What a Difference a Word Makes

After a long hiatus from writing these reflections we returned to a situation that warrants more than the occasional thought. So, I am writing again just a few days since my last communication with you. Thanks to the many of you who wrote expressing your concerns. Believe it or not, just a word of encouragement is very heartening and most appreciated.

Living in Israel this past year has taught me that Hebrew is much more than grammar and vocabulary. There is an ethos to the language expressed through the nuances of expression, inflection, syntax and word choice. How an idea is expressed can communicate as much as the words themselves. Yesterday the Hebrew language media referred to the present conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon as the “fighting” in the north (l’himah ba-tzafon), today the language changed to the “war” in the north (milhamah ba-tzafon). The subtle change of wording (both derived from the same Hebrew root) conveys the heightened state of gravity in the situation. No longer is this simply a military operation it is now a more advanced conflict. Several hundred rocket and katyusha attacks have begun to take their toll.

Throughout the day Hezbollah has been launching rockets and katyushas (of increasing range), even hitting a train depot in Haifa killing eight and wounding over fifty civilians. Many of these rockets are launched from private homes, putting Lebanese civilians directly in harm’s way when Israeli warplanes and artillery target the launch sites. That is Hezbollah’s cynical modus operandi—it uses civilians as human shields then cries out against Israel’s brutality in targeting innocent non-combatants.

This calculated tactic of Hezbollah is encouraged by those nations and international bodies that describe Israel’s self-defense measures as “disproportional response” to Hezbollah’s rocket attacks and the abduction of the two Israeli soldiers last week. I wonder if any other country in the world would have acted less forcefully to such a wonton act of aggression? Perhaps I am becoming too cynical, but I have come to expect such foolishness from the states of the European Union and from the jaded voices of the United Nations.

Despite the gravity of the situation, or perhaps in response to it, there is amazing calm here. The population from Tel Aviv north has been advised to stay indoors, preferably in secure rooms or shelters. Hourly there are advisories on the television outlining procedures to be followed in the event of hearing a warning siren. And, with all this, life goes on incredibly normally.

NFTY, the Reform youth movement has some 600 teenagers in the country. The itinerary has changed to keep them safely away from the north, but none have gone home. Last night my wifeand I joined our friends at their home hosting about three-dozen NFTY parents who are here visiting their kids. On Tuesday night we are hosting a program in our apartment for about 15 NFTYites because their social action program in Haifa had to be relocated to Jerusalem. In no time at all the NFTY staff was able to recruit Reform rabbis and educators in the capital to volunteer their time and their homes to create alternative programs. That same spirit is replicated all over this country as people here reach out to others in a myriad of small but significant ways as an expression of national resolve at this time of crisis. No one is daunted; no one is cowed by the threats spewed our way from Hezbollah and from Iran. This country is more united than ever. That is Israel. That is why I am so proud to be an Israeli and grateful for the opportunity to live here.

Please take a moment and offer a prayer for those families who have lost dear ones. Pray as well for the healing of those wounded in body, mind and spirit. Also, ask God to watch over our military personnel who risk their lives to protect us. And, it is not in dissonance with those prayers to ask God to take pity upon those innocent Lebanese and Palestinians who have been made to suffer because of the callous actions of the Hamas and Hezbollah terrorists.

Shalom from Jerusalem

An Eventful Homecoming

My wife an I recently returned from an extended stay in southern California visiting family and friends. Our visit was only marred by news from home as we learned of the abduction of an Israeli soldier and the murder of two more by Palestinian terrorists at the end of June, followed by Israeli reprisals and the continuing firing of rockets from Gaza. Hamas officials justified the abduction and called upon Israel to release Palestinian prisoners in an exchange for Cpl. Gilad Shalit, the kidnapped soldier. One might only consider the extent of the hostilities if Israel had not pulled out from Gaza a year ago; a terrorist Hamas led Palestinian government might have caused havoc among the Israeli civilian population of Gush Katif in order to draw Israel into an even greater military conflict than we presently face.

We celebrated the anniversary of our Aliyah on July 7th with a Shabbat dinner at the home of my wife's parents. The wonderful experience of our US visit underscored the appropriateness of our decision to make Aliyah a year ago. No matter how enjoyable and fulfilling our visit was we longed to be back in our Jerusalem home once again.

We returned on Thursday, July 13th—the 17th of Tammuz. Our arrival in Israel on the fast day marking the breach in the walls of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.E. was a kind of portent. That day Hezbollah, the Iranian-Syrian backed terrorist army in Lebanon breached the border and kidnapped two more Israeli soldiers and killed eight. Israel’s swift response opened up a second front in our war against the terrorists. And the katyusha rockets began to rain down upon the cities of the north even reaching the port city of Haifa killing one person and injuring scores of others. At this writing several hundred rocket and katyusha strikes have been reported. Israel has bombed the Beirut airport for the second time and has destroyed a significant part of Hezbollah’s rocket stockpiles.

The abductions in the south and in the north have all the markings of a coordinated effort by forces hostile to Israel to incite a major confrontation. The evidence points to Damascus and Teheran as the funders and formulators of this strategy. Both Syria and Iran have much to gain by stirring things up between Israel and the Palestinians and Israel and the Lebanese. Neither Hezbollah nor the Palestinian terrorist groups could possibly attempt such bold confrontations with Israel without the explicit support and even initiation by the Iranian-Syrian axis. This rogue alliance clearly intends to divert world attention from Iran’s nuclear threat and from Syria’s mischief in the Iraq conflict.

If there is any doubt about Iranian and Syrian complicity and partnership, one only has to look at Ha’aretz which reported this morning that the Iranian president threatened Israel with a “fierce response” should Israel attack Syria. Iran itself is making the case for Iranian and Syrian collusion. The question remains, however, whether or not the leaders of the international community will connect the dots and place responsibility for this unfolding crisis at the doorstep of Iran and Syria. Were the Security Council to act forcefully against the real culprits Hezbollah and the Palestinian terrorists would not be able to function with impunity. This would benefit the Palestinian people as well as Lebanon and be in their national interests as well as Israel’s. However, expecting the Security Council to respond other than by condemning Israel for defending itself against obvious aggression, is so much wishful thinking I am afraid.

It should be remembered that part of the conditions set by the United Nations following Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon called upon the Lebanese to disband Hezbollah’s separate army and integrate that force into the Lebanese army. The reality is that Lebanon was unwilling or, more likely, unable to disarm the Hezbollah forces and they remain as an “occupying force” in southern Lebanon violating the sovereignty of the Lebanese government.

And so, we are home now, and I can get the news almost as it happens from a variety of perspectives and that is far better than trying to understand what is going on from afar. We join with our fellow Israelis and pray for the welfare of our military personnel and for the safety of our citizens in the north and in Sderot and Ashkelon in the south.

I have received questions from families with children visiting here and who will be studying here in the fall as well as from friends who are planning trips here this summer asking us if it is safe to be here. Though I am neither a security expert nor a prophet, I can say that we feel safe here and that those who organize trips for individuals and groups take great care in insuring the safety of tourists. Except in the north, virtually all the sites frequented by tourists are secure and the tour buses continue taking visitors to the many historical and cultural locales that make Israel such an inspiring and unique tourist destination. At this time I would not advise anyone to cancel plans to visit Israel.

Our return to Jerusalem and our feelings now at this time of great concern, only confirms our convictions that our Aliyah was the right path for us. Life is good here—often more eventful than we would wish, but always significant and meaningful.

Shalom from Jerusalem