Tag: Israel

War! Terrorist Invasion of Israel: Day 106 of the War.

On By marvinsk1 Comment

Shalom all,

The number of IDF deaths since the beginning of the ground offensive has now reached 194. The total number of IDF deaths since October 7th stands at 530. The number of hostages still held by Hamas and other terrorists is estimated at 136. The number of war-wounded is far beyond what any of us want to state out loud. 

We are a country that is bleeding, physically and emotionally. Israel is dealing with major pressures from outside the country, both from our “friends” as well as our “foes”, to immediately cease the military operations in Gaza. We’ve dealt with foreign pressures before and usually stood up against them. But, this time, the international pressure is being supplemented by massive demonstrations in Israel, calling upon the country to “Bring them home, NOW!” So, while not directly demanding a cessation of hostilities – although there are a number of “minor demonstrations” that do make such demands – the message from the demonstrations is that Israel should do everything possible to bring about the return of the hostages. The demands are being made primarily, although not exclusively, upon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. There are, of course, those who consistently claim that Netanyahu is keeping the war going in order to remain in power. I don’t deny that such a possibility exists. Nevertheless, he is not the only one that makes decisions regarding the continuation of the war.

But, the internal voices are becoming more vocal. While families genuinely want their loved ones to return, alive, there is also no escaping the fact that the protests are being backed by powerful individuals with a lot of money, whose goal now is the removal of Netanyahu as Prime Minister and the calling for new elections – now, in the middle of a war, possibly the most serious and difficult war since our War of Independence.
The Times of Israel refers to a report in The New York Times, which quoted four IDF commanders, who spoke on condition of anonymity, that “the dual objectives of freeing the hostages and destroying Hamas are now mutually incompatible.”  I’ve been saying that since the ground offensive began. I’m glad that they finally agree with me. The question now, as it has been the question all along, is which goal needs to be sacrificed in order to achieve the second goal? What is the “greater good” here, if in fact there is a “greater good” in this situation?

Without question, the biggest complaint against Israel is the number of civilian casualties in Gaza. The figures are almost exclusively provided by the Gaza Health Ministry, which is controlled by Hamas. Every report issued by that ministry that is reported in the Israeli media is usually accompanied by a statement that the figures reported cannot be independently verified. Well, the IDF has different figures, which are substantially lower than those reported by the Hamas Health Ministry.

Colonel Richard Kemp, a former officer in the British Army and anti-terrorism expert, sides with the IDF and actually concludes that the IDF has the lowest civilian casualty rate ever recorded in history, 1.5 to 1, while the UN estimates that the global average is a staggering 9:1 So, where is the world getting its information from that causes some to accuse Israel of committing genocide? But then, when one is accusing Israel of any time of wrong-doing, facts really aren’t important, are they? What Israel bashers want to do is to make the accusation and then put the burden on Israel to disprove the claim.

There are actually some people that understand the situation of blind hatred towards Israel. Sometimes their eyes are opened and they acknowledge the simple fact that the goal of Hamas is to destroy Israel. Such was the case with Shefali Vaidya, a social media influencer from India. She was part of a 13-member delegation of Muslim and Hindu journalists and social media-recognized personalities, who toured Kibbutz Kfar Aza, one of the communities whose members were massacred and butchered on Black Saturday. The tour was organized by the grassroots organization Sharaka, an organization seeking to strengthen the positive relationship between Israel and the Arab and Muslim world. She tweeted, in part: “Hamas does not want land or concessions. What it wants is the complete annihilation of the state of Israel and death of every last Israeli citizen. It was a sobering realisation of a chilling fact! “

Then, there are others, who don’t directly acknowledge the goal of Hamas to destroy Israel, but recognize the need for Hamas to be dismantled. The European Parliament called for a “permanent ceasefire” in the Gaza War, but conditioned it on the dismantling of the Hamas terrorist organization and the unconditional release of the hostages still being held captive in Gaza. Following the decision of the U.E., Haim Regev, Israel’s Ambassador to the E.U., was quoted in “Politico”, as saying that “We are happy to see that the European Parliament understands the need to release the hostages and disarm Hamas before any ceasefire.” Elon Levy, the government spokesman for Israel also commented: “The European Union wants Israel to win this war against Hamas… The European Parliament just demanded the immediate and unconditional release of the hostages and dismantling of Hamas. It said no permanent ceasefire until then.” 

Not everyone was happy with the decision of the European Union, as can be understood from the statement of the representative of the “Palestinian” Authority, who denounced the vote as “a moral failure of the European Parliament.” 

