This brilliant article was written by a Christian Arab and I believe it summarizes this war perfectly. Please feel free to forward this article on.


Israel's terminal illness
By Joseph Farah, www.WorldNetDaily.com
August 18, 2006

"We've all known brave soldiers who fought courageously in multiple conflicts only to succumb to lingering and debilitating illnesses years later.

Likewise, history tells us of nations that never lost a battle in combat only to die because they lost their sense of purpose, their will to survive.

I think that's what is happening in Israel today. I think the Jewish state is terminally ill.

Israel may have won three major wars in its 60-year history, but it will be lucky to survive another decade of morally bankrupt leadership.

It's not just former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon who is comatose. It seems the whole current Israeli government is brain dead.

How else can one explain Israel's agreement to Lebanon cease-fire terms that amount to unconditional surrender?

I know few other commentators who have explained the development in these stark terms, but this is the reality of what Ehud Olmert's government has done. It represents, in my opinion, one of the biggest strategic blunders in the history of the country.

Let's review what Israel has done:

It launched a war on Iran-directed Hezbollah terrorists after they kidnapped two Israeli soldiers, killed eight others and rocketed northern Israel towns. From the beginning, Israel demanded the return of its troops and the disarming of Hezbollah terrorists.

What did Israel get in the cease-fire deal? No return of the kidnapped troops and Hezbollah terrorists remain under arms.

For the life of me, I don't understand why Israeli civilians are not massing in the streets of Jerusalem demanding the immediate resignation of Olmert and his Cabinet. The Israeli army is returning from Lebanon with its tail between its legs.

How can you ask soldiers to kill and die for a simple objective that is later abandoned without explanation or reason?

Does Olmert not understand what his surrender means? It means he has given aid and comfort to Israel's enemies. He has handed Hezbollah its biggest victory since former Prime Minister Ehud Barak unilaterally withdrew from Lebanon, handing the southern part of the country to Iran's proxy army and positioning it to claim it had defeated the Jewish state.

He has also proved to Israel's other terrorist enemies – those in
Hamas and the Palestinian Authority – that rocket attacks, assassinations and kidnappings are winning tactics against the Jewish state. Prepare to see more of them under the terms of this "cease-fire."

He has demonstrated for the entire world that Israel has lost the kind of resolve it had in previous military campaigns. When the going gets tough, today's Jews evidently will just sue for peace.

Hezbollah has won. That's the unimaginable bottom line after this conflict. The terrorists have won – not in the battlefield, mind you.
But they won before the war ever began because weak-kneed, cowardly, morally unfit leaders in Jerusalem would never permit Israel to win.

With Hezbollah's victory, Iran and Syria have been emboldened as well. This is bad news not just for Israel, but for the entire world.

If you think I overstate the case, ask yourself this fundamental question: Is Israel more secure after abandoning its conflict in Lebanon or less secure?

You know the answer. Everyone knows the answer.

Israel may have one of the greatest military machines in the world.
It may have an intelligence apparatus that is the envy of superpowers. It may even have right on its side.

But Israel is being led by men unworthy of its history, unworthy of its sacrifices, unworthy of its hard-fought victories of the past and unworthy of God's sovereign promises to bless the Jewish state forever.

It's clear the only enemy that could ever destroy Israel is the kind of internal moral rot we are witnessing today in Jerusalem. Israel has just one shot at surviving its terminal illness – cutting out the cancer that is the Olmert government."

Almost over

Tomorrow I’m flying back to the US and a million thoughts are running through my mind. Looking back I would have never imagined that this is how my summer was going to turn out. These were extremely eventful and unexpected two and a half months. I experienced sadness and fear in levels I never thought possible, and now I have stories to last me a lifetime.

Saying goodbyes and leaving is always the toughest part and the least favorite. Israel is always my home, no matter where I am, home is where the heart is, clich? yet so true. I hate the packing part, it’s time consuming and I always feel as if I forget something. I also never seem to pack light and am always yelled at the airport for being overweight. The suitcases that is, not me…

Even though I don’t agree with the terms of the ceasefire it was somewhat comforting knowing that I am not leaving in the middle of a war. Most Israelis don’t believe this ceasefire will last for obvious reasons – if 6 years of relative quiet were used by Hezbollah in order to keep arming, it is clear what this time is used for. It was already mentioned that they regained 90% of the ammunition that was destroyed by the IDF. Only time will tell what the future has for us.

Surprises

It's been the most interesting and fun couple of days I've had in a while. My mom woke me up yesterday around 1pm after another sleepless night. It turned out there was a reporter from a big American network who wanted to interview a good English speaker and my mom recommended me. I barely dragged myself out of bed and before I knew it we were chatting outside, in my house's beautiful front porch and broadcasting to different stations around the globe.

