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Posted on 04/18/2002 5:58:57 PM PDT by Sabramerican
A light unto the nations
Caroline B. Glick
On Remembrance Day, members of the reserve infantry company that lost 13 men last Tuesday were given a day's furlough from combat to visit the families of their fallen comrades.
Outside the home of their dead company commander, Maj. Oded Golomb, they spoke to reporters of their friends' heroism. Capt. Ya'acov Azulay, for instance, died after running into battle to save the soldiers who were struck down in the initial ambush. Azulay, a policeman in civilian life, was wearing his blue bullet-proof vest from his day job on top of his olive drab uniform.
"At first we couldn't figure out who the guy with the blue vest was. But he yelled out he was going to save them. Then 15 minutes later, we saw the blue vest again, as his body was evacuated on a stretcher," one of his comrades said.
"It's really amazing," said another. "All of us are just regular people in civilian life, family men who work for a living, but the heroism we saw there was just incredible, unthinking, running in under constant heavy fire to save our wounded. It was unbelievable."
Where does this reserve of resilience and strength come from? Israel is after all, fighting for its life in a war against terrorism that the world is hell bent against allowing us to wage, let alone win. The answer, is that Israelis today know the truth about ourselves and that truth, quite simply, is that Israel is a great nation.
A poll conducted by Market Watch for the Independence Day Ma'ariv provides a stunning picture of Israeli society in the midst of war. While 469 Israelis have been murdered and more than 3,000 wounded over the past 18 months, 73 percent of Israelis are hopeful about the future of the country. Even as 61% of Israelis fear for the existence of the state, 83% of Israelis prefer life here to life in any other country.
We see this patriotism in our army, where manpower officers are reporting a 130% mobilization rate of reservists - 100% of the reservists called up for service reported for duty along with thousands of volunteers.
And it is not simply a matter of duty; it's a matter of decency. The reservists, who risk their lives to protect Palestinian civilians from the terrorists who exploit them as human shields, also treat them with humility.
In Tulkarm, a group of reservists that needed to break down the wall of a Palestinian home took up a collection among themselves when they finished fighting - NIS 1,500 in total - and gave it to the family to pay for the damage.
In Bethlehem, another group of reservists gave a Palestinian family NIS 2,000 they raised among themselves after seizing three rooms in their home for 48 hours. Reservists who seized homes in Bethlehem and Ramallah insisted on mopping the floors before departing. Hundreds of reservists have added candy to their regular gear. They hand out the chocolate bars to Palestinian children to try to ease their anxiety.
When last week a priest at the Church of the Nativity, held hostage by terrorists, emerged from the church to speak on his captors' behalf to the IDF troops, he was greeted by a soldier who dug into his pockets and pulled out an apple and a bottle of mineral water which he offered to the beleaguered clergyman.
While having such men forming the backbone of the IDF is a source of pride, it becomes a wellspring of strength and endurance when placed in the context of the forces arrayed against us today.
Perhaps again, the contrast was most starkly described by the same company of reservists that lost 13 men in 25 minutes of fighting in Jenin last week. One of the men described his shell shock, "We went to the kibbutz for our commander's funeral late that evening, and I remember standing outside a house on the kibbutz and feeling frightened a sniper would start shooting at us from the window. We were just a half an hour from Jenin, and yet it is a completely different world. There, we were fired at from every window from every house. Here, a window is a window."
As Foreign Minister Shimon Peres described the scene in the Jenin refugee camp, "There wasn't a house that wasn't booby-trapped, and there was no way to neutralize the danger without demolishing the structures. We also encountered booby-trapped men, Palestinians who raised their hands to surrender while wearing explosive vests, in an attempt to detonate themselves among our soldiers."
The international community has pilloried us with accusations of a "massacre" in Jenin and charged us with human rights abuses for destroying houses. Division commander Brig.-Gen. Eyal Shlein angrily denied those allegations earlier this week, pointing out the difference between the IDF and the Palestinian terrorists. "There was no massacre whatsoever. If we wanted to commit a massacre, we could have taken over the camp in one day. The IDF did not use artillery or aircraft."