Two days ago, P.M. Netanyahu had a lengthy conversation with U.S. President Joe Biden. It would have been great if we could have listened in on what was discussed and the tone of the communication between the two leaders. Following the conversation, Biden intimated that Netanyahu may be open to accepting some kind of “two-state solution”, but the P.M., in a rare statement issued today, Shabbat, repeated the same position that he held for years, namely: that after the elimination of Hamas, “Israel must remain in full security control of the Gaza Strip to ensure that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel – and this conflicts with demands for “Palestinian” sovereignty.” So, they can’t both be telling the truth. While Netanyahu credibility before the public has diminished considerably, particularly since the beginning of the Gaza War, I would still accept him position that a “Palestinian” state will not be established “on his watch”. This is in agreement with Biden’s assessment also, that an independent “Palestinian” state is not possible as long as Netanyahu remains in office. Apparently, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is not thrilled with a refusal to accept a two-state solution. While speaking in Kampala, Uganda, he stated: “The refusal to accept a two-state solution for Israelis and “Palestinians”, and the denial of the right to statehood for the “Palestinian” people, are unacceptable…The right of the “Palestinian” people to build their own state must be recognized by all.” I have no problem with the so-called “Palestinians” setting up their own state, as long as it is not anywhere on the land of Israel.

This week also saw terrorism committed on the streets of Ra’anana, a central city here. The acts of terrorism were accomplished by two residents from a community near Hebron in Judea. A woman in her late 70s was killed and at least 17 others were wounded, including 4 minors, in a combined car-ramming and stabbing attack. The adult victims were hospitalized and were reported to be in serious to moderate conditions. The terrorists were apprehended by the Police and it was discovered that they were employed in the industrial area of Ra’anana, but without valid work permits. It turned out that both suspects were known to Israeli security forces. We continue to make the same mistake, over and over again, and allow people to work in Israel who should not be allowed entry.

Yesterday, we had a large gathering of family members for an erev Shabbat (Friday evening) meal. In the middle of our conversations, loud sirens went off throughout Haifa, indicating a potential threat from a projectile. We all got up and went into the “secured room” in our apartment. We bolted the metal door that protects the window and locked the reinforced metal door to the room. Admittedly, it was a bit crowded. But, after 10 minutes, we were able to leave the room and resume our time together during the evening. The nature of the projectile was not immediately disclosed, but was said to be “a suspicious aerial target” that was intercepted by the IDF. The reports did not indicate whether or not the drone was armed. Our conversation turned to speculation over the possible destination of the projectile: the oil refinery on the outskirts of Haifa, the Naval Base next to Rambam Hospital or the natural gas facility off the cost of Haifa. Inasmuch as it came from the north, the likelihood is that is was a “smart” projectile, that was either programmed or controlled electronically. The IDF didn’t say and we didn’t ask. We’re thankful that no one was injured.

And, to round off The Week That Was, the Gaza War has become the subject of network television. I’m not referring to the local news, but to the season premiere of the long-running TV series, Law & Order, which aired this past Thursday. According to the Forward, “The episode, titled ‘Free Expression,’ manages to cram just about every major headline even tangentially related to Israel from the past few months into its hour run time.” It would be interesting to see how Hollywood relates to real-life, present-day events that are taking place thousands of miles away, and brings them into your living room, as though they are happening in New York City. 

There’s a lot more, but I think this is where we’ll stop.

Have a safe, healthy, encouraging and God-honoring week.

Bless, be blessed and be a blessing.
Marvin

War! Terrorist Invasion of Israel – Day 89 of the War.

On By marvinskLeave a comment

Shalom all,

The steady increase in the number of IDF deaths since the beginning of the ground offensive has now reached 175. The total number of IDF deaths since October 7th stands at 508.

Despite Israel’s efforts to remain vague regarding yesterday’s assassination of Saleh al-Arouri, it is highly doubtful that any thinking person would have any doubts about who carried it out. Likud party MK, Danny Danon, made this very clear when he tweeted: “I congratulate the IDF, the Shin Bet, the Mossad, and the security forces for killing senior Hamas official Saleh Al-Arouri in Beirut. Anyone who was involved in the October 7 massacre should know that we will reach out to them and close an account with them.” 

