Yesterday evening and today we observed Holocaust Remembrance Day here in Israel. It's always a sobering day. It makes you realise that you should appreciate every piece of food you put in your mouth and the roof you have over your head. Most of all, it makes you realise that you should make the most of every moment you have with your family.
This year, it was even more sobering. First of all, as each year passes you see fewer and fewer survivors at the ceremonies, and these days most of them were only children when the Holocaust took place. Very soon, we'll hardly have any people left to share their personal stories with us and remind the world that the Holocaust really did happen.
In one of those ironies that seems to haunt the Jewish world, Holocaust Remembrance Day began on the evening of 20th April - the day Hitler was born. And if that weren't enough, it was also the same day that the President of Iran "graced" the Durban Conference in Geneva with his presence and, true to style, let loose with his usual vitriolic antisemitic / anti-Israeli tirades. Thankfully, some countries had the decency not to send delegates (the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Germany and Holland, as I remember) and the delegates of most member countries of the EU at least walked out when he began to touch on the subject of Israel. Yet, many others stayed, listened and applauded at the end of his speech. Moreover, the President of Switzerland dined with him. Neutrality is all very well if you use it to bridge the gaps between hostile parties, but when it is used in such a hypocritical manner and effectively encourages and supports a person like Ahmedinijad, then I'm afraid that's not what I call neutrality.
For the time being, Ahmedinijad is essentially our problem. That's how it started with Hitler too - and look where it all ended. Today Iran is our problem - if the rest of the world continues to close its eyes and pretend that working through diplomatic channels will solve the whole issue, then tomorrow he will be their problem. But by that time, it might be a little too late for us to say "We told you so..."
Tuesday, 21 April 2009
Sunday, 12 April 2009
Happy Passover...and an interesting article
It's been quite some time since I last posted anything - must be a sign that things are quiet?
Here's an interesting article from our friends at the BBC. Their latest gem (which I am NOT attaching) described a person who tried to run over three policeman as an 'attacker' - where the quotation marks come from beats me. Unless of course trying to kill three people with your car is not really considered an attack in the UK. Now, what might it be? Causing a public nuisance... or maybe just being 'a very naughty person'...?
Anyway, this article is worth reading, especially the end...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7913313.stm
Here's an interesting article from our friends at the BBC. Their latest gem (which I am NOT attaching) described a person who tried to run over three policeman as an 'attacker' - where the quotation marks come from beats me. Unless of course trying to kill three people with your car is not really considered an attack in the UK. Now, what might it be? Causing a public nuisance... or maybe just being 'a very naughty person'...?
Anyway, this article is worth reading, especially the end...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7913313.stm
Thursday, 5 March 2009
Some things never change.
This month I got an update from the blog's site monitor, and I was quite surprised to see that people still go in and check if I've added anything. Given that I haven't added anything for I long time, I was actually quite flattered. I made a mental note to add a post this weekend, in which I would break away from the war theme and talk about the outrages in the education system in Israel as a whole, and Qiryat Gat in particular. And then a couple of things happened that made me change my mind.
The first thing was a report on the radio that said that since the "cease-fire", over one hundred rockets have landed in Israel. I wonder how many people knew that – both inside and outside of Israel? I, for one, didn't know that the amount was so high, and I live within the radius of the rockets! Now, I wonder if Israel had fired 100 rockets into the Gaza strip over the same period of time how many people would know… Half the world and its mother, I would imagine.
Our own personal link to Sderot, which has suffered the worst of the bombing, is the administrative head of our health centre. By chance, we were at the health centre this week, and we asked her how things are. She said, "Can you imagine being at home and suddenly hearing a 'boom', knowing that your child is on her way to the library?" Personally, I can't. How these people maintain their sanity is a mystery to me.
Then, this week, our son, Yonatan, got a letter in the post. Not just any letter. It was his first call-up for the army. In June, he'll go to the army centre in Be'er Sheva for the initial round of examinations. I'm pretty sure he'll go into some form of combat unit, provided he passes the medical. Who knows what his three years of military service will bring? I don't even want to think about it. I just tell myself that it is something that has to be done.
Altogether, it has been a pretty depressing week. We were called in to a meeting at my 'main' job, where the probable effects of the worldwide recession/depression (which hasn't really hit Israel yet) were explained very clearly. However, in addition to the general common-garden effects that everyone else has to face, we, being Israelis, have an added 'bonus'. The knock-on effects of the Gaza campaign. Employees in one of our European offices have even received hate-mail because they work for an Israeli company, not to mention one weirdo's call on his blog ("SOS palestina") to boycott our products. Also, apparently, every penny that we earn goes towards killing Palestinians… The fact that every penny the Hamas get their paws on goes towards rockets and suicide bombers is, of course, irrelevant, and probably quite legitimate in those people's eyes. There is not one Jewish family still living in the Gaza strip, so what more do they want? All or nothing, it would seem.
Finally, today was the last straw. An Arab tractor driver tried to drive his bulldozer into a police car and push it into a bus. Many of you who read this blog will know exactly what I am referring to when I say that it was like turning the clock back some eight months. In fact, when we heard the news, Sari and I just froze and looked at each other without speaking. This time we were lucky. This time there won't be a wife and children who get a call telling them that the husband or father that they said goodbye to in the morning won't be coming home again.
This is the first sentence of how it was reported on the BBC news site.
"The driver of a construction vehicle in West Jerusalem has been shot dead by police after he rammed a police car."
I'm willing to bet that if an Israeli had done the same thing in East Jerusalem, the semantics would have been slightly different.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, the double standards in this whole messy affair are only making it worse. The more Israel feels its back is against the wall, and that no one will even listen to us, let alone give us a fair hearing, the more intransigent we will become. We obviously have nothing to gain by doing what the rest of the world would like us to do. In fact we have got a lot to lose. Our lives, basically... But then, Jewish/Israeli lives have never really been worth that much to the rest of the world, have they?
The first thing was a report on the radio that said that since the "cease-fire", over one hundred rockets have landed in Israel. I wonder how many people knew that – both inside and outside of Israel? I, for one, didn't know that the amount was so high, and I live within the radius of the rockets! Now, I wonder if Israel had fired 100 rockets into the Gaza strip over the same period of time how many people would know… Half the world and its mother, I would imagine.
