It pains me to have to write this, but today we mourn the loss of a brave man, a man who dedicated his time and his life to protect his brothers and sisters in Israel. He paid the ultimate sacrifice, may it not be in vain, Hashem Yishmor. St-Sgt Dvir Emanuelof was killed in Gaza. The reason he was there was in order to try to prevent rockets from landing in many places in south of Israel. I spent a lot of time in the south, as I studied in Yeshiva there for two years, used to visit Yavne/Sderot/Beer Sheva,Ashkelon almost weekly. The majority of the people in the south are simple people who just want to continue with their lives, but their lives are something that we will never understand. Having to run at any moment to hide from rockets, is scary. These rockes have been falling daily on their houses, schools and factories. What did these people do to deserve this type of treatment?
3 years ago, the Israeli army moved into Gaza to throw the Jews living in that area out of their homes. It was done in order to signal to Fatah and the "Palestinians" that Israel is serious about peace and willing to make sacrifices. The day the Palestinians took over the Jewish sections of Gaza, all synagogues were burnt to the ground. The Jews from Gaza, some 9,000 people were taken and dumped. They were left without any idea of what to do and no way of making a living, as many of them worked as farmers. That, however, I shall save for another day.
The south of Israel, since then, has been pounded daily with rockets. Over 600 rockets have been sent, excluding those from the recent violence. There is no so-called "occupation" in Gaza, and Israel has no desire to retake the Gaza strip or any portion of it. The purpose of this incursion is simple: to wipe out terrorist operations and prevent them from striking the land of Israel. If any country in the world had the chutzpa to send rockets to their neighbours, I can assure you that the country hamed would respond with force and strength. Israel has a right to protect itself, and as we can all see, Israel values human lives. I would like to quote a few quotes from Golda Meir, who summed up what the israeli army and Israel is all about regarding wars.
"We don't thrive on military acts. We do them because we have to, and thank God we are efficient."
"We have always said that in our war with the Arabs we had a secret weapon - no alternative."
"We do not rejoice in victories. We rejoice when a new kind of cotton is grown and when strawberries bloom in Israel."
Israel does not enjoy going to war, but it has no option. When rockets are raining down on its citizens, what options does it have? Talking when you have nobody willing to listen is useless, as we have seen.
This battle for freedom didn't start in 1967, or even back in 1948, when the State of Israel was created. The problem can be traced back many centuries. Throughout the ages, there has been this hatred for the Jew. Just have a look at Yishmael in the Torah and see what type of a person he was.
Through the ages, people have mistreated the Jews for no reason other than hatred. From the Crusades to the pogroms of Russia to the Holocaust and even today, we can see anti-Semitism. How could any sane man really believe that an "organization of freedom fighters" that hides behind children and in hospitals, using its fellow citizens as human shields, is justified in its actions? People are simply afraid to voice an opinion different than what is accepted in their society.
Fatah is calling for a 3rd Intifada, but meanwhile, they are making plans to take over Gaza, just in case Hamas is defeated. Hamas feels the threat and is said to have killed over 35 Fatah personnel. The news would never show such a thing, however, as it "goes against the norms." I would like to make special mention of the USA, a true and loyal friend of Israel, as well as Germany who is the "outcast" of Europe due to its opinion in this arguement. As well, even Egypt knows what is best for its own sake, and has at long last not been afraid to speak out.
A Jew's existence today doesn't make sense, we have defied every odd against us, we have been attacked and persecuated by every great nation in the world but take a look, where are they today? We are here and we will be here tomorrow and in 100 years. We go against the norms of nature and thats something we should pride ourself with. In this weeks Parsha/Torah portion we read about the death of Yaakov, this hatred we as Jews face is based on the verse "sone et Yaakov, that he hated Yaakov", Yaakov or Yisrael as he was also called was the father of the 12 tribes and therefore of all of us. Just before Yaakov passes away he gathers all his children and tells them what will be at the end of days. Hashem didn't allow him to reveal the date that Moshiach/Messiah would arrive but Yaakov gave us an important lesson, we must be proud to be who we are, we should never feel ashamed of who we are and never be afraid to speak our minds. The Reformers, or the Enlightment as they were called in Russia were mistaken. They thought that by being less Jewish on the streets(Reforms famous saying is be a Jew at home and a German on the outside of the home) would save them from antisemitism and hatred and would allow them to be treated as equals. The fact is we are Jewish and will always be Jewish, we should be proud of who we are and where we come from. We will earn the respect of others when we respect our own values and heritage.
Instead of hanging our heads in shame for whats going on, let's hold them high. We are proud to be Jewish, proud to have a land we call home, we are proud of army values lives as much as they do and will do anything to protect us. Speak out and let the world know you are proud, Israel and the Jewish people need you in many ways and we in turn need them.
May Hashem avenge the blood of all Israelis killed by terrorists, all soldiers who paid the ultimate price in their service and gave their lives for us to have a better one(may it not be in vain). Israel lives, the Jewish nation lives and always will.
Please do me a favour and speak about Israel to your friends. Promote pride in each other. We have so many reasons to be proud and none to be embarrassed. Get involved in a project to either collect money for the south, if you would like to know of charities that work there please send me an email, get out there and work those chat sites and share the truth. If not for yourself then do it for St.- Sgt. Dvir Emanuelof.
May Israel and the Jewish nation know of no more sorrows and mourning.
5 comments:
Wonderful, thank you so much for this posting!
Behold the Guardian of Israel does not slumber or sleep. Hashem should protect us and save our soldiers
ts a sad reality that at such times many of us hang our heads in shame, we forget the ones who gave everything for us.
The time has come to life our heads and be proud. Thank you!
It´s been such sad news to learn about our loss of Staff Sergeant Dvir Emmanueloff. We´re all mourning his loss, at the same time worrying n praying for all of our soldiers. I just wanted to thank Exploring Judaism for the article you´ve posted today. In these difficult times it´s very comforting to know that there are other Jews who support us in our grief and who help us to defend our Holy Land and our people.
Thanks and keep up the amazing work!
It´s been such sad news to learn about our loss of Staff Sergeant Dvir Emmanueloff. We´re all mourning his loss, at the same time worrying n praying for all of our soldiers. I just wanted to thank Exploring Judaism for the article you´ve posted today. In these difficult times it´s very comforting to know that there are other Jews who support us in our grief and who help us to defend our Holy Land and our people.
Thanks and keep up the amazing work!
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