Al-Arouri is said to be one of the planners of the terrorist invasion of the communities in the “Gaza Envelope”, designated by Hamas as the “Al Aqsa Flood”. In prior speeches and communications, he indicated that Israel would stunned by contemplated actions of Hamas. He became second in command after Hamas political bureau chief, Ismail Haniyeh, after having served 15 years in an Israeli prison and was deported after his release in 2010, shortly before the deal the following year, which saw Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit released by Hamas in exchange for the release of 1,027 prisoners from Israeli jails, one of which was Yahya Sinwar, the present leader of Hamas. Al-Arouri was responsible for Hamas’s terrorism in Judea and Samaria (= the “West Bank”), as well as the abduction and murder of three Israeli youths in 2014 – an event that led to another war between Israel and Hamas that lasted for 51 days. According to Ynetnews, al-Arouri said in a recent interview: “I feel like I have lived too long and exceeded my life expectancy. I praise a martyr’s death.”  I don’t know what everyone is upset about. He knew that he was a marked man and that Israel would probably get to him one day, particularly after October 7th. He wanted to die a martyr’s death and he got his wish.

Obviously, the big question is what will be the response of Hezbollah to the assassination of this senior-level member of Hamas, which took place in Beirut, Lebanon. Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary-General of the Hezbollah said that it is not afraid to get involved in another war with Israel and that if Israel launches a war against Lebanon, the Hezbollah will respond with “no ceilings” and “no rules”. If anything is, or should be, clear, it is that Israel will not start a war with Lebanon. But, that doesn’t mean that there will not be a Hezbollah response to the assassination of al-Arouri. Hezbollah is not a simple terrorist organization any longer, but a trained militia of tens of thousands of members. Still, Nasrallah’s threats might be clouds without water, as the memories of the Second Lebanon War of 2006 are still fairly fresh, as is the chemical explosion in the port of Beirut that took place in 2020, the responsibility for which was placed at the feet and on the shoulders of Hezbollah. Israel’s threats made earlier in the Gaza War of turning Beirut into a second Gaza are probably also going through Nasarallah’s mind. So, while it would be reasonable to expect a response, it probably would not be an all-out frontal attack. Isra

Germany thinks that the Gaza War will spill over to Lebanon, as a result of al-Arouri’s assassination. The German foreign ministry urged its citizens to leave Lebanon quickly. As it wrote on “X” (formerly known as Twitter): “All German citizens, who are still in Lebanon, are asked to register on the ELEFAND crisis preparedness list and to leave the country as quickly as possible…A further deterioration of the situation and expansion of the conflict cannot be ruled out, especially given the killing of Saleh al-Arouri...This applies above all to the southern part of Lebanon, up to and including the southern urban areas of Beirut.”  It would be interesting to see whether other countries follow Germany’s lead and request their citizens to leave Lebanon in anticipation of a war with Israel.

The ceremony marking the anniversary of the 2020 assassination by the U.S. of the Iranian General, Qassem Soleimani, was marred by two explosions, resulting in a death toll of over 200 people and scores of other people were wounded. At first, reports from Iran claimed that “several gas canisters exploded on the road leading to the cemetery”. But, the deputy governor of Kerman, where the explosions took place, claimed it was a “terrorist attack.”  Let’s wait and see how long it will take for Iran to blame Israel for the explosions. Obviously, the last thing that Israel would plan on doing would be to upset a memorial service in the heart of Iran. But, if Iran is really looking for a war with Israel, it would not be beyond the realm of reason if the event was planned by the Ayatollahs, as an excuse to blame Israel.

Following this post, I am planning to return to the original intention of writing about The Week That Was, rather than The Day That Was. My thanks to all who have written and encouraged and prayed for the daily reports.

Please remember to pray for the leadership in Israel, for the members of the IDF, for the families of those who lost loved ones since October 7th, for the hostages and their families and for the thousands of war wounded, along with their families.

When a man’s ways are pleasing to the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. (Proverbs 16:7).

Bless, be blessed and be a blessing.

Marvin

War! Terrorist Invasion of Israel – Day 74 of the War.

On By marvinskLeave a comment

Shalom all,

The number of IDF members killed in action since the beginning of the ground offensive is now up to 131.

Rachel continues to weep for her children. Another military funeral, similar to others, but definitely different. It is difficult to describe in words what a military funeral is like in Israel. I’ve attended a few and wept with the families, the friends, the companions-in-arms and others who participated in the ceremony simply to honor and respect the fallen soldier. Today, it was the funeral of Sergeant First Class, Urija Bayer, 20 years old, for whom many of the recipients of this blog prayed for.