Our own personal link to Sderot, which has suffered the worst of the bombing, is the administrative head of our health centre. By chance, we were at the health centre this week, and we asked her how things are. She said, "Can you imagine being at home and suddenly hearing a 'boom', knowing that your child is on her way to the library?" Personally, I can't. How these people maintain their sanity is a mystery to me.
Then, this week, our son, Yonatan, got a letter in the post. Not just any letter. It was his first call-up for the army. In June, he'll go to the army centre in Be'er Sheva for the initial round of examinations. I'm pretty sure he'll go into some form of combat unit, provided he passes the medical. Who knows what his three years of military service will bring? I don't even want to think about it. I just tell myself that it is something that has to be done.
Altogether, it has been a pretty depressing week. We were called in to a meeting at my 'main' job, where the probable effects of the worldwide recession/depression (which hasn't really hit Israel yet) were explained very clearly. However, in addition to the general common-garden effects that everyone else has to face, we, being Israelis, have an added 'bonus'. The knock-on effects of the Gaza campaign. Employees in one of our European offices have even received hate-mail because they work for an Israeli company, not to mention one weirdo's call on his blog ("SOS palestina") to boycott our products. Also, apparently, every penny that we earn goes towards killing Palestinians… The fact that every penny the Hamas get their paws on goes towards rockets and suicide bombers is, of course, irrelevant, and probably quite legitimate in those people's eyes. There is not one Jewish family still living in the Gaza strip, so what more do they want? All or nothing, it would seem.
Finally, today was the last straw. An Arab tractor driver tried to drive his bulldozer into a police car and push it into a bus. Many of you who read this blog will know exactly what I am referring to when I say that it was like turning the clock back some eight months. In fact, when we heard the news, Sari and I just froze and looked at each other without speaking. This time we were lucky. This time there won't be a wife and children who get a call telling them that the husband or father that they said goodbye to in the morning won't be coming home again.
This is the first sentence of how it was reported on the BBC news site.
"The driver of a construction vehicle in West Jerusalem has been shot dead by police after he rammed a police car."
I'm willing to bet that if an Israeli had done the same thing in East Jerusalem, the semantics would have been slightly different.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, the double standards in this whole messy affair are only making it worse. The more Israel feels its back is against the wall, and that no one will even listen to us, let alone give us a fair hearing, the more intransigent we will become. We obviously have nothing to gain by doing what the rest of the world would like us to do. In fact we have got a lot to lose. Our lives, basically... But then, Jewish/Israeli lives have never really been worth that much to the rest of the world, have they?
Saturday, 7 February 2009
Well,well,well....
When you read this, bear in mind it does not come from an Israeli source, but the BBC which, as we all know, is known for its particular stance in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. And look who's doing the complaining... the UN!!!! Could this be the beginning of the messianic age???
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7875171.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7875171.stm
Tuesday, 3 February 2009
Let me get this right....
There's something I just don't get...
1. The Palestinians have been firing rockets at Sderot for about 8 years.
2. We moved all Jewish settlements out of the Gaza strip some 3 years ago.
3. Theoretically, there should have been no need, therefore, to continue firing rockets at Israel.
4. The Palestinians continued to fire rockets at Israel.
5. During these eight years, the world said nothing about the rockets being fired at Israel.
6. Israel finally had enough and retaliated.
7. The world was in an uproar - how could we do such a thing?
8. Israel bloodied the Hamas's nose and then left Gaza unilaterally.
9. Yesterday, in the Hague, it was decided to investigate war crimes that were committed by Israeli soldiers while in Gaza. (What was the crime - warning people before bombing the houses that they let terrorists fire rockets from?)
10. Today, a rocket fell in the centre of Ashkelon.
11. The world hasn't said a thing.
12. Why?
I think I get it - there's one rule for terrorists (they're terrorists, so they are allowed to behave like terrorists - they "do" terrorism, that's their job) and another for democracies (they have to behave in a 'civilised' manner even if the other side is killing their citizens).
Yet, by the same token, the world should be condemning Russia for what it did in Georgia and Chechnya. One would have thought that the Hague would have rushed to check out any possible war crimes that might have occurred there.
Some people might call this double standards. I'm afraid to me it reeks of good old Antisemitism in its finest (and most refined) form...
Just one final point - I see more and more of my moderate friends becoming much more militant and right-wing in their approach. As far as I can see, their reasoning is that no one else in the world is willing to stand up for Israel and they are all pulling together as a nation does when it is under threat. The problem is that our biggest threat is not the Hamas or the Hizballah. It is the silence of the world.
1. The Palestinians have been firing rockets at Sderot for about 8 years.
2. We moved all Jewish settlements out of the Gaza strip some 3 years ago.
3. Theoretically, there should have been no need, therefore, to continue firing rockets at Israel.
4. The Palestinians continued to fire rockets at Israel.
5. During these eight years, the world said nothing about the rockets being fired at Israel.
6. Israel finally had enough and retaliated.
7. The world was in an uproar - how could we do such a thing?
8. Israel bloodied the Hamas's nose and then left Gaza unilaterally.
9. Yesterday, in the Hague, it was decided to investigate war crimes that were committed by Israeli soldiers while in Gaza. (What was the crime - warning people before bombing the houses that they let terrorists fire rockets from?)
10. Today, a rocket fell in the centre of Ashkelon.
11. The world hasn't said a thing.
12. Why?
I think I get it - there's one rule for terrorists (they're terrorists, so they are allowed to behave like terrorists - they "do" terrorism, that's their job) and another for democracies (they have to behave in a 'civilised' manner even if the other side is killing their citizens).
Yet, by the same token, the world should be condemning Russia for what it did in Georgia and Chechnya. One would have thought that the Hague would have rushed to check out any possible war crimes that might have occurred there.
Some people might call this double standards. I'm afraid to me it reeks of good old Antisemitism in its finest (and most refined) form...
Just one final point - I see more and more of my moderate friends becoming much more militant and right-wing in their approach. As far as I can see, their reasoning is that no one else in the world is willing to stand up for Israel and they are all pulling together as a nation does when it is under threat. The problem is that our biggest threat is not the Hamas or the Hizballah. It is the silence of the world.
