The Situation in Israel is Grave

The situation in Israel is grave.  To date, at least 700 Israelis have been killed by Hamas terrorists, and thousands have been injured.  Reportedly, 130 have been taken hostage, including little children, many young girls and women, men, and the elderly.

On Saturday morning, at about 6:30 AM Israel time I was awakened by a siren.  I was at my mom's house in Arad at the time, along with my two young children.  Arad is in the southern region of Israel, not too far from the Dead Sea, on the eastern side of Israel.  I got out of bed and tried to analyze the situation, thinking it was either a mistake or that perhaps one or two rockets were launched from Gaza in our direction.  Arad is far enough from Gaza to be relatively uninteresting, so I wasn't too concerned.  But my children also woke up, so I walked them down to the shelter adjacent to the house.  I didn't even bother waking up my 80-year-old mom as I figured it wasn't worth scaring her for no reason.  Once the siren ended, I turned on the TV and was surprised to discover this was a surprise attack.  Still – Israel has the best missile defense system in the world, and rockets from Gaza rarely hit their targets in Israel.  Neither I, nor the rest of Israel were prepared for what actually happened.

In a very well planned and coordinated effort, Hamas terrorists breached the barrier between Gaza and Israel, and somewhere between 800-1000 (according to current estimates) terrorists entered nearby Israeli villages by foot, car, and by air.  They caught everyone off guard – local residents, the army, the government, and hundreds of young people attending a huge outdoor party.  What ensued was nothing short of a massacre.

Party goers were sprayed with machine guns as they tried to flee the scene or hide.  Those able to get to a car were fired upon and burnt alive in their vehicles.  Many were taken hostage.  Inside Israeli villages, terrorists boobytrapped the entrances and walked from door to door, firing indiscriminately at men, women, children, and the elderly.  They burnt homes, along with their residents, and sprayed anyone trying to flee with machine guns. 

It took the Israeli primary security and military forces hours to respond, and as I'm writing these words – at 9:00 am Monday morning, there are still terrorists in hiding inside Israel.

The political turmoil in Israel over the past several months took its toll.  But not in the way our enemies thought.  I think they expected our military to be weaker.  I think they believed the extremists in Israel who threatened not to serve as pilots or reserve soldiers if the government didn't heed their demands.  But now, when the country is under attack, everyone does their part.  Unfortunately, some politicians are still playing politics, and the media does what it does best – reports with a political bias.  But in the bigger picture, all of that doesn't matter.  Israel will prevail.

Many in Israel, and I'm sure elsewhere, are wondering how we could have been taken by surprise.  There are many questions that need to be addressed, but my take, at this point, is simple.  Israelis love living.  They love life.  They love their country.  They love their freedom.  And while these are wonderful characteristics, they are what make us vulnerable.  We've gotten used to going through rounds of conflict that left little damage in Israel due to sophisticated defense systems.  We've gotten used to thinking that the barriers we erected with our enemies are powerful and smart enough to guarantee a separation between our comfortable life, and chaos.  And while all that makes us vulnerable, it also makes us great.  It demonstrates the huge gap between Israelis and some of our neighbors who dwell on conflict, misery, and violence.

Make no mistake – what Hamas terrorists did this past Saturday is not, and should never be excused or "understood".  Israelis have been claiming for years that for us to be safe, as Jews, we must have powerful defense systems, a strong economy, and a stable government.  This point cannot be made any clearer given Saturday's massacre and ongoing attack on Israel.   We must be strong and defend ourselves by any and all means if we are to survive in this jungle of backwardness and violence. 

Over the past two days I've received many messages and phone calls from friends and acquaintances abroad – from the Czech Republic, Germany, Australia, the United States, and even Pakistan.  Kind people who care about our safety and wellbeing.  People who've been to Israel and have seen, first-hand, the wonders of this country.  To them, and to all our friends abroad I say – thank you from the bottom of our heart for your love and concern.  We will prevail.

Ilan Friedman

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