It was about an hour’s drive from Haifa to the military cemetery in Ma’alot-Tarshiha, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) east of the northern city of Nahariyya. I drove with my oldest son, who was released from reserve duty after serving for two months, and his wife (whose sister is married to Urija’s cousin). We anticipated traffic, so we left a little early, planning to arrive between 30-45 minutes before the funeral service began. As we were approaching the entrance to the cemetery, we saw a long line of people lining the roadway, holding Israeli flags. The number of roadside participants increased significantly by the time we reached the cemetery. Vehicular traffic was directed by the IDF and we were able to get a parking space very close to the entrance. By the time we arrived at the cemetery, literally hundreds of people were already present – Urija’s family, of course; friends; members of the unit where he served, along with what appeared to be a sea of members of the IDF. By the time the actual funeral service began, about a thousand people were in attendance, including my daughter, who came down from Jerusalem, and my other son, who is on full-time, active duty in the IDF in the north of Israel. 

We heard the echo of the loud speaker being turned on and then the announcement, requesting that the crowd make way and not block the path of the procession that was about to begin, on schedule. The crowd separated, making an uneven divide, but clearing a path wide enough for the pall bearers and the honor guard to pass, followed by family and just about everyone else, to the actual plot where Urijah would be interred. 

The military funeral is arranged fully by the IDF. Each funeral has similar aspects – the arrival of the casket and its burial; eulogies by members of the IDF, including a rabbi, the commanding officer of the unit where the deceased soldier served, a testimony by another officer about the person and service of the solder, a prayer to the Father of Mercies, eulogies by members of the family, the “Mourner’s Kadish” (a prayer exalting and praising the greatness of God), a three-volley salute and the declaration that the service is officially over. 

But, while all of the above elements were present, still, this military funeral was considerably different from almost all others. Urija was not Jewish, but was an Evangelical Chrisitian. Although he held the status of a permanent resident, he did not have Israeli citizenship, and so was exempt from mandatory military service. Nevertheless, like his four siblings before him, he volunteered to join the IDF, and served in the Maglan Special Forces unit, which is part of the Nahal Brigade. He is the youngest of five children, all of whom were born in Israel. His parents are German Christian Evangelicals, who founded “Zedakah” (meaning “charity”), a German Christian charitable organization that runs the Bet Eliezer Nursing Home in Ma’alot, which has one goal: to comfort and console elderly Holocaust survivors. Urija’s grandparents founded and operated the Beth El Guest Home, located in Shavei Zion (not far from the city of Naharriya), which hosts Holocaust survivors and their families for free.

In her eulogy, Urija’s mother related, among other things, to the meaning of the name “Urija” from a Biblical point of view. She spoke of the sovereignty of God in all things and of the salvation offered by faith in Yeshua, the Messiah of Israel – a subject almost never mentioned at a military funeral in Israel. The emotional impact of her words were clearly evident upon many of the faces of those present, as some wept and others wiped away tears. Urija lived out his faith in Messiah Yeshua and found favor in the sight of God and man. The testimony that he left behind will be remembered and spoken about by the people whose lives he touched.

Urija was described by officers and enlisted men, and women, as a highly dedicated and competent combat soldier, who was always ready to perform the most difficult tasks. He was quiet and always smiling, encouraging others in his unit to press on. He was dedicated to the defense of Israel, and was honored and respected by everyone in the IDF who knew him. Last Thursday, during difficult combat in the southern portion of the Gaza Strip, he sustained severe head injuries, from which he died on Sunday. All of the members of the IDF who spoke at his funeral closed with the words, “may his life be bound up in the bundle of the living” based upon 1 Samuel 25:29, which is a prayer of faith in the eternal life of the soul. The Hebrew letters that form an anagram from those words appear on almost all gravestones of Jewish people. May Urija’s memory be blessed.

The Gaza War continues in earnest, as units of the IDF continue to find and destroy additional tunnels that are part of a vast tunnel system, some of which are able to accommodate trucks. It is nothing short of a miracle that one of these larger tunnels, which is located a relatively short distance from one of the Israel-Gaza crossings, was not utilized by Hamas to overrun the IDF units in charge of those crossings and cause an even greater massacre inside of Israel than that which took place on October 7th.

The northern arena is no longer a place for irritating, cross-border incidents. Now, there is ongoing military action throughout the course of the day. The question on most people’s minds these days is not “if” a second front will develop, but “when”. In conversations with representatives of the United States, Israel expressed its desire that the Hezbollah be moved northward, at least 6 miles from the border with Israel. It is doubtful that the U.S. will be able to bring that event to pass and, even if it does, 6 miles will not prevent the Hezbollah from launching a missile attack upon Israel. The slightly increased distance will only result in a minimally longer “warning time”, that would enable people on our side of the border to find shelter.