The reporter was a very sweet lady and we all decided to go on a Katyusha 'hunt' together, meaning let's see the damage before it's repaired. I must admit, it was terrible. The reporter wanted to record my responses as I was approaching the shattered houses for the first time but I really didn't know what to say. In an unusual way I was left speechless. I was completely amazed by the amount of damage one Katyusha can cause, as I was watching shreds in areas I didn't think were able to be hurt.

One of the houses that got hit belongs to good family friends and it was so sad to see what happened there. One of the things my mom mentioned over and over again was is that no amount of money could replace a sentimental value of house that gets hit by a missile. A person puts their heart and soul into a house over the years and in a split of second it can all be gone.

We ended up spending almost the rest of the day with the reporter and later on her colleague joined us too. It was very interesting talking to two incredible ladies who experienced very much and traveled around quite a bit about the situation. Being Israelis and all we obviously told them our point of view on the situation and had a nice conversation. It's wonderful getting different points of view on every situation and have an intellectual debate. We don't always have to agree but as long as we're open minded, anything is possible.

And on that note, Layla tov :-)

After 3,970 Katyushas...

After 3,970 Katyusha missiles and thousands of mortar bombs, anti tanks missiles and anti aircraft missiles the quiet has finally returned to the north. For me it too another week and a half in the Tel Aviv area, many sleepless nights and 4 hours on a completely packed bus with heavy traffic to go back home.

As the bus was approaching the north everybody started looking out the windows, trying to determine what has changed, what is ruined, what is burnt…? Even the bus driver was slowing down announcing in the microphone that we should take a look around and assess the damage.

The bus was filled with people, after the government announced that public transportation towards the north is free with a valid ID that shows your northern address. Many people had to stand up during the whole ride, the whole 4 hours! I don't understand why they didn't allow more buses; don't they understand that people were anxious to go home after 5 weeks away?

The damage was soon very clear to all of us, seeing the acres of burnt woods, which will takes years and years to grow back. One of the biggest tourist attractions of the Upper Galilee is the endless green and woods, which is now gone. In Kiryat Shmona we could see the destruction clearly where every few houses there was one that got hit, a broken rode, a traffic light that is now gone and tons and tons of bomb shreds.

The roads to Metulla are in horrible shape too, and not just because of various halls due to Katyusha that fell around, but also because of the heavy army traffic of tanks and such, it will probably take years to fix all that. Reserves soldiers are everywhere here, some are laying on a small grassy area not far from my house, trying to catch up on some sleep after fighting for days and weeks. My mom invited some of them to stay at our house, take a shower, eat or even just relax. I bet no one appreciates home like they do. When I was in the army I learned to appreciate my house so much, and I wasn't a fighter at all. Imagine weeks of fighting in the middle of nowhere, with a couple of hours of sleep a night, terrible canned food and no showers.

This war has brought along many heart to heart conversations between my dad and I regarding the situation, politics and most of all war stories. My dad did his army service in the armor forces, which is a part of infantry. My dad was 20 when the Yom Kippur war started, during his regular service. He was telling me how my grandma thought he was in Be'er Sheva (a city in the Negev, southern Israel) during the war, when he was in fact fighting in the Sinai desert and in the Suez Canal against the Egyptians. My dad lost 40 of his unit friends, as they were killed right in front of him. It is amazing to think how a person can survive such a war and have a normal life with such emotional baggage.

For 155 soldiers and civilians, Jews, Christians, Muslims and Druze, who lost their lives from the terrible Katyusha missiles and in the battle field, this ceasefire is almost meaningless. Their families will never be the same again. For 604 injured civilians and a similar number of injured soldiers who lost arms, legs, got their faces demolished, some paralyzed, some who will never be able to be independent ever again life is also changed forever. Over 2,000 civilians have anxiety injuries and will need psychological care for a very long time before returning to their normal lives.

Yehi Zichram Baruch.

Updating

Photo fraud in Lebanon

Mercy to the Cruel is Cruelty to the Mercifull

Two of the soldiers that were killed yesterday both left pregnant wives, six month pregnant no less... All I could think of is how will these women move on after loosing their husbands? I was thinking of the personal pain I felt through when going through a breakup from a boyfriend I loved. If just a breakup from a boyfriend, not a husband, who is still alive, without a mutual child, could hurt so much, I can't even imagine the pain on loosing a husband. It was impossible holding back the tears when I was watching the widow sobbing.

This unfair terrible reality of death all around is impossible to comprehend. 24 soldiers died yesterday, 5 more died today. Well over 100 soldiers got injured. The numbers keep being updated and it won't stop. This movie gives a good idea of what it feels like...

The huge increase in missile attack makes the ceasefire that is supposed to start in 7 hours seems ridiculous. The battles around my house are loud and don't stop for a single moment. The IDF is trying to accomplish as much as possible and destroy as much Hezbollah as possible before they must stop. I feel that whatever we didn't accomplish in 33 days of fighting we probably aren't going to accomplish tonight.