Tuesday, 27 January 2009
It's not over yet...
The title sounds more dramatic than what I have to say, but it's the closest I can come to finding something suitable without spending hours trying to find something snappier or more apt - I do enough of that during work hours!
On several occasions, I have been intending to write about something and then before I actually get to the keyboard, I get a message along the same lines from someone else. That's what happened this evening. I got two e-mails from a friend which covered the subjects I wanted to talk about. One was a very moving e-mail written by a mother entitled "My son came home". Doesn't that just say it all? The prayer of every parent that sends a son (or daughter) to the army... Somehow, automatically, it set me thinking of those who didn't come home, not only in this war, but in previous wars too. Wars don't just end, and we don't just go back to normal when the agreements are reached. Especially in Israel, where there are very few families whose lives have not been affected by the various military campaigns. There are many families whose lives will never be the same, and as the politicians try to work out how long the cease-fire will last, it must make them wonder what it was all for. Did we go to war just to 'gain' a cease-fire? Hopefully, a lot of what we're hearing from the other side is just rhetoric.
However, what I wanted to talk about was in fact those who "came home". As the boys go back to their homes and slowly begin to work through what they have just experienced, it is becoming quite obvious that they have all been in situations when they wondered if they'd come out of them alive. They've seen things that you and I (thankfully) have only seen in films or read about in books or newspapers. As I said in an earlier post, remember - two years ago these boys were finishing high school. We are often portrayed as a belligerent and militaristic country. I have not spoken to, or heard of, one soldier who went into Gaza looking for a fight. On the contrary, none of them wanted to go there and they were all glad to get out. It was just something they had to do. Israel is not belligerent by nature - the 'belligerence' that others see is just one of man's basic needs (and rights) - to defend himself in order to survive. One of our leading politicans recently said something along the lines of 'When the other side lays down its weapons, there will be no violence; when we lay down our weapons, there will be no Israel'. Somehow that seems to get lost in the reporting...
In my friend's other e-mail, which was a general update of the situation, she did the count that every parent in Israel does. Her oldest son has eight years to go before he will be called up. My son has less than two years. I'm sure I speak for her too when I say that I would much rather be counting the number of years before they go to university and not to the army. However, why am not so optimistic?
On several occasions, I have been intending to write about something and then before I actually get to the keyboard, I get a message along the same lines from someone else. That's what happened this evening. I got two e-mails from a friend which covered the subjects I wanted to talk about. One was a very moving e-mail written by a mother entitled "My son came home". Doesn't that just say it all? The prayer of every parent that sends a son (or daughter) to the army... Somehow, automatically, it set me thinking of those who didn't come home, not only in this war, but in previous wars too. Wars don't just end, and we don't just go back to normal when the agreements are reached. Especially in Israel, where there are very few families whose lives have not been affected by the various military campaigns. There are many families whose lives will never be the same, and as the politicians try to work out how long the cease-fire will last, it must make them wonder what it was all for. Did we go to war just to 'gain' a cease-fire? Hopefully, a lot of what we're hearing from the other side is just rhetoric.
However, what I wanted to talk about was in fact those who "came home". As the boys go back to their homes and slowly begin to work through what they have just experienced, it is becoming quite obvious that they have all been in situations when they wondered if they'd come out of them alive. They've seen things that you and I (thankfully) have only seen in films or read about in books or newspapers. As I said in an earlier post, remember - two years ago these boys were finishing high school. We are often portrayed as a belligerent and militaristic country. I have not spoken to, or heard of, one soldier who went into Gaza looking for a fight. On the contrary, none of them wanted to go there and they were all glad to get out. It was just something they had to do. Israel is not belligerent by nature - the 'belligerence' that others see is just one of man's basic needs (and rights) - to defend himself in order to survive. One of our leading politicans recently said something along the lines of 'When the other side lays down its weapons, there will be no violence; when we lay down our weapons, there will be no Israel'. Somehow that seems to get lost in the reporting...
In my friend's other e-mail, which was a general update of the situation, she did the count that every parent in Israel does. Her oldest son has eight years to go before he will be called up. My son has less than two years. I'm sure I speak for her too when I say that I would much rather be counting the number of years before they go to university and not to the army. However, why am not so optimistic?
Sunday, 25 January 2009
A week (or so) "after"
As you can see, I've taken a rest from writing - there were just so many things that needed doing after being cooped up at home for about three weeks (still haven't had my hair cut yet - but that shouldn't take too long...). I don't think we consciously decided not to go out or stop doing 'ordinary' things during those three weeks, but there was definitely a feeling of freedom floating around on those first few days "after".
The students (and teachers, of course) have gone back to school after a surprise four week holiday. It's not easy for them at all. Some are doing Winter matriculation exams, and students within a 40 km radius of Gaza have been awarded special accommodations to compensate for the effects of the rockets, which has led to at least one TV commentator complain bitterly that students should not get rewards just because of their geographical location. I wonder how his children would have liked to take exams weeks after they were being bombed and hadn't gone to school?
I'll end this short post with an interesting story. When I got back to school, all the students, and I mean all the students, were talking about an incident which supposedly happened in Gaza. The various versions go much like this: some soldiers went into a house and a woman dressed in Arab style came and told them to leave because it was booby-trapped. She led them out and helped them on their way. When they asked her why she (an Arab woman) was helping them, she said "I am Rachel" (i.e. wife of Jacob from the Bible) and disappeared. Apparently there are other stories of weird, mysterious and miraculous events happening. As I said, this story has spread like wildfire, however, until I see an interview with the soldiers who experienced this, I'm afraid I'm putting it down to the birth of yet another urban myth.
The students (and teachers, of course) have gone back to school after a surprise four week holiday. It's not easy for them at all. Some are doing Winter matriculation exams, and students within a 40 km radius of Gaza have been awarded special accommodations to compensate for the effects of the rockets, which has led to at least one TV commentator complain bitterly that students should not get rewards just because of their geographical location. I wonder how his children would have liked to take exams weeks after they were being bombed and hadn't gone to school?
