Memories of A Miraculous Flight

Since Shabbat, I guess, because I first saw news of it after we did havdala, the news here has been full of the fantastic flying skills of an Israeli fighter pilot.WATCH: POLICE SECURE REMAINS OF ISRAELI JET THAT WAS SHOT DOWN.  http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/WATCH-Police-secure-remains-of-Israeli-jet-that-was-shot-down-542205

This brings me back to one of the most surprising experiences I've ever survived. It happened during the 1991 Gulf War, when as a reaction to US President Bush The Elder's threats to Iraq, Iraq bombed/attacked Israel. To this day, I can't figure out how we became the target instead of the United States of America. 

The initial conflict to expel Iraqi troops from Kuwait began with an aerial and naval bombardment on 17 January 1991, continuing for five weeks. This was followed by a ground assault on 24 February. This was a decisive victory for the coalition forces, who liberated Kuwait and advanced into Iraqi territory. The coalition ceased its advance and declared a ceasefire 100 hours after the ground campaign started. Aerial and ground combat was confined to Iraq, Kuwait, and areas on Saudi Arabia's border. Iraq launched Scud missiles against coalition military targets in Saudi Arabia and against Israel.

Those of us who were living in Israel at the time were frequently wakened in the middle of the night by sirens to alert us of possibly approaching enemy missiles. And we then would have to run into a shelter or whatever room in the house had been prepared as a "safe room."

The military experts insisted that there was a chance that chemical weapons would be launched at us and gave very complicated instructions on how to properly seal the room. I must admit that I didn't follow it exactly. We, davka, chose our bedroom because it has an ensuite bathroom. I wasn't frightened enough to equip the room with the recommended buckets. When a siren went off, the kids would just pile into our room, and we'd all sleep, somehow, together.

It didn't take long to discover that Shiloh wasn't a target. Suddenly Shiloh filled with friends and family of neighbors looking for a safe place to stay. Tel Aviv and its suburbs sustained damage, and miraculously there was nobody in Israel killed by a direct hit, if my memory is correct. But when one of those missiles hit a base with American soldiers, about two dozen of them were killed. That's how dangerous those missile potentially were.

My husband and I had been invited by Herut, Great Britain to be the honorary guests and speakers at their big weekend convention in Bournemouth, scheduled long before, about three weeks into the war. Since it was quiet in Shiloh, we didn't change our plans. Our oldest daughter scheduled vacation from her National Service in Kiryat Shemoneh to stay home while we were away, and we went off on an all expenses covered vacation to England for a few days.

During that war, only El Al was flying in and out of Israel. Ben Gurion Airport was smaller than it is today, and since there was virtually no incoming tourism to Israel and so few flights, things were pretty quiet. It really was a treat for us to get away, even though we didn't think that we were escaping a war.

The flight began on schedule with the usual instructions and buckling in. Then the plane began to move and then ascend into the sky. Suddenly it took a very sharp turn. Never before or after that did I experience such an ascent. Apparently the pilot had noticed a missile coming at us and took avoidance action saving us all, Baruch Hashem, thank The Good Lord.

At that time, pretty much all El Al pilots were trained in the Israeli Air Force as fighter pilots.

Embarrassing Confession

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 them us. Those terrible terror weapons have killed innocent Jews including a four year old boy.

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.