There's a sentence in Hebrew that says: "Mercy to the Cruel is Cruelty to the Mercifull". Think about the meaning of this wise sentence. Israel will not bomb when there's the slightest doubt or suspect that civilians are at steak even though chances are these civilians cooperated with terror and let it go on without trying to stop it. This high morality is costing us at the lives of our own soldiers, while terror keeps growing at these countries who don't try to stop it but more so encourage it too!


Palestinian using children as shield, what else is new?

The truth doesn't sell

These are some pictures of Israeli soldiers that the international media will never show, truth that shows humanity doesn't sell newspapers or brings up the ratings, now does it?



In case you weren't familiar with the map of the Middle East - Israel is the country in blue (can you see it?) Lebanon, which is smaller than Israel is right above it and of course the rest of the arab world marked in yellow on the map.
FAQ regarding the current war.


katyushas on Metulla again today, not far from my house. One of the missiles hit the front of one of our friend's house while they were at home, luckily they were in inner rooms and so they were saved. Another missle fell in the back yard of other friends. A third missile hit a house in Metulla and injured a man in the house. Just so you'd know, the man is a former Lebanese who moved to Israel with his wife after the pullout in 2000. As we know, the missile doesn't tell the difference between people.

A "shower" of fire went down since this morning on the north - over 250 missiles so far... In Kiryat Shmona over 1,000 Katyushas since the begining of this war, wanna guess what the city looks like?...

If you thought you knew what a katyusha is, think again.

Ceasefire, for how long?

Latest updates say that a ceasefire will begin at 7am on Monday morning, until then the IDF is supposed to reach the Litany river and disconnect the Hezbollah forces from supply in southern Lebanon.

The UN has unanimously agreed upon the new ceasefire agreement.
It amazes me how just a couple of days ago the agreement was so great for Israel and the new resolution is anything but good for Israel. What about our kidnapped soldiers? What about disarming Hezbollah?
Why would the 15,000 soldiers protect Israel in 2006 when they didn't in 1982-1983?

Hezbollah gained most of its power during the 1980's, with the increasing instability of the political structure in Lebanon, due to the growing presence and the control that Syria gained in Lebanon. Hezbollah's status rose amongst the Lebanese public because of huge terror bombings the organization executed against the Israeli and American presence in Lebanon. There was a bombing in the American embassy in April 1983, resulting in 63 dead. The second and most powerful bombing against the American marines headquarters in October 1983, resulting in 241 dead. The last bombing was in September 1984 in the American Embassy again, resulting in 20 dead.

Hezbollah was never accepting of the foreign forces sent by the UN into the country, and naturally these forces never really did their job and carried out their mission in the area. Which makes me wonder, why do they think it's going to be different the second time around?

Resolution 1559 was voted on back in 2004 yet never implemented. Israel did its part back in 2000 and pulled completely out of Lebanon, yet 3 soldiers were kidnapped and the shelling of katyusha was done every few months. All the UN had to do was disarming Hezbollah and do its part as such a 'neutral' peace seeking organization. Easier said then done, right?

I just ask myself where is the US when it comes to Russia and Chechnya, or the mass murdering that is going on in the Sudan and in Africa in general. Where was the UN where the genocide went on in Rwanda?

Israel is doing anything in its power not to kill civilians, in the expense of our own soldier's lives. This resolution means that 90 soldiers and 38 civilians lost their lives for…nothing?
The frustration I am experiencing right now is just too much...

7 soldiers died today and another one last night. Over 80 soldiers were injured and taken into hospitals in Israel. 'Only' 65 Katyusha missiles launched at Israel today... a clear result of the great job the IDF is doing, and long overdue permission to finally go deeper into Lebanon.

In the memory of...

During this war I've read a numerous number of articles on the lives of the soldiers and civilians who died. Each and every one these people has left behind family, friends, a life story.

There are young wives or girlfriends who in a split moment lost the love their lives. There are mothers and fathers having to do the unbearable and burry their own child. There are brothers and sister who now miss the teasing and fighting that once seemed so tedious and annoying. There are grandparents that will not get to tell their wonderful stories to their grandkids. There are children who will now grow without a father or mother.

How can one even comprehend the meaning of such pain of someone who is taken away without even given the chance of proper goodbye? Not that I think that a proper goodbye from a loved one exits. Out of all these horror stories of lost life I have to refer at this moment to a specific one.

Major Roi Klein z"l

Roi's funeral was last Thursday (July 27), the day that would have been his 31st birthday.
Major Roi Klein was a Golani brigade deputy commander. He was killed last Wednesday, in an ambush among the houses of Bint Jbail, a large village in southern Lebanon. Hezbullah terrorists killed eight soldiers, including Roi, and injured nearly two dozen. There were two other soldiers next to Roi. A hand grenade was thrown at them and Roi shouted, "Grenade!" He then threw his body over it, sacrificing his life for the sake of his soldiers, who later attributed being alive to his act of selflessness.
In his last seconds of life, Roi mustered the strength to shout "Shema Yisroel" the prayer that Jews have prayed for centuries, declaring our belief in G-d and in a better world; the prayer that so many Jewish martyrs throughout the generations called out as they were being led to their deaths.