I'll end this short post with an interesting story. When I got back to school, all the students, and I mean all the students, were talking about an incident which supposedly happened in Gaza. The various versions go much like this: some soldiers went into a house and a woman dressed in Arab style came and told them to leave because it was booby-trapped. She led them out and helped them on their way. When they asked her why she (an Arab woman) was helping them, she said "I am Rachel" (i.e. wife of Jacob from the Bible) and disappeared. Apparently there are other stories of weird, mysterious and miraculous events happening. As I said, this story has spread like wildfire, however, until I see an interview with the soldiers who experienced this, I'm afraid I'm putting it down to the birth of yet another urban myth.
Sunday, 18 January 2009
Peace!
We're almost at the end of this blog, but there will still be one or two more posts before I finally close it down!
Tomorrow, after more than three weeks of unexpected holiday, schools in Qiryat Gat will open again. A lot of people have doubts about the reliability of the Hamas's claim that they will also respect the ceasefire. I tend to believe them, although I think we may have to brace ourselves for a wave of terror attacks (suicide bombers, etc.) inside Israel. I'll be glad to go back to school and see the students and introduce some sort of routine or semblance of normalcy to my life. I'll also be glad to see my teenage son start studying again!
While the end of this war makes me very happy, there are still too many unanswered questions. To what extent can we trust Hamas? What about Gilad Shalit? Will this be the last time we need to go into Gaza? What will the consequences (international, national and personal) be?
I saw Gaza (or what was left of it) on the news yesterday and it made me very uncomfortable. Some parts of it have been razed to the ground. I went into the (British) Guardian's website (by chance - for work purposes), and wished I hadn't. There were so many anti-Israeli articles.
I sometimes make purchases on eBay and frequently have to ask for shipping costs to Israel, and have recently received several (unsolicited) nasty comments, as if I were Israel's sole representative and were personally repsonsible for all of its actions. Some people were less obnoxious but still expressed their disapproval. I wonder how many Russians got similar messages after Georgia and Chechnya? However, the prize for anti-Israel hate-mail goes to the following, which was received by a friend of mine on Facebook - again totally unsolicited. I asked for her permission to reproduce it here, and she kindly agreed. Here it is in all its glory:
Hello monkey.You say monkey but you monkey then monkey do an injustice has become. Because you your pets from you as you a more beautiful. We Are muslim turk sthe Gaza muslims we firmly stand by. A Fearful people. You Are the gaza town tear it down. We Are again came to ourselves . Legs The Jews kissed,Pardon Our will long Damn You people. Take revenge God making is not always on the go. The revenge of the tribe God will be pain.Fear!!!Fear muslims. Your end of animal filth will be like. Now tear it down the gaza town. We Are the next more beautiful to set up and there he will continue to exist. This for the time being until the. The Jewish people of the fear muslims and turkish muslims come Zionist dogs.Turkish all the land palestinian. We Are All and every turkish palestinian. Come and Go in the us beats . We Are very wars we have seen. Very bloodbaths lived. The Turkish land meter showed up blood. But you we rats miracles the mandate to create a achieved. Now this good lines read. Get moving away!! Pounding to feed. We Are ottoman grandchildren. The Ottoman empire does not know learn.Because the ottoman grandson of the ottoman as powerful.Fear the jewish dog!!fear!! Fear And start quaking.And do not forget! We Are also palestinian! Each of the palestinian.
The English may be a little "different", but he manages to convey his message quite clearly. I'm already wondering what it will be like for Israelis who travel abroad this year. I guess there might be a lot of hatred aimed at them. For some further examples of the way the wind is blowing, go to this CNN poll and read the comments:
http://www.israel-vs-palestine.com/gz/?
Make your vote in order to read the comments. (You don't need to leave a comment - just scroll down to read what others are saying). It doesn't make for pleasant reading...
I think I'll only add one or two more posts and then I'll close this blog down. It has achieved its aim, which was to allow me to inform friends and relatives abroad about what is happening without having to send personal e-mails. It was not intended to be anything more than that...
Tomorrow, after more than three weeks of unexpected holiday, schools in Qiryat Gat will open again. A lot of people have doubts about the reliability of the Hamas's claim that they will also respect the ceasefire. I tend to believe them, although I think we may have to brace ourselves for a wave of terror attacks (suicide bombers, etc.) inside Israel. I'll be glad to go back to school and see the students and introduce some sort of routine or semblance of normalcy to my life. I'll also be glad to see my teenage son start studying again!
While the end of this war makes me very happy, there are still too many unanswered questions. To what extent can we trust Hamas? What about Gilad Shalit? Will this be the last time we need to go into Gaza? What will the consequences (international, national and personal) be?
I saw Gaza (or what was left of it) on the news yesterday and it made me very uncomfortable. Some parts of it have been razed to the ground. I went into the (British) Guardian's website (by chance - for work purposes), and wished I hadn't. There were so many anti-Israeli articles.
I sometimes make purchases on eBay and frequently have to ask for shipping costs to Israel, and have recently received several (unsolicited) nasty comments, as if I were Israel's sole representative and were personally repsonsible for all of its actions. Some people were less obnoxious but still expressed their disapproval. I wonder how many Russians got similar messages after Georgia and Chechnya? However, the prize for anti-Israel hate-mail goes to the following, which was received by a friend of mine on Facebook - again totally unsolicited. I asked for her permission to reproduce it here, and she kindly agreed. Here it is in all its glory:
Hello monkey.You say monkey but you monkey then monkey do an injustice has become. Because you your pets from you as you a more beautiful. We Are muslim turk sthe Gaza muslims we firmly stand by. A Fearful people. You Are the gaza town tear it down. We Are again came to ourselves . Legs The Jews kissed,Pardon Our will long Damn You people. Take revenge God making is not always on the go. The revenge of the tribe God will be pain.Fear!!!Fear muslims. Your end of animal filth will be like. Now tear it down the gaza town. We Are the next more beautiful to set up and there he will continue to exist. This for the time being until the. The Jewish people of the fear muslims and turkish muslims come Zionist dogs.Turkish all the land palestinian. We Are All and every turkish palestinian. Come and Go in the us beats . We Are very wars we have seen. Very bloodbaths lived. The Turkish land meter showed up blood. But you we rats miracles the mandate to create a achieved. Now this good lines read. Get moving away!! Pounding to feed. We Are ottoman grandchildren. The Ottoman empire does not know learn.Because the ottoman grandson of the ottoman as powerful.Fear the jewish dog!!fear!! Fear And start quaking.And do not forget! We Are also palestinian! Each of the palestinian.
