded that south of here, people are suffering, and in that instant, I can ask HKBH to please have rachamim, I can ask him why is that He is still giving so much power to them to fire rockets at us, or at the least, if pressed for time, I can take a tiny second and feel some small stab of pain in my heart for the suffering of my family members living in the south. I hear it all through the night too, so that I also cannot sleep comfortably and fully, it is the very least that I can do.
Sandra, appre iated. It is harder forvyoi to stay connected.
Dvorah what is the link?
Janet here, commenting from Darling Husband's address:
Yes, it's easy to forget from where we live too. Remember summer, 2005? We were on the barricades trying to stop the Disengagement... the barricades which turned out to be gates! The Disengagement "succeeded" very well! The "enemy", meaning the Settlers, was "conquered" in less than a week. My son claims we were conquered at Kfar Maimon, several months beforehand. In any case, the kibbutzim in the south, and many of the other residents, supported the Disengagement. In Tel Aviv some folks celebrated the "victory" on the streets; but most people enjoyed their summer vacations, sipping cola and watching Settler Teenagers get dragged to jail on their TVs. They didn't bother with such details as where, exactly, the middle-aged farmers were going to get a new start in life, or who, exactly, was going to prevent the border from moving to their backyards, rendering them the new "sitting ducks". Why should they?! The govt. assured them that they had it all under control!
I also sometimes forget there's a war going on! I've spent 20 years (since Oslo) trying NOT to think about it too much; otherwise I could not function. Besides, Bibi doesn't want to call it a "war" only an "operation"! When I do think about the war, I remember that the State of Israel has brought this war upon ourselves, by trying to placate Arab terror instead of fighting it.
Until we repent Disengagement from Gaza, Oslo, and the concept of "two states for two peoples", we will always be fighting with one hand tied behind our (national) back. We will continue to feel guilty whenever we succeed, because, oy, nebech! some Arab kid was killed in collateral damage! And besides... the Arabs also live here, right?... We will continue to supply them with free electricity and water, treat their wounded, and send them CARE packages over the border, even risking our soldiers' lives to secure the humanitarian gestures.
Why do we fail to fight as if we really mean it? Because we don't! A significant portion of the nation, who elect the Israeli "left wing", don't really believe we have a right to this Land! They believe we stole it from the Arabs! As long as such people continue to wield power in our politics and national narrative, we can't win! "Victory" is a dirty word!
So OK! I'm willing to feel a little guilty for forgetting the war for part of the day, in between news "fixes" to which I've become quite addicted. But I won't feel TOO guilty, because I figure we've more than "paid our dues"! We were the intended target of Oslo and the Disengegement; it's not our fault that it backfired! Our male population (and some of the females too) are fighting in more than proportionate numbers. I think our share of the suffering is enough, with dangerous objects "raining" on us on our roads, expensive agricultural produce and other possesions "disappearing", plus an occasional "piguah" resulting in a death or disability. I read that the army prevents many of these, and I believe them... but here too, they are "fighting with one arm behind their backs".
So please, Batya, spare me the guilt trips about how good we have it in comparison to our fellow Israelis in the South and the TA area!
The month of Elul is coming, and it's time to do T'shuva, to repent our shortcomings! Let each of us look within, and ask ourselves what bad things we have done... are continuing to do!... to deserve all the bad things that have come! We have to change, deep within, as individuals and as a Nation! It's not enough to take the Jew our of the Diaspora; we have to take the Diaspora out of the Jew!
Janet, I agree with you so much. Next time use Yehoshua's blogging rights and blog. You have so much to say.
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