I think the least I could do is tell the story of a true hero, the kind that we didn't think even existed anymore.

Commenting on comments

First I want to respond to comments and personal emails I received. I'll start by thanking whoever is taking the time to read this blog and respond. I was asked by a number of people if it was okay for them to send my blog to their friends or link to it on their websites - it is most definitely okay with me. A big reason for writing this blog is to tell my story from the Israeli front line and spreading it and other blogs is just the thing to do.

It is very encouraging to see the all the supportive and warm words, it means a lot to me and it gives me hope, that maybe there are still some people out there who support Israel and are don't quietly feed on the anti-Israel propaganda.

Don't get me wrong, I'll be the first one to admit that Israel makes mistakes too; there is no doubt about it. No country is perfect, and politicians are unfortunately the same everywhere. I do, however, live in a free democracy unlike the rest of the Middle East. I feel free to express my opinions whether they are supportive of Israel or not, and that is the true beauty of Israel.

You'll find Israelis even today, criticizing and demonstrating against the current war (which I personally don't agree with, but as I said, this is the beauty of a democracy). I don't however find the following –

a) Israeli Arabs criticizing Hezbollah openly even though they have had casualties in this war because of Nassrallah's missiles
b) Lebanese (or any other Arab nation) demonstrating against Hezbollah.
I've seen very few (you can count them on two hands at the most) Arabs who were willing to openly condemn Hezbollah.

I got this message today and I have to respond to it personally -

Anonymous said...

We Lebanese people want peace. We don't want any Lebanese or Isreali's to die
any more. Stop this Holocost on us.
10/8/06 19:13

Dear Lebanese Anonymous,
I'm glad to hear that you want the same thing that we Israelis want – peace. Why didn't you go demonstrating for peace all these years? Why did you only demonstrate for the Syrians to leave Lebanon and not for Hezbollah to leave as well? Why didn't you go out to the streets and said you want peace with Israel? Why did you let a terror organization take over your country and did nothing to prevent it?

I did not want to wake up on the morning of July 12th and find out I have to go into a bomb shelter because Hezbollah started bombing my house as they did for over 20 years, and actually continued to do every once in a while even after Israel pulled out of Lebanon in May 2000.
We didn't want this war and we definitely didn't foresee it coming, but we have no choice.
Israel doesn't kill civilians on purpose. If we did then we wouldn't be announcing ahead that we are going to bomb the area, dropping proclamations all around saying to evacuate the area.

Israel holds its fire so many times, believe me, you have no idea. The simple fact is Israel can flatten Lebanon very easily with our capabilities. We can, but we won't. Instead we send infantry inside, and hurt painful loses and injured soldiers in order to protect Lebanese civilians.
In Israel the army service is an obligation, not a voluntary option. Our soldiers have to go to the army, they have to become fighters. Hezbollah terrorists do it because they want to kill.
Why don't the Lebanese go out demonstrating against Hezbollah hiding and/or launching attacks and missiles from within civilians? This a cynical use of innocent civilians made by those who claim to 'protect' the Lebanese people.

Please don't compare what is going on in Lebanon right now to the holocaust. It is simply inappropriate because it is without doubt not what is going on in Lebanon.
If this is the general spirit in Lebanon then I would expect the Lebanese to start making a difference and force out Hezbollah out of Lebanon in order to create a new era of peace between the two countries. In the meantime most of I see in the news is Lebanese supporting Hezbollah. We need more people such as Bridgette Gabriel out there.

15 reservists were killed yesterday in different battles in Lebanon. Some had their tanks directly hit by antitank missiles. Once again Hezbollah is hiding within civilians, taking advantage of the fact that Israel will not attack from the air when civilians are around.

And as this war wasn't enough, it was exposed today that terrorist planned to blow up 10 planes going from Britain to the United States. Once again this is another proof that this war is not just between Israel and Lebanon, or Israel and the Palestinians. This is a global war against fundamentalist Islam that supports and sees terror as a legit method.

When sadness takes over

After going to the Doctor's and getting a blood test I spend the rest of the day glued to the TV as always. As time passed by I began to feel depression taking over me, this complete sadness that I'm not sure how to deal with. It feels like we went back in time, where it's a terrible yet 'standard' part of everyday life to hear about soldiers getting killed, and soldiers getting injured.

Even the reports about where katyushas fell died down a bit. Are we really in a routine of war? Did we really get used to this reality already?
The sadness got bigger when I thought about the fact that I am supposed to fly back to Buffalo in 12 days. I don't know if I can leave at times like this. Concentrating on school, classes, work, it all seems like mission impossible. Would I be able to study while knowing that my mom is spending her time in a bomb shelter, while she is barely sleeping at night because it's a fire zone?

Israel is in a war for its existence, not a war of choice. How can I leave? My family, my friends, my home, MY COUNTRY. I'm so confused right now. My dreams in the past couple of nights have consisted of katyusha missiles shelling. I hope I don't end up finding out that I need to be treated for anxiety.