The English may be a little "different", but he manages to convey his message quite clearly. I'm already wondering what it will be like for Israelis who travel abroad this year. I guess there might be a lot of hatred aimed at them. For some further examples of the way the wind is blowing, go to this CNN poll and read the comments:
http://www.israel-vs-palestine.com/gz/?
Make your vote in order to read the comments. (You don't need to leave a comment - just scroll down to read what others are saying). It doesn't make for pleasant reading...
I think I'll only add one or two more posts and then I'll close this blog down. It has achieved its aim, which was to allow me to inform friends and relatives abroad about what is happening without having to send personal e-mails. It was not intended to be anything more than that...
Saturday, 17 January 2009
Could this be the end?
As I write, the Cabinet is deciding whether to approve a unilateral cease-fire, which, if observed, should lead to a pull out of our forces some days later. I heard at some stage of the day ( I think it was a quote from someone in the Home Command) that we residents of the south should be prepared for a busy night, as he reckoned that if the end really is in sight, Hamas will 'give us all they've got' and do all they can to achieve some kind of 'glorious victory'. Maybe they will, maybe they won't. Watch this space tomorrow (if it's still here!) or read the newspapers...
We had one alert today, and, believe it or not, for the first time we all got to the shelter in a normal fashion. How can I describe what you feel? Believe me, I'm an amateur - the people in Sderot, Ashkelon, Ashdod and Be'er Sheva can describe the feeling much better. To be honest, you know that you only have 45 seconds to get to the shelter, so by the time you've heard the alarm, checked that it is a genuine alarm and not coming from the TV, radio or computer, made sure that everyone else knows there's an alert and rush to the shelter, you're basically left with about only ten seconds for any feelings which you might have. You look at each other and listen very hard, but there's not really time to go through any range of feelings - I'd say numbness, or just a feeling of "let's get this over with" is closest to reality. The biggest guess is after you hear the boom when to leave the shelter. Can you assume that there's only been one rocket? What if there are more coming in short succession afterwards? The Home Command (so I discovered today, at least) recommends waiting for five more minutes. We're usually out after about half a minute...
There's still a lot more to say, but I'm waiting until this is all over. I want to see how things develop. If we stop now and our towns in the south can resume normal life, this will obviously be the best option, since I don't want our soldiers to spend one day more than they have to in Gaza. Unfortunately, my feeling is that Hamas won't be happy until they pay us back. A unilateral cease-fire is just that - unilateral. Any rational fighting force would welcome this chance for peace, but 'rational' doesn't really come to mind when I think of adjectives I can use to describe the Hamas.
Does anyone have anything to add? I know it's not easy to add comments on this blog for some reason, but if you persist it will eventually work. What is happening outside Israel? Has the doctor whose house was bombed been given much publicity?
We had one alert today, and, believe it or not, for the first time we all got to the shelter in a normal fashion. How can I describe what you feel? Believe me, I'm an amateur - the people in Sderot, Ashkelon, Ashdod and Be'er Sheva can describe the feeling much better. To be honest, you know that you only have 45 seconds to get to the shelter, so by the time you've heard the alarm, checked that it is a genuine alarm and not coming from the TV, radio or computer, made sure that everyone else knows there's an alert and rush to the shelter, you're basically left with about only ten seconds for any feelings which you might have. You look at each other and listen very hard, but there's not really time to go through any range of feelings - I'd say numbness, or just a feeling of "let's get this over with" is closest to reality. The biggest guess is after you hear the boom when to leave the shelter. Can you assume that there's only been one rocket? What if there are more coming in short succession afterwards? The Home Command (so I discovered today, at least) recommends waiting for five more minutes. We're usually out after about half a minute...
There's still a lot more to say, but I'm waiting until this is all over. I want to see how things develop. If we stop now and our towns in the south can resume normal life, this will obviously be the best option, since I don't want our soldiers to spend one day more than they have to in Gaza. Unfortunately, my feeling is that Hamas won't be happy until they pay us back. A unilateral cease-fire is just that - unilateral. Any rational fighting force would welcome this chance for peace, but 'rational' doesn't really come to mind when I think of adjectives I can use to describe the Hamas.
Does anyone have anything to add? I know it's not easy to add comments on this blog for some reason, but if you persist it will eventually work. What is happening outside Israel? Has the doctor whose house was bombed been given much publicity?
Friday, 16 January 2009
Why don't I keep my big mouth closed?????
What did I call the last posting? "The last war blog"???? Mmmm - not quite, it seems....
Today, we were all set for a pleasant family celebration. It is our niece Noga's birthday and my brother-in-law Erez has a couple of days leave from the army. They had invited both sides of the family for a lunch on their moshav, five minutes from Qiryat Gat. Just as we were on the point of leaving, the sirens began. Usual rush, everyone into the shelter. Yonatan, it appears, has to add colour to every alert that we have. This time he was in the middle of brushing his teeth, and had mouth-wash in his mouth. Instead of getting rid of it, he came to the shelter as he was, so as the siren continued to wail, we had a lovely game of charades trying to guess why he wouldn't open his mouth... We heard the 'boom' waited for a few more seconds in case there was another blast (in fact there was but we didn't hear it) and then carried on with our preparations for the birthday party.
It turned out that two rockets landed in the town (we've made the headlines at last!). In yesterday's post, I was a little cynical about the 'luck' aspect of the way the rockets fall - well, today I eat my hat and take my words (and cynicism) back. Since the place where the rocket fell is there for all to see on the Internet, I don't think I'll be breaking any censorship rules by referring to the location. First of all, it landed some twenty metres short of a petrol station which could have been really nasty. Three people were injured and two people were traumatised. A considerable amount of damage was caused. And here's an additional luck aspect. It landed in the car park which serves both a very busy health centre and a wedding hall. Had this happened on a normal working day, I'm sure we would have been talking about a number of fatalities. Call it miracle, luck or whatever you like, but Qiryat Gat should breathe a sigh of relief today.