As for the house demolitions, Shlein was emphatic. "A balanced person does not booby-trap his house with the intent to return to it."
In a swipe at the Palestinian propaganda machine and the international press corps that parrots its claims without comment, Shlein said, "We intend to demolish the booby-trapped buildings, because after we get everyone out, they will accuse us of leaving booby-trapped houses."
The saying goes, "A man is known by the company he keeps," and the same is no less true of nations. Israelis today scan the international community and note the difference between our supporters and our adversaries. On the adversaries side, we have European and Arab governments who brazenly threaten us with sanctions and war. We have Kofi Annan and the UN that threaten us with international troops who will come in to stop "Israeli aggression" against innocent Palestinians; and we have urban terrorists in European cities who attack Jews, destroy Jewish property, and call for our collective destruction.
On the friends side, we have the American people and Diaspora Jewry. Israelis note that while Secretary of State Powell may have been taken in by the EU, the UN, and the Saudis - the same forces doing everything in their power to scuttle the US war on terrorism - the American people are far from fooled.
We saw with gratitude and appreciation that at the mass rally in support of Israel in Washington on Monday, members of Congress from both parties, leading Christians, and African Americans stood shoulder-to-shoulder with American Jews in declaring their support of Israel and in explaining to Powell and his associates that there is no difference between Yasser Arafat and Osama bin Lan.
We saw that under a week after the call was put out for the rally, over 100,000 Jews, from all over the US descended on Washington, where they stood for hours in the blistering sun to show their commitment to Israel.
We saw last week that a third of France's brave and anxious Jewish community, which has suffered from an average of a dozen daily attacks since Easter and more than 400 attacks in the last year, rallied virtually alone in the streets of Paris in support of Israel.
The architects of the Oslo process promised us we were standing at the precipice of a new world order. But the terrorism and anti-Semitism, and the blind hatred that fertilizes them both, have proven the old order is still the order of the day. Although most of us would have been happier if the utopia Oslo promised had materialized, there is comfort and relief in knowing the truth.
The utopians, who promised us everlasting peace and universal brotherhood in exchange for signing our land away to a terrorist, told us it was by appeasing our enemies that Israel would fulfill its mission as "a light to the nations." Today, as we return to the old world order, where we are hated because our enemies like to hate us, the internal strength denied us in a decade of self-abnegation has returned.
We look at ourselves in the mirror, and we like what we see. We look at our friends, and we respect them for who they are. We look at our enemies and understand their hatred for what it is - an expression of their moral failure.
Today, we understand that being a light to the nations means setting an example of loyalty to our traditions of valor and simple human decency, with the hope that others will follow, and not attempting to appease murderers and begging for acceptance.
Given this state of affairs, it is not surprising that 83% of Israelis wouldn't want to live anywhere else.
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For the World Court?
REST IN PEACE fallen soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces. IDF.
