A tangle of emotions

It’s been hard to write this week. I am a tangle of feelings.

I am still reeling from the loss of life inflicted on us by the terrorists on our border. I hear about these young men- and now also a young woman- who served their country with pride and who were literally protecting their homes and families—not thousands or even hundreds of miles away, but on our own borders that were being bombarded by hundreds of missiles a day. The pain of their loss belongs to their families, but also to their larger family, the people of Israel.

I am still astounded by the willingness of people throughout the world to focus on the pain of the Lebanese people. Yes, I acknowledge that there are innocent victims among the Lebanese—often hard to spot amid the civilian- clad Hezbollah fighters, the bodies dug up from graves for photo-ops, and the live people posing as dead–. We know that Hezbollah’s weapons were purposely placed among civilians and we know too that under the Geneva Conventions, their fate is Hezbollah’s responsibility. And I am sorry for those who are innocent and who suffer from what their home-grown terrorists have done to them. But I am angry that no one acknowledges the death and destruction brought upon the Israeli people by this band of bloodthirsty fascists. Why does not one media report talk about the Israelis now returning to their destroyed homes? With the per capita largest foreign media presence in the world, how could Israel’s tens of thousands of war refugees from the north returning to their homes have been missed unless there was a decision made that Israeli suffering does not count. This is all the more tragic because this war consisted exclusively of Hezbollah targeting civilians.

I am overwhelmed by the goodness and kindness of the Israeli people who worked throughout this war to meet the needs of the people from the North—buying and delivering food packages to people who spent weeks in shelters, providing games and toys for the children, diapers and formula for the babies. Massage therapists went up to render their services, mobile banks and post offices served the people. The tens of thousands who evacuated were housed in people’s homes, schools, community centers, and in a huge tent city provided by Arcadi Gaydamak who provided not only food and shelter, but activities for adults and children and live entertainment in the evenings for a total out of pocket cost during this war in excess of fifty million dollars.

I am worried. I know that we have dealt Hezbollah a blow, but I am certain it was not enough to dissuade them from further adventurism. We absorbed (by being hit by them) about 4,000 missiles (don’t quote me on this…. Numbers aren’t my strong suit) and they had in excess of 10,000 before the war. You do the math. They already are armed for the next round and they are still are talking about wiping us off the map. They still are being given financial, military, and training support by Iran and Syria. Why would anyone think that a halt now is a good idea? They will just train to be more effective, arm themselves with chemical or biological weapons, and hit us again.

I am outraged that my government has agreed to any arrangement that does not begin with the release of our kidnapped soldiers. Wasn’t that the point? To show them that they could not come across the border and snatch people? How did our government agree to this? Don’t we look both weak and foolish?

I am happy that our men are coming home to their families. I pray that not one more will have to be harmed. They are precious and loved by this big family we call the people of Israel.