We then went to the moshav for the birthday party. Funnily enough, the kids were the least affected - they seem to be pretty resilient beings, unlike the adults. A few were rather edgy for the rest of the day, especially those who came from the centre of the country. Yet, everything is relative. My sister-in-law's sister lives on Netiv Ha'asara which is literally on the border with Gaza. They have had and are still having a rought time of it. They have been ordered not to go anywhere that is further than fifteen seconds from the 'protected area' in their houses. Their children are taken out of the moshav every day and are not even allowed to congregate in one spot to catch the bus - the bus comes and picks each one up individually. Helps us put things into perspective!
It was interesting to look on from the side today. There were people who were either born in, or their parents came from, India, Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Romania, Poland, South Africa and (of course) Scotland. Among them, the men (and some women) had fought in every major military confrontation that Israel has had from the War of Independence in 1948 until the last war in Lebanon. It made me wonder when we will finally have a generation that will not have to send its sons to fight our neighbours.
So, today's lesson is not to count your chickens before they're hatched (or not to count your Grads before they land...?).
Shabbat shalom to all...
Today, we were all set for a pleasant family celebration. It is our niece Noga's birthday and my brother-in-law Erez has a couple of days leave from the army. They had invited both sides of the family for a lunch on their moshav, five minutes from Qiryat Gat. Just as we were on the point of leaving, the sirens began. Usual rush, everyone into the shelter. Yonatan, it appears, has to add colour to every alert that we have. This time he was in the middle of brushing his teeth, and had mouth-wash in his mouth. Instead of getting rid of it, he came to the shelter as he was, so as the siren continued to wail, we had a lovely game of charades trying to guess why he wouldn't open his mouth... We heard the 'boom' waited for a few more seconds in case there was another blast (in fact there was but we didn't hear it) and then carried on with our preparations for the birthday party.
It turned out that two rockets landed in the town (we've made the headlines at last!). In yesterday's post, I was a little cynical about the 'luck' aspect of the way the rockets fall - well, today I eat my hat and take my words (and cynicism) back. Since the place where the rocket fell is there for all to see on the Internet, I don't think I'll be breaking any censorship rules by referring to the location. First of all, it landed some twenty metres short of a petrol station which could have been really nasty. Three people were injured and two people were traumatised. A considerable amount of damage was caused. And here's an additional luck aspect. It landed in the car park which serves both a very busy health centre and a wedding hall. Had this happened on a normal working day, I'm sure we would have been talking about a number of fatalities. Call it miracle, luck or whatever you like, but Qiryat Gat should breathe a sigh of relief today.
We then went to the moshav for the birthday party. Funnily enough, the kids were the least affected - they seem to be pretty resilient beings, unlike the adults. A few were rather edgy for the rest of the day, especially those who came from the centre of the country. Yet, everything is relative. My sister-in-law's sister lives on Netiv Ha'asara which is literally on the border with Gaza. They have had and are still having a rought time of it. They have been ordered not to go anywhere that is further than fifteen seconds from the 'protected area' in their houses. Their children are taken out of the moshav every day and are not even allowed to congregate in one spot to catch the bus - the bus comes and picks each one up individually. Helps us put things into perspective!
It was interesting to look on from the side today. There were people who were either born in, or their parents came from, India, Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Romania, Poland, South Africa and (of course) Scotland. Among them, the men (and some women) had fought in every major military confrontation that Israel has had from the War of Independence in 1948 until the last war in Lebanon. It made me wonder when we will finally have a generation that will not have to send its sons to fight our neighbours.
So, today's lesson is not to count your chickens before they're hatched (or not to count your Grads before they land...?).
Shabbat shalom to all...
Thursday, 15 January 2009
Hopefully the last "war blog"
This is my third post for today - could I be getting addicted to this???? Well, the first two don't really count as they were mainly there for the links. If you haven't seen them, please have a look... but open them in the right order...
Well, we haven't really been getting a good press (although it is actually better than I thought it would be), but I guess it won't be good now that we've hit the UN compound and the foreign press building on the same day. I dare say the fact that people in both places had been firing on our soldiers will be considered irrelevant. I can understand that the Hamas people weren't exactly invited in, and, if I were in the building or compound, I certainly wouldn't go up to them in the middle of the action and say "I say - would you mind awfully removing your RPG from our building?", but it all boils down to the "It's them or us" attitude that I talked about in an earlier post. We had no choice. Many people will disagree with me, but I am convinced that our soldiers were protecting themselves.
In a sense, I can understand the world's outrage, but where was the same outrage when rockets were falling on Sderot over the last eight years? I suppose there are "outrages" and there are "outrages" -it just depends on which side of the Arab-Israeli question you stand. Yet, if you think about it, the world is also to blame for what is happening now. All the people who are suffering in Gaza now need not have suffered if the world had stepped in at an early stage and taken the necessary measures to safeguard Israeli lives. The administrative head of our health centre lives in Sderot - I wish you could have seen how she looked when rockets in Sderot were a daily occurrence, and heard her talk about the anguish of having to come to work and leave her children behind. Wouldn't that have made a nice 'item' for foreign reporters? I wonder why no one thought of showing our side of it, while we were just sitting back and taking it. I guess I might know the answer....
Another thing is the number of casualties. While there is no comparing the fire power being used, look at the small number of Israeli casualties. As the bombs fell during Hanukkah people used expressions like "nitzal be'ness" (saved by a miracle) or "another miracle of Hanukkah". There were no miracles here - just a lot of good luck and good sense. The fact that we build houses to protect their inhabitants. Maybe that's our mistake? If human life weren't so important here, and we didn't build proper shelters for ALL of the population, and if we didn't have the moral decency to hide our dead and wounded as much as possible from the public eye and rush them to hospital to get medical treatment, perhaps we would have had pictures to compete with the ones the world is seeing now. The question is: would it have pushed them into doing anything?
Today, a car suffered a direct hit in Be'er Sheva. The people in it got out and lay on the ground -just like we did, and I described in a previous post - however, they weren't so lucky. Two people, including a seven-year-old boy are in a serious condition. The others were moderately injured.
We were lucky - they weren't. Russian roulette a la israelienne....
Hopefully, this war is coming to an end and we will be able to get back to our routine. What will I do then? Well, watch this space....