Click thumbnail images for the larger picture
The wife of Israeli reserve soldier Eyal Yoel, who was killed in a Palestinian ambush in the West Bank town of Jenin on April 9, 2002, mourns at his grave during the funeral in Jerusalem April 10. (Gil Cohen Magen/Reuters)
- Apr 10 4:31 PM ET
An Israeli woman grieves during the funeral of 1st Sgt. Gdaliahu Mellick at the Mt. Herzel military cemetery in Jerusalem., Wednesday, April 10, 2002. According to the Israeli army, Malik, 21, was killed and 12 soldiers were injured Tuesday in the West Bank refugee camp of Jenin when a shot fired at him caused a grenade he was carrying to explode. (AP Photo/ZOOM 77)
- Apr 10 4:06 PM ET
Two girls comfort each other during the funeral of 1st Sgt. Gdaliahu Mellick at the Mt. Herzel military cemetery in Jerusalem Wednesday April 10, 2002. According to the Israeli army Malik, 21, was killed and 12 soldiers were injured Tuesday in the West Bank refugee camp of Jenin when a shot fired at him caused a grenade he was carrying to explode. (AP Photo/ZOOM 77)
- Apr 10 3:54 PM ET
Mourners cry at the funeral for Israeli reserve soldier Sergeant Major Tiran Arazi in Hadera cemetery, April 10, 2002. Arazi was one of 13 Israeli soldiers killed on April 9, in the Jenin refuge camp in the northern West Bank, the scene of some of the fiercest fighting in the Israeli offensive. REUTER/Havakuk Levison
- Apr 10 1:53 PM ET
An Israeli soldier stands among family members, including Pnina Yaskov, center, the wife of Avner Yaskov, as they grieve at his grave side during a funeral ceremony in the southern Israeli town of Be'er Sheva Wednesday April 10, 2002. Yaskov was killed, along with 12 other Israeli soldiers on Tuesday, during operations in the West Bank town of Jenin. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)
- Apr 10 1:44 PM ET
Pnina Yaskov cries at her husband Avner's Israeli flag drapped coffin during his funeral in the southern Israeli town of Be'er Sheva Wednesday April 10, 2002. Yaskov was killed, along with 12 other Israeli soldiers on Tuesday, during operations in the West Bank town of Jenin. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)
- Apr 10 1:50 PM ET
Family members of Avner Yaskov cry over his grave during a funeral ceremony in the Southern Israeli town of Be'er Sheva Wednesday April 10, 2002. Yaskov was killed, along with 12 other Israeli soldiers on Tuesday, during operations in the West Bank town of Jenin. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)
- Apr 10 1:48 PM ET
Pnina Yaskov cries at her husband Avner's Israeli flag drapped coffin and is comforted by soldiers during her husband's funeral in the southern Israeli town of Be'er Sheva Wednesday April 10, 2002. Yaskov was killed, along with 12 other Israeli soldiers on Tuesday, during operations in the West Bank town of Jenin. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)
- Apr 10 1:51 PM ET
Relatives cry as they attend the funeral of Israeli reserve soldier Sergeant Major Tiran Arazi, in the Hadera cemetery April 10, 2002. Arazi is one of 13 Israeli soldiers who were killed April 9, 2002 in the Jenin refuge camp in the northern West Bank, the scene of some of the fiercest fighting in the Israeli offensive. REUTER/Havakuk Levison
- Apr 10 1:45 PM ET
Pnina Yaskov, left, cries and is comforted by her sisiter-in-law during the funeral of her husband Avner Yaskov in the southern Israeli town of Be'er Sheva Wednesday April 10, 2002. Yaskov was killed, along with 12 other Israeli soldiers on Tuesday, during operations in the West Bank town of Jenin. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)
- Apr 10 1:50 PM ET
Pnina Yaskov cries at the grave of her husband Avner during his funeral in the southern Israeli town of Be'er Sheva Wednesday April 10, 2002. Yaskov was killed, along with 12 other Israeli soldiers on Tuesday, during military operations against Palestinian militants in the West Bank town of Jenin. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)
- Apr 10 1:51 PM ET
The wife of Israeli reserve soldier Eyal Yoel, who was killed in a Palestinian ambush in the West Bank town of Jenin on April 9, 2002, mourns at his grave during the funeral in Jerusalem April 10. Photo by Gil Cohen Magen/Reuters
- Apr 10 1:37 PM ET
Relatives of slain Israeli reserve soldier Eyal Yoel,who was killed in a Palestinian ambush during fighting in the West Bank town of Jenin the day before, mourn at his grave during the funeral in Jerusalem April 10, 2002. The United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations called on Israel on Wednesday to withdraw its forces immediately from Palestinian cities in the West Bank. REUTERS/Gil Cohen Magen
