When The Mayor Takes Action

Now this is definitely something that I couldn’t see Mayor Nutter doing in the streets of Philadelphia. In fact, I don’t know if I could see any mayor in a major city in the United States doing this in their respective streets. I guess this is one of those situations that demonstrates the clear difference between Israel and the United States and Israelis and Americans in particular.

Last month I was skimming through my news feed and came across an article in Haaretz that immediately got my attention. As it turns out, the Mayor of Jerusalem (a city and a place close to my heart), Nir Barkat, was driving down the road when he suddenly asked his bodyguard to stop the car. He had seen a Palestinian terrorist (and that is what he is) stabbing a Jewish man at Tzahal Square. In the end, the bodyguard pulled his gun causing the teenager to drop the knife and the Mayor wrestled the madman to the ground, subdued him, and offered aid to the victim until police arrived on the scene.

As I stated above, the thing that struck me the most when I came across this article is just how different this kind of story is to someone reading it in the United States. I couldn’t see a mayor from a major city in the states taking action in the same way. Additionally, even if they would simply make a call having seen a similar attack, the need to promote their actions would be quite evident. There would be a much more grandiose gesture following the incident not a simple reflection such as the one Barkat gave in the Haaretz article:

"My bodyguard and I jumped straight out of the car, he drew his weapon and together we caught the terrorist until police arrived, and we took care of the wounded, who, happily, was only lightly wounded."  

Barkat said that when he and his bodyguards faced the assailant, he threw down his knife.

"This too is part of our life in Jerusalem. It's clear that if he would have looked to continue stabbing he wouldn't have been alive now. But he threw the knife away," Barkat said. 

The second half of that quote is particularly striking… “This too is part of life in Jerusalem.” Unfortunately, that is a reality in the holy city and one that continues to be a pervasive certainty in the streets throughout Israel. Terrorism is still a reality and the cause of such incidents continues to be muddled in the pages and reports that are disseminated around the world. It is a crisis that needs to be addressed with more than just talks and 10 year plans.

The means by which the State of Israel is portrayed continues to be inaccurate which has perpetuated protests and attacks throughout the world. Israel as a whole and Jerusalem in particular are a place of peace in a region obsessed with war and Jihad. Until the world accepts the reality that Israel is a peaceful state, terrorism will continue to taint that reality in the streets of Jerusalem.

Thankfully, the Israeli people are some of the most resilient that the world has ever known. They are the reason that Israel remains strong in the face of international accusations and terrorism in the streets. To those leaders, IDF soldiers, and all those who live in the holy land I end this post with two simple words… Thank you!

Israel Under Fire (From More Than Rockets)

So, while under rocket attack from Hamas, Israel negotiated a cease fire. But, honestly, let’s call this what it really is… giving in to the mounting international pressure (especially from the anti-Israel UN) so that you can have a few days of silence before Hamas launches more rockets, you retaliate, and Israel is deemed the aggressor. Basically, a giant Middle Eastern circle jerk.

What happened to the hard line that Bibi seemed so proud to be walking? What happened to the putting an end to this conflict once and for all? Where did the common sense go?

Honestly, we shouldn’t be surprised. This is basically what has happened every time ever since Israeli politicians began giving up land fought for and earned by the blood of their fellow Israelis. This is a dangerous trend that seems to have no end and that, at best, Israel comes out of the conflict a little worse off in the eyes of the media and the gullible public. Of course, this brings up another interesting story that was making the media rounds today.

A former AP correspondent, Motti Friedman, published a story in Tablet magazine about the failings of the main stream media in reporting the war in Israel and reporting on Israel in general. This is a tremendous read and one that should be noted as one of the few, if not the only, honest account of the world media and their treatment of the Jewish state. Unfortunately, this kind of reporting is not new as Freidman writes:

“The lasting importance of this summer’s war, I believe, doesn’t lie in the war itself. It lies instead in the way the war has been described and responded to abroad, and the way this has laid bare the resurgence of an old, twisted pattern of thought and its migration from the margins to the mainstream of Western discourse—namely, a hostile obsession with Jews. The key to understanding this resurgence is not to be found among jihadi webmasters, basement conspiracy theorists, or radical activists. It is instead to be found first among the educated and respectable people who populate the international news industry; decent people, many of them, and some of them my former colleagues.”