I feel like I need a huge hug. Is that selfish at times like this when soldiers are fighting for their lives?... My friend Katie promised to give me a big one.

Yesterday I met up with Eran, a good friend who I haven't seen in a long time. He's my guardian angel and also lives in the bombarded north – Karmiel. He brought along a British friend who is visiting Israel (I admire the ones who are brave enough to come at times like this). Together the three of us sat outside in this quiet bar, discussing (naturally) the situation and some politics. I do believe this was the first time Eran and I didn't argue about politics but actually agreed with one another, I never thuoght that day would come. Finally Eran, I knew you'd come around ;-)

Eran and I both agreed that in case of an alarm the following would be likely to happen;
A) The both of will immediately run inside the building, looking for the basement/shelter.
B) The rest of the people in the area, who seem mostly from the Tel Aviv area would probably raise their heads and wonder what is this annoying noise that is disturbing them.

I am just kidding of course. Hopefully we won't have to find out what would be the reaction in case of the bomb attack on Tel Aviv.

And now the NY Times joins the party. Don't you just love it when the media only tell you the(ir) truth?

Smaller than NJ, but what a country this is

I just watched these injured soldiers on the news, soldiers that lost their legs in this war and all I can think is what life is going to be like for them, as young men in their 20's, guys I could be dating even, that have to start their lives this way.

When I was 18 I dated a guy named Runn, which was the last soldier to be injured in Lebanon, before the pullout. I met him while filming a video for my media class in high school, exactly one year after the pullout from Lebanon. He was injured severely and wasn't given much chance of surviving at first. One year later he was doing better, after numerous surgery and he had many scars, a reminder of the shards of mortars hitting him. He recovered the physical part of the injury (although he will never be the same) but it was clear that his soul has changed forever. The relationship didn't last long and the breakup was mutual, he is now happily married and I wish him all the best. We should remember how lucky we are not having to deal with our physical health (said by the girl who went to the Doctor today after suffering from dizziness since the surgery last month).

It is so ridiculous reading when Nassrallah calls the Israeli Arabs who died in this war Shahids (holy martyrs). They died because of his katyusha missiles, because of his hate, because of his murderous nature. You can't murder someone and then refer to your victim as a shahid, it is simply absurd. I'm sure killing Israeli Arabs was not a part of his plans, but in such a small country, smaller than NJ actually, where the distance from Metulla (most northern town) to Eilat (most southern town) is 476km (297 miles) then what do you expect?

I was watching an interview today, held with the European Union's ambassador in Israel by the Israeli channel 2. The interviewer kept asking him in different variations why the EU won't declare Hezbollah as a terror organization. The ambassador gracefully ignored the question each in every time. He kept repeating his mantra "The EU condemns the Hezbollah attack on Israel…"
Eventually he said the EU doesn't like putting labels and that labels don't change anything.
So A) Labels do change!
B) Who cares what the EU condemns as long as they do nothing to change the situation?
It is just like during the first kidnapping of the 3 soldiers back in October 2000, where the UN soldiers video taped the kidnapping and didn't even report it, not to mention tried to do anything to stop it. Of course the investigation that followed this even held by the UN, found the UN surprisingly blameless in the incident.

Today is the 28 day of the war. Four whole weeks has gone by yet it seems that no great achievements were made. 64 soldiers and 36 civilians were killed so far, over 2,000 civilians injured because we are too human to really bomb Lebanon the way we should. Tens of thousands of civilians were killed in Afghanistan and Iraq and the world didn't really care. These double standards will forever hold against Israel so it seems.

It feels like the world views Jewish blood as cheaper. Well let me tell you, it is not! I don't like war, I don't like innocent people dying but there is a reality of hate against us that leaves us no choice but to fight for our freedom. Freedom in the US, Europe and other parts of the world is not questionable. Out freedom is. You will never understand what it feels like to go on a bus, look around you and pray that the next suicide bomber is not on it.

I don't want wars, I don't want casualties, but if someone thinks that I don't have the right for my country or the right to live – then I have no sympathy for them. My family and friends come first, that's human nature, the need for survival.

This is one hilarious video about Nassrallah, enjoy

Together we will win

It was very interesting watching Lebanese Prime Minister Seniora sobbing and wiping his tears over the 'massacre of 40 Shahids' that Israel committed. It wasn't until hours later that Seniora admitted that only one person died in the attack.
The damage was clearly already done; the BBC headlines didn't change for hours reporting about 40 dead even when it was obvious that only one person died and there was definitely no massacre.

12 Israeli reserve soldiers died from a Katyusha attack, rockets were shelled from 4 different directions at the same time. 13 got injured. I wonder what kind of intelligence Hezbollah has to be able to launch such an accurate attack.
3 Israeli civilians were killed and 165 civilians were injured at a missile attack on Haifa yesterday at 8pm. I wonder what the minimum number of civilian causalities is where Israel can start using the term 'massacre'. Or that 'privilege' only saved for Arabs?