- Apr 10 11:48 AM ET
The wife of dead Israeli reserve soldier Eyal Yoel, who was killed in a Palestinian ambush during fighting in the West Bank town of Jenin on April 9, 2002, mourns at his grave during the funeral in Jerusalem April 10. The United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations called on Israel on Wednesday to withdraw its forces immediately from Palestinian cities in the West Bank. REUTERS/Gil Cohen Magen
- Apr 10 11:43 AM ET
Mark Robinson, center, wearing white, cries during the funeral ceremony for his son Matnya in a Kibbuzim some 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the northeastern Israeli town of Beit Shean on Tuesday, April 9, 2002. Matnya Robinson, an Israeli soldier, was killed during fighting between Israel troops and Palestinian gunmen in the West Bank town of Jenin. (AP Photo/Yigal Levi)
- Apr 09 7:11 PM ET
Mark Robinson cries during the funeral ceremony for his son Matnya in a Kibbuzim some 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the northeastern Israeli town of Beit Shean on Tuesday, April 9, 2002. Matnya Robinson, an Israeli soldier, was killed during fighting between Israel troops and Palestinian gunmen in the West Bank town of Jenin. (AP Photo/Yigal Levi)
- Apr 09 7:08 PM ET
Israeli soldiers mourn during the funeral in Moshav Avigdor for their comrade Maron Fischer who was killed during fighting in the West Bank city of Jenin, April 7, 2002. The Israeli government hailed its West Bank campaign to root out Palestinian militants as a success, and a Cabinet statement pointedly ignored President Bush's pressure to withdraw the troops from Palestinian cities 'without delay.' (Tsafrir Abayov/Reuters)
- Apr 08 6:00 AM ET
Israeli soldiers mourn during the funeral in Moshav Avigdor for their comrade Maron Fischer who was killed during fighting in the West Bank city of Jenin, April 7, 2002. The Israeli government hailed its West Bank campaign to root out Palestinian militants as a success, and a Cabinet statement pointedly ignored President Bush's pressure to withdraw the troops from Palestinian cities 'without delay.' Photo by Tsafrir Abayov/Reuters
- Apr 07 5:18 PM ET
Israeli soldiers grieve in the Israeli village of Avigdor, south of the coastal town of Ashkelon, Sunday, April 7, 2002 during the funeral ceremony for their comrade Marom Fisher, who was killed during heavy fighting between Israeli troops and armed Palestinians in the northern West Bank town of Jenin Friday. (AP Photo/Gadi Kabalo)
- Apr 07 3:06 PM ET
Israeli soldiers grieve in the Israeli village of Avigdor, south of the coastal town of Ashkelon, Sunday, April 7, 2002 during the funeral ceremony for their comrade Marom Fisher, who was killed during heavy fighting between Israeli troops and Palestinian in the northern West Bank town of Jenin Friday. (AP Photo/Gadi Kabalo)
- Apr 07 2:46 PM ET
An Israeli soldier stands among family members, including Pnina Yaskov, center, the wife of Avner Yaskov, as they grieve at his grave side during a funeral ceremony in the southern Israeli town of Be'er Sheva Wednesday April 10, 2002. Yaskov was killed, along with 12 other Israeli soldiers on Tuesday, during operations in the West Bank town of Jenin. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)
Jews are no strangers to death, nor are we strangers to heroes. I’d like to relate to you briefly, a short account of modern heroism, a simple story, not unlike many others, but still, heroism, in every sense of the word. A friend of mine, let’s call him Avi, not his name, but he would never forgive me if I used his real name, is a multi-faceted person, with many interests, talents and expertise. In the army he is a rabbi, or chaplain, as they are called. In real life he is, among other things, a first-class paramedic. When the call-up started, Avi received a phone call from one of the soldiers in his unit. It was Friday afternoon, a few hours before the beginning of Shabbat, the Jewish Sabbath. “Avi,” we’re all here, we’ve been called up.”
> Despite that fact that he had not received orders, without thinking about it, Avi packed a bag and left his family for the base, joining the rest of the troops.
One might ask, what does a combat unit need with a Rabbi, but Avi doesn’t restrict himself to spiritual tasks. Rather, he takes part in all the unit’s activities, never knowing a quiet moment.