Well, we haven't really been getting a good press (although it is actually better than I thought it would be), but I guess it won't be good now that we've hit the UN compound and the foreign press building on the same day. I dare say the fact that people in both places had been firing on our soldiers will be considered irrelevant. I can understand that the Hamas people weren't exactly invited in, and, if I were in the building or compound, I certainly wouldn't go up to them in the middle of the action and say "I say - would you mind awfully removing your RPG from our building?", but it all boils down to the "It's them or us" attitude that I talked about in an earlier post. We had no choice. Many people will disagree with me, but I am convinced that our soldiers were protecting themselves.
In a sense, I can understand the world's outrage, but where was the same outrage when rockets were falling on Sderot over the last eight years? I suppose there are "outrages" and there are "outrages" -it just depends on which side of the Arab-Israeli question you stand. Yet, if you think about it, the world is also to blame for what is happening now. All the people who are suffering in Gaza now need not have suffered if the world had stepped in at an early stage and taken the necessary measures to safeguard Israeli lives. The administrative head of our health centre lives in Sderot - I wish you could have seen how she looked when rockets in Sderot were a daily occurrence, and heard her talk about the anguish of having to come to work and leave her children behind. Wouldn't that have made a nice 'item' for foreign reporters? I wonder why no one thought of showing our side of it, while we were just sitting back and taking it. I guess I might know the answer....
Another thing is the number of casualties. While there is no comparing the fire power being used, look at the small number of Israeli casualties. As the bombs fell during Hanukkah people used expressions like "nitzal be'ness" (saved by a miracle) or "another miracle of Hanukkah". There were no miracles here - just a lot of good luck and good sense. The fact that we build houses to protect their inhabitants. Maybe that's our mistake? If human life weren't so important here, and we didn't build proper shelters for ALL of the population, and if we didn't have the moral decency to hide our dead and wounded as much as possible from the public eye and rush them to hospital to get medical treatment, perhaps we would have had pictures to compete with the ones the world is seeing now. The question is: would it have pushed them into doing anything?
Today, a car suffered a direct hit in Be'er Sheva. The people in it got out and lay on the ground -just like we did, and I described in a previous post - however, they weren't so lucky. Two people, including a seven-year-old boy are in a serious condition. The others were moderately injured.
We were lucky - they weren't. Russian roulette a la israelienne....
Hopefully, this war is coming to an end and we will be able to get back to our routine. What will I do then? Well, watch this space....
Wednesday, 14 January 2009
Please watch after reading the previous posting...
A propos, Hitler's rhetoric, I can't help but add this - to be watched after the clip about the Hamas. It's the scene from the film Cabaret which for me stands out the most , and even as I watched the clip on Youtube just now to check that it was OK, it still makes me shiver to see how one lone voice suddenly sweeps (almost) everyone around him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUwpLyIDIJw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUwpLyIDIJw&feature=related
History repeating itself?
When you watch this clip, it is easy to say that this is just rhetoric for internal consumption, and basically wishful thinking. I would imagine a lot of Germans felt the same way when they heard Hitler making his speeches in the early 1930s, and look where that got us. Today, the main target of the Hamas is Israel, but what about tomorrow?As my childrens' music teacher always says when they are playing "Think ahead! Try to be one step ahead of where you are now". An excellent life-skill, I think...
Perhaps now would be a good time to remember what the German pastor Martin Niemoller once said:
"First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out -- Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out -- Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out -- Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me -- and there was no one left to speak for me. "
Watch this, and think about Hitler...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i08L09V0_sg&feature=related
Perhaps now would be a good time to remember what the German pastor Martin Niemoller once said:
"First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out -- Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out -- Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out -- Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me -- and there was no one left to speak for me. "
Watch this, and think about Hitler...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i08L09V0_sg&feature=related
An amazingly brave woman
Please take the time to look at this clip which shows Wafa Sultan express her point of view with regard to Islamic fundamentalism . She's lucky that she lives in the USA for I fear that she would not live for very long in any Arab country. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if someone somewhere has already issued a fatwah against her. It takes a lot of strength of character to stand up and say what she says (if you're of Arab descent). If only more people (not only Muslims) thought like her...
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1296126090432829344
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1296126090432829344
Tuesday, 13 January 2009
A very quiet day
Today has been very quiet - at least in Qiryat Gat.
On the other hand, it has been quite a rough day diplomatically. It appears that our glorious Prime Minister feels that our country is so strong and independent that he can allow himself to offend our closest ally and strongest supporter (the USA). He stood up and publicly gave the impression (with typical Israeli chutzpah) that he was the person who told Bush to give Condoleeza Rice orders to abstain rather than vote against Israel in the UN. The Americans - not surprisingly - are furious, and are demanding some sort of retraction, or at least clarification. To any Americans reading this, you shouldn't really be offended. He has been lying to us for years! All the same, it is embarrassing for this to happen at a time when the rest of the world is roundly condemning us. Ingratitude par excellence...
As I write this, our neighbour's house alarm just went off and Mickey, our dog, is going crazy, which she never used to do when house alarms went off in the past. I assume that when there is a real alert that perhaps dogs are more sensitive to the blast afterwards, so she's maybe frightened and waiting for the boom. I'll stop here to go and sit with her and calm her down a little...
On the other hand, it has been quite a rough day diplomatically. It appears that our glorious Prime Minister feels that our country is so strong and independent that he can allow himself to offend our closest ally and strongest supporter (the USA). He stood up and publicly gave the impression (with typical Israeli chutzpah) that he was the person who told Bush to give Condoleeza Rice orders to abstain rather than vote against Israel in the UN. The Americans - not surprisingly - are furious, and are demanding some sort of retraction, or at least clarification. To any Americans reading this, you shouldn't really be offended. He has been lying to us for years! All the same, it is embarrassing for this to happen at a time when the rest of the world is roundly condemning us. Ingratitude par excellence...
As I write this, our neighbour's house alarm just went off and Mickey, our dog, is going crazy, which she never used to do when house alarms went off in the past. I assume that when there is a real alert that perhaps dogs are more sensitive to the blast afterwards, so she's maybe frightened and waiting for the boom. I'll stop here to go and sit with her and calm her down a little...