It never stops to amaze me that even though Israeli Arabs get killed in this were by katyusha missiles, most of them still won't speak up against Hezbollah and against terrorism. If their loyalty is for Israel's enemy, who's agenda is to destroy it, why are they still here?... I don't think that an American openly supporting Al Qaeda and the destruction of the US would be enjoying his freedom of speech for long. I do know that an Arab openly supporting Israel in the Palestinian Authority or Iran would not get to live for long.

Reuters admits for the second time in two days that one of her photographers, Adnan Hajj, has fabricated yet another picture using Photoshop. Of course it makes us all wonder how much of Hajj's work was 'edited' during this war and throughout his career. He was also one of the photographers that took pictures in Qana village.

If there is one thing that Nassrallah succeeded doing in this war is uniting Israel. There seems to be a consensus that this is a war of necessity, a war for our existence against fundamentalist Islam that is out to destroy anything non-Muslim out there. Apart from for some radical-leftists who seem to be completely detached from reality, everybody here, including the two million residents of the north, who are living as refugees or in bomb shelters for 27 days now support the government and the army.

The sticker of this war which is all over the place says "Yachad Ne'natze'ach" which means "together we will win". I think it summarizes our spirit well.

Palestinians celebrate Israeli deaths

12 reserves soldiers staying in Kibutz Kfar Giladi were killed a couple of hours ago by a katyusha missiles. 3 are injured fatal wounds, 2 with the severe injuries. That kibutz is located 2 miles south of Metulla. When I first saw the reports on TV all the reporters mentioned was that there are many casualties and injured in the Upper Galilee area. I immediately called my mom on her cellular phone and there was no answer. I called again. I also called the landline. Those were probably the longest two minutes of my life. My mom called back when I was very close to having a nervous breakdown. She is okay, thank god, and I needed some time to catch on my breath.

Why is the international media ignoring this rejoicing of Palestinians and Hezbollah people over the deaths of Israelis? Could you imagine what anger there would be towards Israel if this was the other way around and the Israelis were the ones celebrating deaths of Lebanese / Palestinians?

I got an email today that surprisingly perfectly relates to my post from last night, and so I decided to translate in from Hebrew
Bibi (Benjamin) Netanyahu gave another brilliant interview to a British TV station. The interviewer asked Bibi how does he explain the fact that more Lebanese civilians were killed in comparison to Israeli civilians.
This was Bibi's response:

"You don't really want to down this road, right?"
The interviewer
responded: "Why not?"
Bibi: "Because more German civilians were killed during
World War Two than British and Americans civilians combined and there is no
argument about the fact that this was a result of German aggression. In addition
to this, Britain, as a response to the 'blitz' bombed and completely erased the
German city of Dresden. I also want to remind you that in 1944 when the British
wanted to bomb the Gestapo headquarters in Copenhagen, your pilots missed the
target and burned down a children's hospital with 83 Danish kids in it…"

Needless to say the interviewer was left speechless. It's such a shame that Israel is not taking more advantage of Bibi's marvelous Hasbarah skills. The field of PR is one we are definitely loosing at.

Israel's history in a nutshell

20 Middle East Myths and Facts

Taken from here

1. Nationhood and Jerusalem - Israel became a nation in 1312 B.C.E., two thousand years before the rise of Islam.

2. Arab refugees in Israel began identifying themselves as part of a Palestinian people in 1967, two decades after the establishment of the modern State of Israel.

3. Since the Jewish conquest in 1272 B.C.E. the Jews have had dominion over the land for one thousand years with a continuous presence in the land for the past 3,300 years.

4. Arabs have only had control of Israel twice - from 634 until the Crusader invasion in June 1099, and from 1292 until the year 1517 when they were dispelled by the Turks in their conquest.

5. For over 3,300 years, Jerusalem has been the Jewish capital. Jerusalem has never been the capital of any Arab or Muslim entity. Even when the Jordanians occupied Jerusalem, they never sought to make it their capital, and Arab leaders did not come to visit.
6. Jerusalem is mentioned over 700 times in Tanach, the Jewish Holy Scriptures. Jerusalem is not mentioned once in the Koran. There are vague references to Jerusalem in the Hadiths - stories about Mohammed - that he stopped his night journey (which the Koran explains took place in a dream!) at the "farther mosque" (or "distant place"). Muslims explain that this means "at the edge of the Temple mount", although no direct reference to Jerusalem or the Temple Mount is made.

7. King David established the city of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Mohammed never came to Jerusalem.

8. Jews pray facing Jerusalem. Some Muslims (i.e. those between Israel and Saudi Arabia) pray with their backs toward Jerusalem.

9. Arab and Jewish Refugees - In 1948 the Arab refugees were encouraged to leave Israel by Arab leaders promising to purge the land of Jews. Sixty eight percent left without ever seeing an Israeli soldier.

