SHABBAT
It has been a hard week. Soldiers and hostages died in battle. But God is in Israel and we will praise Him.
115 soldiers were killed. One was a son of a person in the war cabinet and one a father of a 3-week-old baby girl; others were sons, husbands and fathers, brothers and friends. Three hostages escaped the Hamas and since they had no way to identify themselves, they were killed by IDF fire. It hurts.
The Arabs and the Jews in the Middle East look alike. You cannot tell a visual difference. When I was a child I could tell who was a Jew and lived in Tel Aviv and who was an Arab and lived in Yafo. Today, I have to listen to them talk and take time to observe their behaviour and then maybe I'll be able to differentiate between them. In the split second that the soldiers had to decide if to shoot them or not, they did not have time to know if they were friends or foes. And most Israeli Arabs around us are friends - they work in the hospital, they drive our public buses, they worship in the congregations, they are as we are - living the life of an Israeli.
It is war. An incident like that adds to the tired and sad feelings and lowers morale. A friend wrote to me this morning from across the globe and I appreciate it – it eases a bit of the pain.
“We are saddened about the 3 hostages killed by IDF while under fire. However, in war, bad things happen under pressure. A soldier only had less than one second to decide whether to shoot again or not. We blame Hamas squarely.“
A friend in need is a friend indeed.
Thank you dear friend for your words; we need to hear them right now.
These are Your people, God of Israel; we know You mourn with us. We will praise You.
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