It wasn’t long before the unit received it’s assignment: Jenin. Jenin is the northern-most Shomron city today belonging to the Palestinian authority. It is also full of terrorists. Why? Prior to the beginning of the current “Defensive Shield” war, whenever Israel began retaliating against the PA, in response to terror attacks, the Arab terrorists fleeing from the IDF would run north, reaching Jenin. As a result the city filled up with more than its share of ‘natural terrorists.’ The city is divided into two sections: the regular city and the refugee camp. Most of the fleeing terrorists found shelter in the refugee camp, turning it into one of the most dangerous areas in the Shomron. Jenin’s terrorist infrastructure includes the Fatah-based Al-Aqsa Brigades, the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization and Hamas. Numerous terror attacks against Israeli civilian targets initiated in Jenin. Of the thousands of weapons confiscated since the inception of the current military operation, (including over 2,000 guns and rifles, rpgs, etc, many many were found in Jenin. In order to eliminate terror, a house-to-house battle in Jenin was imminent.
Avi, together with his unit, made their way to the city of terror. Avi’s commander’s, learning that the unit’s Rabbi was also a paramedic, asked him if he would be willing to participate in the unit’s medical team. Avi’s response was immediate, “Yes, of course.” Avi is forty years old, married with a bunch of children, the oldest in the army and the youngest in nursery school. Most of the people he serves with are in the twenties or early thirties.
The battle for Jenin began. Avi was called to duty, “A soldier wounded, in the refugee camp.” Avi quickly jumped into an APC – an armored personnel carrier, built like a tank, but smaller, and without a turret. Crowded in with a few other people, Avi found himself in the middle of the battle. The APC’s front entrance slid open and Avi found himself inside the camp, gunfire all around. Jumping out, he zigzagged from building to building, before finding the wounded soldier, treating him and getting him back to the IDF encampment.
A short time later, again, an injured officer. This time Avi had to run through a field, taking cover behind rocks, ducking down to avoid terrorist gunfire. As he told me, “I kept thinking how easy it would be to die here.” When Avi and the IDF doctor reached their destination, it was too late. The officer had died of his wounds. There was nothing they could do but return the officer’s body to the camp headquarters.
Avi came home for a few days, but made it clear. “I’m going back,” he said. He doesn’t have to, he didn’t receive call-up orders. He didn’t have to participate as a paramedic during the battle – his army job is as a Rabbi. When I asked him why he had gone in the first place, Avi said, “well the whole unit was there, so I had to be there too.”
Avi isn’t the only hero of the Defensive Shield War. Avi told me of others, who in everyday life sell insurance, drive taxis, teach in school, who all showed up for duty, one minute a civilian, the next minute a soldier, running their way through ankle-high mud, in the pouring rain, eating battle rations, dodging bullets, not always successfully. No complaints, no “why me” – ordinary, people, all of whom have one thing in common. They all know and say, (as Avi told me), “we are fighting for our homes.” This isn’t Falkland or Vietnam , it is a war for our houses, our yards, our families.
Just as there were heroes sixty years ago, so today, there are heroes – regular people who really aren’t so regular, or perhaps they are.
Am America Chai od Yisrael Chai!
Ezekiel 37:16-17 Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions [friend]: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions [friend]: 17 And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.
A U.S. flag is held beside an Israeli flag during a demonstration in front of the U.S. Capitol April 15, 2002. Thousands of people rallied on the U.S. Capitol grounds to support Israel and declare its offensive against Palestinian militants equivalent to the U.S. war on terrorism. Photo by Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
Ezekiel 9:4 And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.
Ezekiel 37:22 And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all:
This phrase has a beauty to it, but will you translate it to English?
"Where does this reserve of resilience and strength come from? Israel is after all, fighting for its life in a war against terrorism that the world is hell bent against allowing us to wage, let alone win. The answer, is that Israelis today know the truth about ourselves and that truth, quite simply, is that Israel is a great nation."
Agreed!
Thanks.
There's an Israeli 54th Independence celebration here in LA this Sunday at Woodley Park in Van Nuys.
Good food and Inspiration.
Shalom.
These are the Citizen Soldiers of the Israeli Defense Forces. They are ordinary people like you and me, only thier homes have been the targets of terror for years. Where do they get such men? Well, look around you. Here in America you'll see the same kind of man. Freedom brings a sense of duty and obligation that the Arabs will never understand.
Their fight is our fight.
Be Seeing You,
Chris
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