10. The Jewish refugees were forced to flee from Arab lands due to Arab brutality, persecution and pogroms.

11. The number of Arab refugees who left Israel in 1948 is estimated to be around 630,000. The number of Jewish refugees from Arab lands is estimated to be the same.

12. Arab refugees were INTENTIONALLY not absorbed or integrated into the Arab lands to which they fled, despite the vast Arab territory. Out of the 100,000,000 refugees since World War II, theirs is the only refugee group in the world that has never been absorbed or integrated into their own peoples' lands. Jewish refugees were completely absorbed into Israel, a country no larger than the state of New Jersey.

13. The Arab - Israeli Conflict - The Arabs are represented by eight separate nations, not including the Palestinians. There is only one Jewish nation. The Arab nations initiated all five wars and lost. Israel defended itself each time and won.

14. The P.L.O.'s Charter still calls for the destruction of the State of Israel. Israel has given the Palestinians most of the West Bank land, autonomy under the Palestinian Authority, and has supplied them with weapons.

15. Under Jordanian rule, Jewish holy sites were desecrated and the Jews were denied access to places of worship. Under Israeli rule, all Muslim and Christian sites have been preserved and made accessible to people of all faiths.

16. The U.N. Record on Israel and the Arabs - Of the 175 Security Council resolutions passed before 1990, 97 were directed against Israel.

17. Of the 690 General Assembly resolutions voted on before 1990, 429 were directed against Israel.

18. The U.N was silent while 58 Jerusalem Synagogues were destroyed by the Jordanians.

19. The U.N. was silent while the Jordanians systematically desecrated the ancient Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives.

20. The U.N. was silent while the Jordanians enforced an apartheid-like policy of preventing Jews from visiting the Temple Mount and the Western Wall.

Trying to clear my head

Yesterday we left Metulla after a week at home and it felt great and weird at the same time. 50 residents of Metulla (and 250 residents of northern Israel) got complimentary free tickets to a show called "One", which is preformed by one of the top female singers of Israel (if not the best), and a over a hundred dancers, actors, acrobats etc. This show is supposed to be comparable to Celine Dion's Vegas show. The show was truly breathtaking and 'right on the money' in regards to what we all needed after almost a month in this war. It was a great change of scenery and as Rita, the singer was saying, it took our minds off of reality for very brief couple of hours.
My mom was supposed to have a huge party for her 50th birthday yesterday. She planned a big Hebrew 'sing-along' with a good friend who's going to lead the night with his accordion. The birthday party was planned months ago and over 100 guests were invited. Now the party is postponed indefinitely and I'm probably going to miss it since I have to go back to school soon.
This everyday reality of missiles ruining entire northern Israel still amazes me. Thousands of houses, cars and forests are destroyed. Civilians get killed and injured, soldiers get killed and injured. I never understood the international media playing this comparison between the number of casualties in Israel vs. Lebanon, or in Israel vs. the Palestinian Authority.
Human life is human life, every person is a person with family, friends and a life story. There should be no 'competition' on the amount of casualties because it's simply double standards. Hundreds of innocent civilians get blown up by Muslim suicide bombers in Lebanon everyday and I don’t see the human rights organization and Kofi Anan crying about it in his press conferences.
If 'occupation' was a factor in the reasoning for becoming a suicide bombers (as they so badly want you conveniently to believe, then during history we should have had suicide bombings by
- The Native Americans when the Europeans were butchering millions of them
- The Indians/Cyprians/Africans/Arabs/Jews/etc towards the British Empire while they were ruling all these countries
- The Jews/Europeans towards the Germans during and after WW2
I'm sure the message is clear at this point. It saddens me that people rather base their views in life on ideals rather than actual facts and reality. It was wisely said that a person with no past is a person with no future. 'A religion of peace' shouldn't have it's prayer book telling it's believers to conquer by the sward and kill those who don't comply and convert to the religion.
Again, I am sad for the loss of every life but the life of a terrorist, in which case that person CHOSE the path of death and murder. A person who wants peace beyond any doubt will never become a terrorist. Fundamentalism is terrible in any aspect, and in every religion in my eyes.
It's getting late and I feel like I can't clear my head after yesterdays missiles shelled at Hadera (which is only 30 miles away from Tel Aviv). I decided to stay in the Tel Aviv area for a couple days in an attempt for some sanity but it almost feels like this war is going to chase us wherever we go.
One thing is for sure, this is going to be one interesting semester.