Hostage negotiations – Israel is almost pleading for renewed negotiations with the Hamas terrorist organization, which remains adamant in its position that it will not negotiate for the release of hostages until Israel, essentially, stops the war. As has been the case for the last few days, “unnamed sources” relate information to news media, who then pass on the information to us, the “uninformed”, as if the information being communicated is true in every respect. We need to be careful about accepting third-party, “hearsay”, information.

Be that as it may, a report in Jewish News Syndicate (JNS) today, refers to an article appearing in the London-based newspaper, The New Arab (Al-Araby Al Jadeed), which claims that Hamas is ignoring feelers put out by Israel for renewed negotiations for a hostage/prisoner exchange and ceasefire. The Qatari-owned newspaper reported that according to an unnamed Egyptian source, “The leadership of the Hamas movement refused to respond to a proposal put forward by Tel Aviv regarding the possibility of completing a prisoner exchange deal that includes female soldiers and some elderly people as a first stage, followed by other stages.” Note the language: “Hamas movement” – no reference to it being a militaristic, terrorist organization; “put forward by Tel Aviv” – this is an attempt to refer to Israel’s capital as Tel Aviv, rather than Jerusalem; “first stage, followed by other stages” – The final release/return of ALL of the hostages will be negotiated in stages and definitely over an extended period of time. All during that time, if the IDF doesn’t “behave” properly, it is clear that Hamas will play its “on-again, off-again” game, putting the IDF and Israel to shame before the Arab world and the world community itself. 

JNS added: “Hamas leadership won’t accept any proposals that don’t include a ceasefire as a ‘good faith gesture,’ the Egyptian source added. Israel’s offer included the release of prominent Hamas prisoners who had been in jail for long periods, said the source, who according to the paper was briefed on recent meetings between Egyptian officials and Hamas terror representatives in Doha. However, Hamas views the offer with suspicion, seeing it as an Israeli tactic to sow division among the various terror groups operating in Gaza, and so insists that ‘any future negotiations will not be limited to leadership prisoners from Hamas, but will include the leaders of all Palestinian resistance factions,’ the source said. The involvement of CIA Director William Burns is a sign that the United States and Israel are eager for a deal and that the Biden administration ‘believes that it is possible to reach a new agreement similar to the previous agreement, if Egypt and Qatar exert pressure,’ he added.” (Emphasis mine) Israel has rejected those demands and has stated that the war will continue and that it will be be ready for a ceasefire only when the hostages will be released.

The terms expressed above need to be understood from the point of view of Hamas wanting to “save face”, which is of critical importance in the Middle East, as well as to get what it originally requested, namely, the release of all “Palestinian” prisoners being held in Israeli jails. Although the language used is “leaders of all ‘Palestinian resistance factions’,” that is a starting point: first get the “generals” out, then get the “soldiers” out, who will be the military might that follows the instructions of the “generals”.

Israel needs to WAKE UP! We’re being played by Hamas. Even though we say now that its terms are unacceptable, if we continue to run after them and reduce our demands each time, then at some point we will give in to their demands in order to satisfy the demands of the families of the hostages. While we are at it, it should be obvious that to no small extent, and notwithstanding anything that the U.S. Department of Defense might say, we’re also being played by the Biden Administration, that is telling us how to conduct our war, when to finish fighting and what to negotiate. If our “friend” wants us to win the war, it can’t shackle us and tell us to do so with one hand, or maybe both hands, tied behind our backs. If the U.S. is sending in its top negotiator, who helped bring about the last “deal”, then it wants us to compromise regarding the goals we set for this war. The end result will be that the hostages “may” be released (we don’t know who is alive), how many negotiated deals will be necessary to bring that to pass or how long. And worse, Sinwar and his other evil cohorts will live to fight another day and to plan more massacres of Israelis. We should stop trying to make a deal with the devil. All of Israel wants the hostages returned. But, we also want to prevent a repeat of October 7th. We cannot compromise. Agreeing to the prerequisite demands of a purely evil, blood-thirsty terrorist group is a recipe for disaster. The good of the few should not take precedence over the good of the many. We need to make our own decisions. We can’t pursue winning the Gaza War and negotiate over what will cause us to lose it.

