Firearms Friday: From Tel Aviv To California

The news on Wednesday night was maddening and sad but, honestly, I can’t say that I was surprised. The reality of this world, especially in Israel, is that terrorist attacks are going to happen. I didn’t quite expect it to happen at this time, during Ramadan, but the fact remains that three shooters opened fire in a Tel Aviv market killing four people. Afterward there where a few reactions that also didn’t surprise me…

There was no widespread social media outpouring like that which we witnessed following other terrorist attacks in Europe or high profile shootings in the United States for that matter. Actually, there were a number of people and organizations beyond with the clear majority being those affiliated with Judaism or Israel in some way and the next closest, in the United States, being those of a more conservative nature.

Sadly, but again not surprisingly, the liberal media and various groups on the left either saw this as an opportunity to shame and blame Israel into conceding peace or, given the news coming out of California this week, use this as an opportunity to preach gun control through some delusional view of the situation and the world as a whole. And that this the real point that I am going to dwell on for a bit. Give me a minute while I collect myself….

The unfortunate state that this country finds itself in at the moment is that when there is a shooting somewhere in the United States or a well reported incident from around the world, the gun control storm troopers take to the internet, the television, the radio, and/or the podium and preach the flawed and unconstitutional “virtues” of gun control. It has gotten to the point that regardless of the facts of the incident, they celebrate the moment and seize the opportunity to politicize tragedy. They are perfectly happy to strip people of their rights and place the blame on an inanimate object while completely ignoring or dismissing the fact that the individual is responsible for what happened.

By and large, those same people react in the same manner when there is a terrorist attack in Israel as they, once again, seize the opportunity to berate Israel and use the recent incident as a “clear example” of why Israel must make peace. They are perfectly content in stripping Israelis of their security and blaming Israel for “creating this situation” while completely ignoring or dismissing the fact that the individual is responsible for what happened. Further they refuse to accept the reality that the Palestinian people take to the streets in celebration every single time this happens.

For the most part, we are now in a situation where Israel must defend herself and those of us here in the United States must defend ourselves. We both need to defend our right to live and our right to self-defense (despite the ruling in California). We must accept the guiding principle of personal responsibility and focus on the facts rather than accept the propaganda smeared across the headlines. We are Tel Aviv.

Prolonging The Conflict

Israeli-distributed candies in the West Bank bear the slogan
'Here are some sweets because Hamas is making life bitter in the West Bank.'

For more than a month, Hamas and Israel have been doing back and forth both on the ground and in the conference room. Papers and missiles have been exchanged on a regular basis with no realistic end in sight. Those that haven’t been keeping current on the conflict probably don’t realize that it has been that long… it seems as though this is one of those unfortunate wars when we lose sight of the beginning.

During this prolonged conflict, ceasefires have come and gone and holidays have passed by without peace prevailing. Tisha B'Av offered little respite during this time but hope remained palpable as people reflected on the loss, the strife, the anger, the fear. What are usually marked as days unlike other in the surrounding blocks of the calendar, were a continuation of the same emotions dominating the regional psyche. For Jews, this was just another event to mourn during this sorrowful day.

Tisha B'Av, the Fast of the Ninth of Av, is a day of mourning to commemorate the many tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people, many of which have occurred on the ninth of Av.

Tisha B'Av primarily commemorates the destruction of the first and second Temples, both of which were destroyed on the ninth of Av (the first by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.E.; the second by the Romans in 70 C.E.).

Although this holiday is primarily meant to commemorate the destruction of the Temple, it is appropriate to consider on this day the many other tragedies of the Jewish people, many of which occurred on this day, most notably the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492 and from England in 1290.

It is during these times of what is usually holy celebration and reverence when the claws are drawn throughout the world. The back and forth between conflict and ceasefire, holiday and conflict, has the world in an uproar for all the wrong reasons. So who is to blame? Unlike many of the protests and ‘reports’ Israel is not to blame for the elusiveness of peace.

Every ceasefire that has been negotiated and strong armed have not been times for the people of Israel to break or the IDF to relax. They have served as perpetual countdowns to the next rocket to sail over the boarder at innocent civilians. This FACT seems to be lost on the world. However, as we have reflected on what has seemed like a prolonged period of mourning, we have kept in the forefront of our minds that, while the situation is tenuous, it will pass and be but a memory which we will forever remember. We are strong, we will fight, and we will not allow the world to destroy our land or expel our people. Hope will prevail and peace will once again return to our land.