A wonderful initiative to help the children of the north and the soldiers

And the world keeps quiet, Hypocrisy at its best

Another sleepless night went by. Oh well, I got used to this already. I went volunteering in Metulla's war headquarter again between 12pm and 2pm. Six Katyusha missiles fell in two parts of Metulla while I was there and so we were calling the residents of those neighborhoods in order to see that they're all ok. This is only something that can be done in a town as small as Metulla, with about 1,500 redisents. I would say only about 15%-20% of residents are still here.
I wanted and try and catch up on some sleep in the afternoon. I didn't even get to sleep for 20 minutes before the siren went off. It went of 7 times in less than an hour. The cannons were shelling and the katyushas were shelling too. My mom and I were watching the news reporting from Kiryat Shmona - We could hear the launching of the katyushas from Lebanon and then see them hitting Kiryat Shmona live. What a terrible reality.
8 civilians were killed today by Katyusha missiles. 3 soldiers were killed today in the fighting inside southern Lebanon.
As I'm writing these lines I am listening to the beautiful sounds of our 4 parrots and the usual explosions. Up until May 24th 2000 we were so used to the sounds of helicopters and F-16s flying over our house. The next day it got quiet. So quiet we were not used to it. The Marj Ayun Valley which is viewed by my house got filled with cars driving around with Hezbollah flags on them. This is war is a consequence of 6 years of the self arming of Hezbollah with the wonderful help of Syria and Iran. Israel left Lebanon completely, but it was not enough for them.
It was lovely to read today that Iran's beloved president, Ahmadinejad, saying that the only solution to this war is the destruction of Israel.
Quoting from Ynetnews:

"Although the main solution is for the elimination of the Zionist regime, at this stage an immediate ceasefire must be implemented" Ahmadinejad said.

If the world keeps quiet after such words we are truly not far from a second holocaust.

New data regarding the incident in Qana village was released today. It apears that 28 civilians died there (16 kids out of the 28) and not over 60 civilians like reported at first. This bloger has been bringing up interesting questions on what really happened there.
Hezbollah carying for the Lebanese people... by using them as human sheild.

Katyusha here, Katyusha there - Just another day

Last night was terrible, most definitely the worst one since the beginning of this war. My mom says she never remembers anything like this in the history of Metulla, and she was here even during the six days war. I couldn’t begin to explain the amount of weapons used all night long. NONSTOP. My mom was hysterical; I’ve never seen her like this. It made me understand what anxiety injury is, and how easily it can be caused. Ever since the Katyusha missiles that fell here on Sunday I keep hearing in my head what it sounded like, that awful whistle of the rocket splitting the air into two, followed by that dreadful explosion.
The beeper we got is really starting to annoy me; it’s what I call ‘high tech war’. It beeps very loudly saying that there is a ‘window’ between 12pm and 2pm, where only the head of the family can go for grocery shopping and equipping on whatever is needed. Not even ten minutes go by and it beeps again – “all residents should go immediately into bomb shelters”. How can a person keep their sanity?
We felt as if we were in the middle of a battle field all night long. Tanks, cannons, Katyusha missiles, mortars, we could even hear the M-16 rifle shooting. We went to sleep in the safer room of the house, the one built with stronger concrete and metal. We were lucky if we got one hour of sleep during the whole night. Every time we fell asleep another explosion woke us up. I choose to look at that night as a family bonding night of having to not only suffer the explosions but the snoring of a certain someone who’s name I won’t mention during the rare minutes I actually got to sleep in.
Today was better though, only few dozens mortars and some Katyusha missiles fell here today. Only one siren went off. We were also told we are not aloud to go to Kiryat Shmona which is 5 miles south of here. Not that we would like to go there – over 100 Katyusha missiles feel there on Sunday and dozens today. I feel so sorry for the residents of that town who not only suffered all these years from constant bombardments of missiles, but are now along with Naharya got their towns almost completely destroyed. I was watching the news with these poor people who lost their homes and have no where to go now. I can’t imagine what I would do if anything happened to my house. Our house is 100 years old at some parts, it has so much sentimental value to us, we moved here after my grandmother past away and we didn’t change a single thing because it is so beautiful the way it is.

Over 210 missiles were shelled at Israel today (Over 3,000 since July 12th, 2006)
1 civilian killed by a direct hit of a Katyusha (19 civilians so far)
3 soldiers killed yesterday (a total of 36 soldiers so far)
3 soldiers kidnppaed (1 by the Hammas)
161 civilians injured today (Over 1,600 so far)

*In the picture – our gorgeous front yard that my mom designed and constructed herself

This is our own Broadway show, what else is there to do around here?...

It's 2:05am and I just got back from the bomb shelter. Just like yesterday, we heard a whistle and then a huge explosion. Then, the siren went off. We decided to go into the bomb shelter because after yesterday, who knows what might happen here.
An hour before that we went up to one of the neighborhoods in Metulla that face Lebanon in order to get a "private show" of the war. Yes, I know, we are crazy Metullaians... We were sitting there, watching the sky being lit up as the tanks are firing, what an incredible yet sad view. After a while an officer who's also a resident of Metulla advised us to leave. It turned out Hezbollah was shelling mortars at Metulla. It's so hard to tell the difference and which is which between all the explosions.
It's 2:30am now and I just came back from another 'round' at the bomb shelter... It's probably a sign to end this post. This is really getting old. Who knows if I'll get any sleep tonight. Wish me luck.