“Don’t Let Us Grow Old Here.” That is the title of a brief video, in Hebrew and English, that was released by Hamas yesterday, which features 3 elderly men who were taken captive on October 7th. Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, the IDF Spokesman, said that the video was an “atrocious terrorism…It shows the cruelty of Hamas against elderly civilians, innocents, who require medical attention…The world must work to allow medical aid and to verify their condition.” And we are supposed to sit with their kidnappers and play “Let’s Make A Deal”? Hagari added a personal note to the hostages: “We are doing everything to return you safely. We will not rest until you are back.” While I respect Hagari, in my opinion it would have been best if that last statement was left out. If the “everything to return you safely” is a reference to the negotiations, then their safe return will come at a tremendous price tag that will endanger Israel.

The release of the video yesterday was obviously intended to play on the emotions of the Israeli public, in the backdrop of the rumors of an attempt at another negotiation, probably to put more pressure on the Israeli government to do whatever is necessary to bring about the release/return of the hostages. The emotional notch was increased a bit by including the well-known phrase (at least here, in Hebrew) from Psalm 71:9: “Do not cast me away at the time of my old age; Do not abandon me when my strength fails.” It should be a clear reminder of the totally immoral, insensitive people that we are dealing with.

Friends stand with their friends and defend them, when wrongfully attacked. United States Representative David Scott made that clear on October 25th.

So, what happened between the time that United States Representative David Scott declared that they not only will stand with Israel, but that they will fight with Israel? Why are we getting mixed messages from Uncle Sam? In all likelihood, it has to do with politics. There it is again. Politics!

The Dry Bones Blog – 19 December, 2023

Some friends “go the extra mile”. They not only defend in words, they give valid explanations for their positions. AND, they make it clear and unambiguous.

Oh, that You would tear open the heavens and come down, that the mountains would quake at Your presence—as fire kindles brushwood, as fire causes water to boil— to make Your name known to Your adversaries, that the nations may tremble at Your presence! (Isaiah 61:1-2)

Bless, be blessed and be a blessing.

Marvin

Amalek, 2020

On By marvinsk2 Comments

Shalom all.

July in Israel is usually a hot month, at least from a weather and temperature point of view. But, this is not an ordinary July. The coronavirus is in its second wave here, with alarming increases in the number of those who tested positive to the virus. The present, coronavirus-economic crisis has affected multitudes of individuals and businesses, which, in turn, has generated 11 days of demonstrations and protests in front of the residence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and in other locations throughout Israel. The north of Israel is heating up militarily, as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is prepping for a possible confrontation with the Hezbollah, an extremist Shiite Muslim terrorist group supported by Iran, whose existence necessitates that the IDF is informed, determined and decisive in its actions. And, of course, Israel continues to deal with the disease of anti-semitism, sometimes disguised as anti-zionism or anti-Israel (collectively “anti-Israelism). It is a disease that cannot be studied in a medical laboratory under an electron microscope, nor is there a vaccine that will neutralize it and protect against it. Yet, it is pandemic and has been with us since we were freed from slavery to Egypt and were called as a nation.

The subject is too broad and pervasive to be dealt with in a short blog post. Still, my thoughts are to focus on one aspect of anti-Israelism that is not part of daily discourse, namely: Amalek, who reared his ugly head throughout the millenia and is doing so still today.

Many of those who subscribe to this blog may not be familiar with Amalek. A brief explanation is warranted. Amalek was the first enemy nation that the Israelites encountered after they crossed the Red Sea following their release from slavery under Pharaoh. According to the Book of Exodus (Exo. 17:6-16; 18:5), the Amalekites attacked the Israelites, but were defeated, although not totally destroyed. Moses was then instructed by the LORD to memorialize in writing that the LORD would utterly blot out memory of Amalek from under heaven. To commemorate the victory, Moses built an altar to the LORD and proclaimed that “The LORD has sworn; the LORD will have war against Amalek from generation to generation.” As Israel was about to enter the land after its wilderness wanderings, she was again instructed regarding Amalek (Deut. 25:17-19):

“Remember what Amalek did to you along the way when you came out from Egypt, how he met you along the way and attacked among you all the stragglers at your rear when you were faint and weary; and he did not fear God. Therefore it shall come about when the LORD your God has given you rest from all your surrounding enemies, in the land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you must not forget.” (emphasis mine)

The passages quoted or referred to point out several things: (1) war with Amalek continues from generation to generation; (2) Amalek attacks from the rear: (3) Amalek attacks when we are faint and weary; (4) Amalek attacks “stragglers”; (5) Amalek has no fear of God and (6) the memory of Amalek needs to be blotted out. This is not intended as a Bible study, so I won’t undertake an exegesis of the above passages. Still, some historical data is important to grasp the reason why we need to remember what Amalek did when the Israelites came out from Egypt and the final instruction: “you must not forget”.

