Israel is rapidly descending into a hot war. Over the past few years, Hamas has accumulated an arsenal of 10,000 rockets, some of which are advanced designs which can hit Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
I believe that Israel’s enemies have misjudged America.
They’ve misjudged us badly.
The Jerusalem Post is reporting that Ben-Gurion Airport, Israel’s only international airport, has been targeted, and flights may be suspended. This is not a minor disturbance. It could be the opening act of Hamas and Hizbollah’s long-awaited match against the IDF and Israel as a nation.
This is also personal to many Americans, and should be to all Americans. My sister is in Jerusalem right now. She wrote an email to me and many of our friends. Here it is in full.
Roger and I are here in Israel experiencing the terror of war. While we are in Jerusalem and though there were several rockets fired here we have been safe.
The escalation worries me and I have put postings on Facebook as to how you can help Israel. Please reach out to the US government and demand action be taken by President Obama, not in idle words, but hard real support that will demand Hamas to stop. Recently there have also been rockets fired by Lebanon as well and I am very concerned about suicide bombers etc.
I understand that while this is not a direct threat to you as it is Israel, there is a threat to us as a people. Do not be blind sighted by staying numb to anything outside your own comfort zone. I have been disappointed as only a handful of my friends actually did take action.
They say “be safe” and I am telling you all the only way to be safe is by taking action. I am not being dramatic but realistic …. As they say seeing is believing.
The airlines may stop flights from coming in and leaving as Tel Aviv has been under attack. This scenario is not a movie, it’s very real and we are living it. I urge you, as well as challenge you to do something to help now!
Shalom,
Audrey & Roger
This is not a Democrat or Republican issue. This is not a conservative or liberal issue. My sister was a full-on 100% Obama supporter. She’s a liberal, a Chicago liberal at that.
One good thing Obama has done in his otherwise failed presidency is funding Israel’s Iron Dome system in 2010, which has saved many lives, and continues to save lives. Recently, Obama slashed Iron Dome funding in the 2015 budget, and the House restored it in May.
But funding won’t fix this war.
Hamas and Hizbollah (and likely ISIS, Iran, and every Muslim with an AK-47) feel free to act for one main reason: they believe the USA doesn’t care. They believe the press is on their side, and largely, they’re right. We posted Wednesday that the New York Times has a definite bias towards Hamas and against Israel. Check HonestReporting.com any day and you’ll see dozens of examples of biased reporting against Israel. The press gets away with it because very few people call them out on it.
Israel’s enemies take this as a green-light to continue their rain of missiles, some of which can hit anywhere in Israel. This will lead to Israel’s land incursion into Gaza. Once the first Israeli boots are on the ground and over the wire, Hell will unleash in Israel, and the Israelis know this. Schoolchildren, workers, the elderly, new immigrants and even visitors will not be safe.
But I believe that Israel’s enemies have misjudged America. They’ve misjudged us badly.
Whatever we believe about our president, when faced with unambiguous and overwhelming citizen and legislative pressure, he will act. Israel needs a friend right now, and not just words, or calls for “calm” and “de-escalation”. I realize that we have our own problems in America right now, but we are not faced with a well-armed enemy bent on our complete destruction. Israel is.
We must call for a real “red line” in which we will send boots on the ground to Israel. Not just 300 advisors. Israel doesn’t ever ask for American military help, in fact, they’ve rejected it. But this time, I believe they’d welcome our troops. I believe the presence of American troops, or even the believable threat of that, coupled with visible American support of Israel, will cause her enemies to pause and think before they escalate this beyond the tipping point into Hell.
Sara Yoheved Rigler, an American who emigrated to Israel 29 years ago, posted “what you can do when your brothers and sisters are at war” on aish.com, a Jewish blog. She wrote,
Our building has no bomb shelter. We are supposed to use the bomb shelter across the street, but it can barely hold the residents of that building. So I simply sat here, feeling shaken, and asked my listeners to pray, this time not just for the residents of the South, but also for the Jews of Jerusalem. It turned out that Tel Aviv, Rehovot, and every major town in the crowded center of the country was also under attack.
This is not a faraway war where we are supporting a people who hate us (Afghanistan) or are distrustful at best (Iraq). This is not some rescue mission or punishment for a rogue regime. This is Israel. It’s not a Jewish issue. This is a free people, a democracy in the midst of repressive dictatorships, a people allied with America on almost every issue, our friend in the Middle East.
I am raising the Israeli flag on my house, and doing everything I can to get the message out. I urge you to call your Representative and Senators. Email the editors of your local paper. Share this post. There isn’t much time; 40,000 Israeli reservists, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters, are preparing to walk into Gaza, under the cameras of the world press. They’ll be called baby killers when babies are thrown in the the path of bullets. They’ll be called murders when human shields are used to protect rocket launch sites which target Israeli civilians.
Hamas thinks that they’ve got the moral high ground in the press and with Americans. They have severely misjudged us.
