Shalom all.

The IDF announced today the death of another 20-year-old soldier, who succumbed to his wounds, which he sustained this past Friday during combat in northern Gaza. His death brings the presentIDF death toll to 282 since the beginning of the ground offensive in late October. The total number of IDF deaths from all fronts since October 7th now stands at 636.

For 232 days, the world has been receiving reports about the Gaza War and the fighting between Israel and Hamas. Some of those reports have been lengthy, some have been extremely short. Some of the events have been turned into documentaries. The “media” has had ample opportunity to pervert documented and proven facts, while a subtle shift has taken place. How many are really paying attention to what is happening here? How many really care? How many people respond to the news reports and try to make their voices heard? How many have formed an opinion about the events of October 7th, about the ensuing war, about the day-to-day tragedies and sufferings that are occasioned by fighting against an enemy bent on the total elimination of the State of Israel? How many people relate to the pain of parents who buried a son killed whiile defending his country, or a daughter raped and killed in front of family members? How many listen to a 2- minute news report at the end of the day highlighting demonstrations by college students and imported intigators, without giving a second thought to the motivation underlying those demonstrations? The questions are seemingly endless. But, when all the articles are read, when all of the Middle-East reporters have had their say, after news outlets have filtered the reports and adjusted them to make the news, rather than report the news, what do people walk away with? 

I had a discussion yesterday with a dear friend, who is visiting Israel from a country located thousands of miles from here. We discussed the situation and the ongoing struggles of Israelis to press on with their lives during the longest war of our relatively brief existence and hostage crisis that is dividing Israel. We spoke of the pain and sorrow, the anguish and emptiness of losing a family member in a normal situation, as well as the shock and grief of loss resulting from war and terrorist activity. Then he stated, almost in tears, that what is happening here is a non-issue for most of the people in his country. They are not at war, they are not surrounded by a host of separate nations who are united in one thought and ultimate goal of killing his country’s population and removing it from the map of the world. He added, “They can’t relate.” There are people there who love and pray for Israel. But, on the whole, what is happening here doesn’t affect their lives in any sense. It was an honest, but a difficult, discussion. His mindset is totally different. He and his wife traveled for two days to get here, their hearts are broken and their minds are focused on what is daily taking place in Israel, particularly, the lack of unity in the face of war, the loss of life and the efforts of countries, near and far, friends and foes, to bring the war to an end without Hamas being defeated or the hostages (whoever is still alive) being returned. 

If that were not enough, today I received an email from a close friend, whom I have had the privilege to know for over 40 years, half of which he and his family lived in Israel. After writing about different matters, he ended with: “My heart aches over the situation. It is very hard to be far away. I long to be in the prayer meetings and worship. Except for only a few people that I know, the war is already “old news.” This adds to the heartache for me.” I know his love for Israel and his willingness, at a moment’s notice, to come and live here and be part of Israel’s destiny, if his circumstances provided him with the opportunity to do so. 

While writing this post, I received notice of the IDF soldier, whose death brought the number to 282 since the beginning of the ground operation, as mentioned above. Another family suffers loss and heartache. The news of the death of their son and brother will forever be “ongoing news”, never “old news”, as the visit of the representatives of the IDF, who personally informed them of his death, will remain vivid in their memories.

What will it take to impress upon the hearts and minds of people that what took place here on October 7th could happen in other countries? Back in November, when some of the hostages were being released, one of the Hamas terrorists said to an elderly woman just before turning her over to representatives of the International Red Cross, “I’ll see you next October”, which caused her to scream out in anguish. 

Time and time again, I receive communications that the local media in different countries provide little, reliable information about Israel or what is happening here. How many local news stations will report on the missiles that were launched from Rafiah (Rafah) into major cities in the heart of Israel yesterday? They were launched from between a mosque and a school, from a location only 800 meters (875 yards) from the Israel’s forces. This is further evidence that the Hamas terrorist organization embeds itself and its weaponry in locations and civilian infrastructures, where it can use the civilian population as human shields. Will this be reported in foreign media? People cannot bury their heads in the sand and think that just because it is not happening “to them” that events here will not “affect them”.

Recognition of “Palestinian” state – In the midst of the ongoing war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the countries of Norway, Ireland and Spain announced that they would recognize a State of “Palestine” by tomorrow, May 28th. This has to be one of the most idiotic decisions ever made by these governments. When dealing with so-called “Palestinians”, the basic pre-requisites for recognizing a state are absent. As mentioned in a prior post on Day 60 of the war:

“They have no established territory that anyone can agree to, not even those who call themselves “Palestinians” – unless, of course, one accepts the narrative that all of the land “from the [Jordan] River to the [Mediterranean] Sea” (meaning the elimination of the State of Israel) belongs to a group of people called “Palestinians”. Still, this is historically and factually without foundation. 