While reporters face tremendous danger, death threats, and, as we have seen recently, death, there is still little criticism surrounding those who are making these threats, posing these dangers, and taking innocent lives. Not only has it prevented reporting of the facts from actually occurring, it has prevented the truth from being told on more than one occasion. This is best explained when Freidman writes:

“There has been much discussion recently of Hamas attempts to intimidate reporters. Any veteran of the press corps here knows the intimidation is real, and I saw it in action myself as an editor on the AP news desk. During the 2008-2009 Gaza fighting I personally erased a key detail—that Hamas fighters were dressed as civilians and being counted as civilians in the death toll—because of a threat to our reporter in Gaza. (The policy was then, and remains, not to inform readers that the story is censored unless the censorship is Israeli. Earlier this month, the AP’s Jerusalem news editor reported and submitted a story on Hamas intimidation; the story was shunted into deep freeze by his superiors and has not been published.)”

This is particularly startling when taken into account the means by which Hamas is reported. Actually, it’s more about how much is not written and how focused the media wolves are on every aspect of Israeli politics, culture, etc. It is not about wanting to better understand, it is all about finding the minute failings (this is a term applied by the outsider) in individuals and groups and applying them to Israel as a whole. This is not reporting, this is find a way to paint a picture, frame a story, box a topic that fits the views of the reporter and the media outlet. As Freidman explains:

“Israeli actions are analyzed and criticized, and every flaw in Israeli society is aggressively reported. In one seven-week period, from Nov. 8 to Dec. 16, 2011, I decided to count the stories coming out of our bureau on the various moral failings of Israeli society—proposed legislation meant to suppress the media, the rising influence of Orthodox Jews, unauthorized settlement outposts, gender segregation, and so forth. I counted 27 separate articles, an average of a story every two days. In a very conservative estimate, this seven-week tally was higher than the total number of significantly critical stories about Palestinian government and society, including the totalitarian Islamists of Hamas, that our bureau had published in the preceding three years.”

For those of us who have been paying attention to the media, listening to what is actually being said, and talking to those living in Israel we have been aware of this massacre of the truth perpetuated by the media. I am grateful for the honesty that has been so succinctly reported in this piece and I hold out hope that, one day, actual reporting will return to the Middle East and Israel in particular. Maybe we can have a few honest voices on the ground when this current ceasefire is shattered by the sound of rocket fire.

On The Ground

 

This past week Israel finally sent ground troops into the Gaza strip. Not surprisingly, this cause cities in the United States to be invaded by misinformed masses of liberals who believe that the Israelis should simply follow the orders of the commandant and keep giving and giving until they get what they want... heck with 1967, they want Israel to return to the pre 1947 boarders (because the boundaries outlined by the United Nations were a Zionist plot). These protesters, on a certain level believe that Israel somehow deserves these rocket attacks… they would much rather see Israelis ignore the violence and propaganda, put their heads down and work. After all, work will set you free.

However, there were numerous opportunities given to Hamas by Israel to avoid this escalation. More opportunities than should have been given. Each time Hamas has refused. Finally, Prime Minister Netanyahu offered this final hand, this opportunity for de-escalation, and opportunity for a resolution and end to the violence. Given the circumstances, I don’t know if he could have phrased this any better:

To Ismail Haniya, and the leaders and operatives of Hamas:

We, the people of Israel, owe you a huge debt of gratitude. You have succeeded where we have failed. Because never before, in the history of the modern State of Israel, has the Jewish people been so united, like one person with one heart. You stole three of our most precious children, and slaughtered them in cold blood. But before we could discover the horrible truth, we had 18 days of pain and anxiety while we searched for them, during which our nation united as never before, in prayer, in hopes, in mutual support.

And now, as you continue to launch deadly missiles indiscriminately, intended to maim and murder as many civilians as possible, while you take cowardly refuge behind your own civilians - you continue to inspire us to hold strongly onto our newly discovered unity. Whatever disputes we Jews may have with each other, we now know that we have one common goal: we will defeat you.

But we are offering you now one last chance. Within 24 hours, all rocket fire - and I mean all rocket fire - will cease. Completely. Forever.

 

I give you formal notice that our tanks are massed at the Gaza border, with artillery and air support at the ready. We have already dropped leaflets over the northern parts of the Gaza strip, warning civilians of our impending arrival, and that they should evacuate southward, forthwith. If you fail to meet our ultimatum, we are coming in, and, with God's help, this time we will not leave. Every centimetre of land that we conquer will be annexed to Israel, so that there will never be another attack launched at our civilians from there.

Even so, we will continue to keep the door open to allow you to surrender gracefully. The moment you announce that you are laying down arms, we will halt our advance, and there we will draw our new borders. If you continue to attack our citizens, we will continue to roll southwards, driving you out of territory that you will never again contaminate with your evil presence.