The grandfather of Amalek was Esau, who sold his birthright to Jacob for bread and a bowl of lentil soup (Gen. 25:34). Esau determined to kill Jacob, who was the father of the twelve tribes of Israel, but only after the death of their father, Isaac. He didn’t take into account that Jacob could have children before Isaac died and, therefore, nothing would be gained if he succeeded in accomplishing his goal to kill his brother, if Jacob was survived by at least one son. Centuries later, Pharaoh tried to kill every Jewish male at birth, but God intervened and allowed the life of Moses (and other Israelite male children) to be spared. Further along in our history reveals Haman’s plan to kill all the Jews (Esther 3:6), so that none survive. The Romans did their part in destroying the nation. They were followed by religious persecution over the centuries and mass murder of Jews by the Crusaders, followed ultimately by pogroms and ultimately Hitler’s attempt at the “final solution” to rid the world of Jews. 

The goal of Amalek is the annihilation of the Jews (Psalm 83:7). A major theme in the Passover Hagaddah (the retelling of the story of the exodus from Egypt) is: “In each and every generation they rise up against us to destroy us. And the Holy One, blessed be He, rescues us from their hands.” This is the collective outcry of the Jewish people, whose history has been one long anti-semitic, anti-Jewish progrom. In every generation, there is an Amalek who rises up against the Jewish people. Even though he has been called by different names and titles, his modus operandi is always the same: Get the masses stirred up over a particular event and then blame the Jews for causing it or being behind it. Don’t confuse the masses with facts, just present the situation as being true. Hatred, prejudice, jealousy and ignorance will take over. Amalek continues to war against the Jewish people.

By whatever name he is called now, Amalek definitely exists. It is evident in the anti-semitic events taking place daily throughout the world. The mass media, politicians, anti-Israel organizations, academicians, sports personnel, news reporters, performers of all kinds, and lay people from every walk of life, rally around the call to condemn the Jew, remove any influence he may have and then eliminate him from involvement in society. Israel’s very existence is hard pill for them to swallow, so they seek ways to delegimitize Israel and accuse it of whatever wrongs they can think of. It is a very sad commentary of the times in which we live when claims of anti-semitism are being whitewashed and ignored. One scholar recently questioned: Racism is recognized as intrinsic to Western societies. Why isn’t Antisemitism?

In today’s emotionally-charged demonstrations and protests against authority and history, we turn a deaf ear and a blind eye to the hatred that is swallowing up societies around the world. Conspiracy theories abound that foster anti-semitism. There is no paucity of conspiracy theories today or the people behind them who consciously or subconsciously compete with each other to come up with the best conspiracy to lay at the feet of the Jewish people.

We are told to remember what Amalek did. This is reinforced by the command: “you must not forget”. The reason is simple: If we forget, we won’t do anything to prevent it from happening again. We won’t act against Amalek’s efforts. We won’t “love our “Jewish” neighbor as ourselves”. We’ll excuse our non-action with a statement that “The Jew’s life doesn’t matter. His situation doesn’t affect my citadel of self: I, me, mine, myself, my life, my family or my possessions.” Hatred is color blind. It is a disease that affects people of every color and language and every belief and particularly, throughout the millennia, the Jew. Amalek is the manifestation of a spiritual disease, which the eternal Word of Truth describes as a hatred for God and Israel (Psalm 83:1-5). Amalek’s end is sure. It will be destruction (Number 24:20). 

It’s the beginning of a new week. With a little help, it can turn out better than last week.

He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. (Psalm 91:15)

Bless, be blessed and be a blessing.

Marvin

A tale of two crises

On By marvinsk6 Comments

Oy! As if the political crisis were not enough, along comes the Covid-19 (coronavirus) health crisis. And, along with the coronavirus comes an aggravation of the political crisis, because of efforts designed to deal with the coronavirus crisis. Sometimes, it seems as though we don’t see the forest through the trees. 