Then, of course, there is the question of a permanent population and an authority with power to govern that population, as well as institutions that affect the lives of the people. There is Hamas in the Gaza Strip, that has “controlled” the Strip since 2007. And there is the “Palestinian” Authority that purportedly has control over the lives of so-called “Palestinian” residents living in Judea and Samaria (commonly referred to as “the West Bank [of the Jordan River]). Both “authorities” are at serious odds with one another, with the P.A. even holding several hundreds of Hamas political prisoners in its jails. So, there is no governing authority to be recognized.

Moreover, recognition of a “Palestinian” state has to resolve the “myth” of “Palestinian” refugees. That is an entire story of itself and not for this post. Suffice it to say, that this poses a unique problem of recognizing “Palestinian” refugees who would be living in a “Palestinian” state, who could no longer be considered refugees.  So, the bottom line is that recognizing the existence of a state in the absence of the basic requisites for the establishment of a state, is absurd. Then again, when we consider the increasing antagonism towards Israel by some of the nation states of Europe, we should not be surprised if some of them act more out of hatred towards Israel than out of concern for those who refer to themselves as “Palestinians” and if they fail to use a modicum of common sense in their proclamations.“

Need I say more?

It should be noted that Norway has long played an active role in Middle East affairs, which date back to its involvement in the Oslo Accords in 1993. It has also been involved financially with the “Palestinian” Authority and has actively contributed millions of dollars to UNRWA. By recognizing “Palestine” as a state, “Norway’s current stance limits its political options and may preclude any direct involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

If Norway’s recognition of a “Palestinian” state will reduce its involvement in the present war, how much more should Israel insist that Qatar be removed as a negotiator. Qatar has been a major supporter of Hamas for more than a decade. Its perspective in the negotiations has always been reflected in its press releases, which refer to the “cease fire” negotiations, as opposed to the Israeli releases that refer to the “hostage-release” negotiations. Qatar has also been the largest donor to the Gaza Strip since the Hamas takeover in 2007. At least one senior member of the Israeli government agrees that Qatar should be removed, as it cannot be an impartial negotiator. But, then, who would be willing to step in and takes its place? And, obviously, Hamas would not be willing to trust any country that was not partial to it.

The Dry Bones Blog – 27 May, 2024

The International Court of [In]Justice, responded to the 4th petition of South Africa against Israel in 5 months. This past Friday, May 22, it issued an Order, which, in large measure, has been misinterpreted by countries and news sites that are anti-Israel. 

The Decision itself says, among other things, that Israel is to “Immediately halt its military offensive, and any other action in the Rafah Governorate, which may inflict on  the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.” It is regrettable that only the first part of the sentence up to the word “Governorate” was picked up and quoted by various sources in any effort to condemn Israel and demand an immediate ceasefire. The rest of the sentence shows that, in essence, Israel is not to act in a genocidal manner. In the discussion leading up to the different parts of the Decision, which was approved by a vote of 13 to 2, it is clear that the ICJ was attempting to micro-manage the Gaza War. 

Dissenting opinions were written by Vice-President Julia Sebutinde of Uganda and Ad Hoc Judge Aharon Barak of Israel, which made clear that the Court’s Decision did NOT prevent Israel from continuing its military action in the Gaza enclave and, particularly, not against Hamas, which maintains most of its remaining forces in Rafiah (Rafah). Sebutinde also noted: “[This] directive may be misunderstood as mandating a unilateral ceasefire in Rafah and amounts to micromanaging the hostilities in Gaza by restricting Israel’s ability to pursue its legitimate military objectives, while leaving its enemies, including Hamas, free to attack without Israel being able to respond.” The ICJ also ordered Israel to permit unimpeded access to the Gaza Strip for “commissions of inquiry, fact-finding missions, or other investigative bodies mandated by the UN to investigate allegations of genocide.” One can only imagine what those investigative bodies will indicate in their reports to the UN or the ICJ. For those interested, both the Decision, which is unfounded, and the Dissenting Opinions, which are well-founded, are worth the read.

Somewhere along the almost 8 months of war, Hamas and its terror-loving, anti-Israel and anti-semitic adherents made and continue to make efforts to blur and to remove from the consciousness of the semi-sane world the abhorrent acts of violence, rape, burning, dismemberment and even the taking of hostages on October 7th.  