It pains me deeply that your civilians will be made homeless. But we did not choose this war; you did. And if our choice is between allowing our citizens to be targeted mercilessly by your genocidal savagery, versus turning your civilians into refugees, I regret that we must choose the latter. If only you loved your people as much as you hate ours, this war would never have happened.

To the rest of the world: Israel has tired of your ceaseless chidings that we should "show restraint". When you have your entire population under constant missile fire from an implacable enemy whose stated goal is the murder every man, woman and child in your land, then you may come and talk to us about "restraint". Until then, we respectfully suggest that you keep your double standards to yourselves. This time, Hamas has gone too far, and we will do whatever we have to in order to protect our population.

Hamas, once again, I thank you for bringing our people together with such clarity of mind and unity of purpose. The people of Israel do not fear the long road ahead.

This conflict is not just about the rockets that are being fired or the troops on the ground. This is a conflict that has come to a head because of the drastically different values that are placed on human life. This is not a new observation by any means but it always seems to get lost on those that flood the city streets in the western world to protest the rightful defensive actions taken by Israel. Whereas the IDF stands between the threat and civilians, Hamas has put the civilians all around them to shield them from the consequences of their aggression… it is because of this dichotomy that you will continue to read about the chasm between the casualty totals.

With the conflict still raging and more and more reservists being called to serve, peace may be the objective but, right now, sanity is our goal. While I don’t anticipate a quick resolution, I pray for a quick and permanent end to the violence. All of which rests on the shoulders of the men and women of the IDF to whom we are all grateful and will continue to pray for. But, let us end this post in a way that you might not be expecting… with a little humor from Benji Lovitt whom I had the pleasure of briefly meeting during our Jerusalem days. He has single handedly given us many moments, one liners, pictures, and turns of phrase that have made us smile, if not laugh loudly and annoyingly, and in some of the more serious instances laugh so hard that hummus came out of our noses. So here it is, what I think is the best picture and caption from Benji Lovitt so far:

Aaaaand there went the ceasefire.
You just couldn't control yourself, could you, Hamas?
I mean, Jim.

 

Early Is One Thing, But This Is Ridiculous!

...In the seventh month, on the first of the month, there shall be a sabbath for you, a remembrance with shofar blasts, a holy convocation. -Leviticus 16:24

The Symbols of Rosh Hashanah

It didn’t occur to me until this morning that some of the blogs that I have posted recently, especially yesterday, have served as my way of preparing for Rosh Hashanah (which is showing up this year earlier than a needy party guest looking for attention). Whether it is my own subconscious or divine guidance, I feel that I am in a much calmer mindset heading into the High Holy Days than I have been in the past largely because of the writing I have done lately. I like to think that it is G-d’s way of looking after me and showing His approval for many of the decisions that I have made this past year.

It has been a year of many changes, opportunities, and challenges. While I can’t say that I am happy with where I am, I am content with who I am. It has been a long time since I have had that feeling and while I will look to improve various aspects of my life (you may recall my half year resolutions) I at least know that I am starting off from a good place.

It has been a year of great memories and moments that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. From the trips my wife and I have taken and witnessing the life changing events in my family to reigniting my passion for writing and forging a bond with my community and with my heritage. There have also been moments of sadness that while difficult to experience they have brought me to this point in my life.

Introspection is at the heart of this holiday. Not just remembering the events of the past year but also thinking about the ways that G-d has shown Himself during those times and the gifts that we have been given. It is a time to make changes, much like the resolutions made in the changing of the Gregorian calendar, and think about the ways things might have been handled differently. It is a time to embrace life and let go of past wrongdoings. It is a time to come to terms with yourself and your Creator.

If you put forth the effort, this is a beautiful time of year. This is a holiday that removes some of the burdens of life, lifts you up, and kindles the flame that brightens your future. So before the silence is broken by the sound of the Shofar, take a step back and reflect upon your life, appreciate what you have, and forget about what you don’t need.

L'shanah tovah tikatev v'taihatem!

(May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year!)

For more information about Rosh Hashanah, please visit the Judaism 101 and/or Chabad.org websites (of course, you can get some really good information from your local synagogue(s) too). 

If you are looking for a way to give back during this time of year I recommend making a donation (tzedakah) to the Jewish National Fund and/or to the Lone Soldiers Program run by the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces. Of course, Nefesh B'Nefesh is a good one too. With all the recent turbulence in the region both organizations need help now more than ever.