Monday, 12 January 2009
Attack today
Today, at 8 a.m., we had an alert. Sari and I called the kids both of whom were sleeping. Adi appeared first, but Yonatan didn't appear. After shouting his name once more he did appear - he had heard the alarm all along but had thought (for some reason) that it was just a drill. We rushed to the shelter, closed the door, looked at each other and then heard the 'boom'. Not a pleasant experience, but what does it do to people who have been experiencing this for 8 years?
Watch this genuine video, filmed before the current war began:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kroyMfkoRHA
(By the way, the rocket - a "Grad" - landed in an open space, no casualties)
Watch this genuine video, filmed before the current war began:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kroyMfkoRHA
(By the way, the rocket - a "Grad" - landed in an open space, no casualties)
Saturday, 10 January 2009
Into the third week...
A picture is worth a thousand words, so whatever I write will not compete with what we're seeing on our TV screens from Gaza. The only thing I can offer is the following....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dGW8bX_XF8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dGW8bX_XF8
Friday, 9 January 2009
Shabbat shalom...
No politics today. The family came for the shabbat evening meal - Erez is still away. Rotem, who looks as if she hasn't slept for days (and probably hasn't), will visit him tomorrow and take him food and other useful things.
The kids were all in Tel Aviv today to see a big show with all the stars. That's the amazing thing here - normally everyone is at each other's throat, but the minute we have a national crisis, everyone pulls together. You can go almost anywhere in Israel now,and the minute you say you're from the South, you'll get a reduction. The young kids from our area have been bussed out almost every day to a different place to keep them out of danger. On Sunday, they're going on a tour of the Coca Cola plant in Bnei Brak.
So, let's hope we have a quiet shabbat. Shabbat shalom to you all!
The kids were all in Tel Aviv today to see a big show with all the stars. That's the amazing thing here - normally everyone is at each other's throat, but the minute we have a national crisis, everyone pulls together. You can go almost anywhere in Israel now,and the minute you say you're from the South, you'll get a reduction. The young kids from our area have been bussed out almost every day to a different place to keep them out of danger. On Sunday, they're going on a tour of the Coca Cola plant in Bnei Brak.
So, let's hope we have a quiet shabbat. Shabbat shalom to you all!
Thursday, 8 January 2009
Living from day to day
Yesterday I was sure that we were coming to the end of the hostilities, today is a whole new ball game. That's life in the Middle East.
This morning, just so that we didn't forget about their existence (as if we could), our friends on the northern border decided to fire a couple of rockets at Nahariya on the border with Lebanon. I have just watched the news. One fell on an old folks home, thankfully not causing any serious physical injuries, but it was horrible to see how shocked the elderly people were.
Later on, when Israel once again initiated a unilateral cease fire to allow humanitarian aid to get through, the Hamas did two things. Firstly, it told the Palestinian citizens not to go out of their homes or take food, as it was a Zionist trick; secondly, it proceeded to fire rockets at Israel.
Just now, I understand that the Hamas has rejected the Egyptian proposals and Israel tends to think that they are not suitable. In other words, having been offered a ladder to get down from the tree, neither side is taking advantage of it. Since our forces, as they stand, in Gaza have pretty much done as much as they can, if we don't reach an agreement, we will have to send our reserve soldiers in. The results could be absolutely disastrous.
One of the problems is that the value we place on human life is seen as a weakness by the Hamas. They are trying to take soldiers hostage as they know this is Israel's weakest point. I saw footage of booby-trapped dummies which, when they blow up reveal a tunnel into which 'hopefully' the Israeli soldier who detonated it will fall and if he is still alive can then be taken hostage. They apparently jump out of buildings and try to drag soldiers to tunnels. On the other hand, the clip that I posted which shows how they use children as human shields shows exactly how much value the other side places on human life. Have you noticed that every house in Israel either has its own shelter or is situated next to a public one? On the other hand, I haven't seen any shelters, public or otherwise, in Gaza. People, it appears, huddle in public buildings or just sit tight in their homes (many of which have a complete arsenal in the basement). One can only assume that this lack of shelters is linked to the fact that dead civilians make better propaganda tools. Israeli TV networks never show clear images of our fatalities on TV. The other side has no problem with that.
Enough for today. Who knows? Maybe by tomorrow we'll have found a solution...????
This morning, just so that we didn't forget about their existence (as if we could), our friends on the northern border decided to fire a couple of rockets at Nahariya on the border with Lebanon. I have just watched the news. One fell on an old folks home, thankfully not causing any serious physical injuries, but it was horrible to see how shocked the elderly people were.
Later on, when Israel once again initiated a unilateral cease fire to allow humanitarian aid to get through, the Hamas did two things. Firstly, it told the Palestinian citizens not to go out of their homes or take food, as it was a Zionist trick; secondly, it proceeded to fire rockets at Israel.
Just now, I understand that the Hamas has rejected the Egyptian proposals and Israel tends to think that they are not suitable. In other words, having been offered a ladder to get down from the tree, neither side is taking advantage of it. Since our forces, as they stand, in Gaza have pretty much done as much as they can, if we don't reach an agreement, we will have to send our reserve soldiers in. The results could be absolutely disastrous.
One of the problems is that the value we place on human life is seen as a weakness by the Hamas. They are trying to take soldiers hostage as they know this is Israel's weakest point. I saw footage of booby-trapped dummies which, when they blow up reveal a tunnel into which 'hopefully' the Israeli soldier who detonated it will fall and if he is still alive can then be taken hostage. They apparently jump out of buildings and try to drag soldiers to tunnels. On the other hand, the clip that I posted which shows how they use children as human shields shows exactly how much value the other side places on human life. Have you noticed that every house in Israel either has its own shelter or is situated next to a public one? On the other hand, I haven't seen any shelters, public or otherwise, in Gaza. People, it appears, huddle in public buildings or just sit tight in their homes (many of which have a complete arsenal in the basement). One can only assume that this lack of shelters is linked to the fact that dead civilians make better propaganda tools. Israeli TV networks never show clear images of our fatalities on TV. The other side has no problem with that.
Enough for today. Who knows? Maybe by tomorrow we'll have found a solution...????
Shocking!
We know they do this, but it is shocking when you actually see it happen. Remember, these are our neighbours and THEIR CHILDREN... Golda Meir once said "Peace will come to the Middle East when the Arabs love their children more than they hate us." See the proof...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J08GqXMr3YE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J08GqXMr3YE
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