In a chilling video released by The Daily Mail, father and son terrorists, who were captured by the IDF, admitted murdering civilians in their homes, gang-raping women and shooting them, as well as kidnapping others. The son admitted to killing two people, raping two people and breaking into five homes in Kibbutz Nir Oz. This brought us back to the starting point of the present war – brutal acts of terrorism.

An IDF Spokesman, who commented on the confessions video, stated: “Over the past months, we’ve seen countless evidence of the brutal violence used by Hamas on October 7th, including harrowing acts of gender-based and sexual violence. These confessions further prove that any attempt to deny the horrors of Oct. 7, and discredit the testimonies of witnesses, survivors, and freed hostages, is part of a campaign to de-legitimize Israel, and to promote the justification of terrorism.”

An additional video was released last week by the parents of some of the female soldiers, who were taken hostage by Hamas on October 7th. As in the past, for reasons of sensitivity, I have not attached the video, although links to it can easily be found. The release of the video prompted additional demonstrations against the government for failure to pull out all the stops and to bring about the release of the hostages.

Signs, posters, photos and other forms of attention getters, calling for the release of the hostages, are everywhere throughout the country. Posters declaring “Free the Hostages, NOW!”, “Get them out of hell!”, alongside photos of all, or some, or individual hostages, are seen everywhere. There are also billboards of a full-face photo of P.M. Benjamin Netanyahu, with a statement: “You’re the head, you’re guilty!” (actually, it is a political statement against Netanyahu and the government; the proper statement would have been: “You’re the head, you’re responsible”.) On the other hand, those who push for a military victory have placed other posters, saying “The hostages are dead, Rafiah (Rafah) NOW!”

The anguish of the families, whose loved ones were taken hostage, is absolutely understandable. With the exception of a handful of individuals who have appeared in psychological warfare videos, Israel has no knowledge of which hostages are still alive. But, demands that the government act to release the hostages is a call for a cessation of the Gaza War, with an expectation that this will automatically result in the release by Hamas of all the live hostages, as well as the bodies of those killed on or after October 7th. This is an expectation that is contrary to the terms of all of the hostage-release negotiations that have taken place until now. Hamas demands more than just a permanent end of the war. It also demands the release from Israeli jails of terrorists, who are responsible for dozens of deaths of Israelis. It demands guarantees from foreign governments regarding Israel’s actions and inactions, as will be expressed in any agreement. It demands that Israel agree not to target after the release of the hostages. It demands a graduated release of hostages that will be completed only after the terrorists are released from prison. And, most significantly, Hamas demands that Israel end the war as a pre-condition before it will agree to sit down and negotiate the other terms. If you lived here, if your relative was killed by Hamas on October 7th, or was wounded, or was taken hostage, what would you want the government to do? If this situation were to take place in the country where you live, what do you think the leadership of your government would do? Add to all of the above the consideration that Israel is already engaged in multi-front  hostilities with seven different countries or terrorist organizations. Are the priorities to be limited to a handful, or to the welfare of the nation as a whole?

Hostage Release negotiations – Although Israel has agreed to send its representatives this week to continue negotiations for the release of the hostages, it maintains its position that it will not, under any circumstances, agree to the end of the war as part of an agreement to release our hostages. Israel says it definitely will not end the war in advance of their release, but will press its offensive against Hamas to effectuate their release. So, the obvious problem is how to reconcile, if at all possible, the demand of Hamas for an absolute cessation of the war that will enable release of the hostages, in the face of Israel’s position that it will not end the war as a condition for their release.

Yesterday was Lag Ba’omer, a religious holiday that takes place on the 33rd day of the 49 days between Passover and Shavuot (the Feast of Weeks). “The holiday is a major occasion for Orthodox Jews in a few respects. Not only does it fall on the anniversary of the death of the sage Shimon Bar Yochai, but it is also thought to mark the day in which a plague that, according to Talmudic tradition, killed thousands of students of Mishnaic-era sage Rabbi Akiva, ended.” Although it is traditionally celebrated at Mount Meron in the Galilee, the government prohibited the gathering in the north this year because of the war and of the potential for injuries from Hezbollah missiles. Instead, it took place at another “hot spot”, the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in Jerusalem. More information about the holiday can be found here.

This is a new week, with new opportunities to be thankful. Let’s not miss them.

Bless, be blessed and be a blessing.

Marvin