The third national election in one year took place on March 2nd. Neither of the two major parties achieved a majority to form a government. Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc gained more votes, but the center-left block, which received backing from Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beitenu Party, with support from Joint List of Arab Parties succeeded in getting a bare majority of 61 recommendations, allowing Benny Gantz to try to set up the next government. In the meantime, the coronavirus crisis made its presence real in Israel. This, in turn, resulted in a number of decisions that were taken by the interim government of Benjamin Netanyahu that were designed to deal with the health crisis. One of them affected the functioning of the court system, which resulted in delaying Netanyahu’s trial on three counts of corruption and breach of public trust, which was moved from last week and re-scheduled for May. Cyber monitoring of telephones, used primarily by Israeli security forces, was put into force to track the locations of people affected by the disease and to identify people who may have been exposed to it. The Knesset (Israel’s Parliament) was disbanded for a week, with no new committees being formed and no government oversight of electronic invasion of people’s privacy. This created a crisis in our democracy in addition to the political crisis of still not having a government. The Supreme Court of Israel ruled that the Knesset needs to get back in business by Monday,  that there can be proper supervision of electronic invasion of privacy, or the phone tracking – used for the sake of the public health – would stop. Political crisis and health crisis!

Which crisis is worse? If we need to choose between health and politics, it doesn’t appear to be a brain twister. Obviously, dealing with a pandemic should take precedence. What good is having a democratic, rights-protecting government, if it is not allowed to function in an effort to keep the voting public alive? Even in the midst of the health crisis, we still have the right to protest and demonstrate, as long as we keep a safe distance from one another. We can challenge the government’s behavior, but we need to be alive to do so.

Shabbat here is almost over. It is a day that we are to cease from our labors and regular involvements of the past week and rest. That’s essentially what we have been told that we need to do for the last six days. We are supposed to cause this day to be separate from the rest of the days of the week. Separation, isolation, seclusion and quarantine, terms that have been used to express how we are supposed to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. Along with those terms comes a new one: social distancing. As if we haven’t already done this during the last one or two decades. 

We are social beings by nature and by design. Some of us live in the concrete jungle. Others in community settings of many different kinds. We used to relate to one another face-to-face, physically. We would arrange to “do” a meal together, meet for coffee, go to the mall, the beach, for a picnic, a hike, a movie, sports, and a host of other things – together. And then, along comes the coronavirus. Our lives are turned upside down. We’re told to stay put. All places of recreation and normal social gathering are now closed. Don’t leave home, except for a health-related reason, to purchase food or other necessity, or in case of an emergency. If we do go out, we’re told to stay at least 6-1/2 feet away from someone else, don’t be in a car with more than two people, wear a facial mask, don’t touch anyone else and don’t even to touch our faces. While we are told not to go out, we often allow confusion, frustration, panic and depression to gain an easy entry. 

Social distancing is not new to our generation. Long before the coronavirus pandemic reared its ugly head, we have been physically separating from one another more and more with each new digital and electronic devise that entered the realm of what has been coined “social media”, which has done more to generate social distancing than the coronavirus. The social media revolution has affected our mental health. Technology surpassing human interacationWhat we caused to happen slowly over time for physical convenience, we are now compelled to do as a means to save our physical lives. What a turn around! Don’t get me wrong. I’m as much a product of technological social distancing as anyone reading this. Some aspects of technology are good, others are anything but good. We truly need to have discernment to know what is beneficial and what is destructive, socially, mentally, ethically, morally and even physically.

How can we redeem the time? How can we remain “social beings”, while being compelled to exercise “social distancing”? It’s clear that our way of thinking and viewing the situation needs to be reversed. Instead of thinking that we are confined, we should find creative, innovative ways to reach out. Many have written and suggested solutions how to deal with the disease and the negative affects of isolation. We need to get out of our rooms of gloom and recognize that “this, too, shall pass”. One struck a chord with me:

“Every hand that we don’t shake must become a phone call that we place. Every embrace that we avoid must become a verbal expression of warmth and concern. Every inch and every foot that we physically place between ourselves and another, must become a thought as to how we might be of help to that other, should the need arise.” In other words, being separated from one another doesn’t have to mean being cut off from one another. A burden shared is a burden half lifted. Be in touch … from a distance!

When both of these crises are over, we may well be facing new realities in all areas of government, business and social involvement. We’ll have to deal with each one in its time. We made it through Pharaoh, we’ll make it through this.

“But let all who take refuge in You be glad; let them ever sing for joy; and may You shelter them, that those who Love Your name may exult in You.” (Psalm 5:11)

“…I, the LORD am your healer.” (Exodus 15:26)

Keep looking up. Have a great week. 

Bless, be blessed and be a blessing.

Marvin