I have felt weakness. I have felt my supposedly mighty muscles shudder, felt my devastatingly powerful weapon shake in my hands, felt my heart hammer against my armor, felt my soul and mind search for some way to avoid pain and the nightmares that were becoming real.
I felt strength. I would have been lost, but for the words of my Rebbe. "Ein od Milvado" There is no one but Him. The mere utterance strengthened limbs, and a surge of faith and hope carried me through the invasion, through the detonations and whistling of ricocheting rounds and falling bombs. For I knew, for once KNEW and understood absolutely that I was in the hands of the greatest general on earth....
My strength lay in the thousands of people who prayed for me, who prayed for the wellbeing of the army, who cried for the return of the fragile and precious Jewish youth who fought like lions where men twice there age would have fled. You are the reason we returned. You are the reason I am alive. You, the people who pray and cry and feel you are not the front lines, are truly the army of Hashem. The IDF, as people should see, is merely the physical arm of what your prayers accomplish. You are the ones in the battle. We are the holding action, delaying the physical evil while you battle to clear the path for Moshiach. Never again will I feel a yeshiva student who learns all day is not brave for not being with us on this field. Because I watched the words and letters that he learned and prayed march ahead of us, thousands deep, and millions strong, absorbing the bullets and metal meant for me. I thank you, humbly, warriors of my heart and faith. You let me come home to my wife....
I have seen this people, my people, at its best and at its worst. I can see why Redemption will come soon. As a nation, we drew together. Disunity, differences in Kippot or sects fell away, and everyone reached out to help as best they could. No one said, "I have no part" or "This isn't my war". May Hashem see the greatness of His holy, beautiful people, and allow me to sing that old song to my child, with absolute truth and great joy: "I promise, my little one, that this is the last war."
Joshua Eastman made aliyah from Baltimore in 2005. He met his wife, Chana, on a trip back to Baltimore; and the two of them live in Givat Ze'ev. Joshua is currently a full-time soldier in the Golani Brigade of the Israel Defense Forces. When he can get near a computer, he blogs about his life in Israel at "Through Josh-Colored Glasses," http://hashkeofthedevonshire.blogspot.com/.
Josh's mom writes from http://rutimizrachi.blogspot.com/
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Showing posts with label Operation Cast Lead. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Operation Cast Lead. Show all posts
Enough-by Gila Kanal Zarbiv
Enough.
I am tired of turning on the news and seeing them talk about Israel's disproportionate attacks.
Where were they when Kasam after Kasam landed on Sderot?
Where were they when we pulled out of Gaza to give the Palestinians their chance to have change?
Where were they when the Israeli army went door to door seeking out terrorists and risking THEIR lives to save the lives of innocent civilians?
Where were they when Israel stood by since 2001 and let Kasams kill innocent Israelis and DID NOTHING!?
Where have they been?!
How dare anyone make this anything other than it really is: Israel defending her people, her nation, and her homeland. It is not a revelation that Israel has not lost a war since her existence. Its a necessity! When we lose a war we will lose our homeland. There is nowhere for us to surrender to! We are surrounded by countries that hate Israel and the Jewish people and would like nothing better than to push us into the sea. If we give them that chance, we will drown.
So now, Jewish world, as you sit back and watch your brothers fight for you and your family die for you, I beg you to fight back! Challenge this close minded, one sided, media bias that we see every day.
Enough is enough! I dare one of those reporters to come to Sderot, or Ashkelon, or Be'er Sheva and survive one night. I dare them to walk through the streets, hear the sirens, fall to their knees, and hold their breaths for 15 seconds as a Kasam wails overhead. I dare them to hear the voice "Code Red, Code Red" and wonder, is this the end? Is this going to be the rocket that lands on me? Am I going to be the next statistic on CNN?
How many times do we hear "only one killed in Sderot" and breathe a sigh of relief. "Only one." Close your eyes and imagine your wife, your husband, daughter, son, brother, sister, boyfriend, girlfriend, father, or mother were that "only one." It's OK. It was just one. Stop whining...
Enough.
I am intensely saddened when I see the pictures of the innocent Palestinian children who are caught up in the cross fire. I am intensely infuriated when their deaths are blamed on Israel. Israel did not ask for this war. Israel did not want this war. Israel did not choose this war. Israel was attacked. Since her very existence she has been attacked. Be it on her buses, her streets, her homes, and her cities.
Let us be very clear. Israel is not randomly attacking Gaza. Israel is responding to the HUNDREDS of rocket attacks that have landed on her soil that have SPECIFICALLY targeted civilians and civilian homes. Israel is responding by bombing SPECIFIC Hamas locations and killing 400 people, 90% of whom are Hamas operatives.
Disproportionate? Hamas kills men, women, and children. Israel kills terrorists.
Disproportionate?
ENOUGH!!
This war, in my opinion, is too late. Israel should have stood up years ago when the first rocket fell.
How ridiculous is it to imagine that after Sept 11th America would have done nothing in response. How dare America start a war! Its disproportionate. All that happened was three measly planes hit three measly buildings! What right do they have to go fight an entire country?! What justification do they have?
The Arabs think they can fight us? They think they are up to our level of standards? Well kol yisrael arevim zeh lazeh. We Jews are all connected. Take a lesson Arabs. Wake up. You want justice? You want peace? You want equality? Then deserve it! You alone are responsible for the actions of your people and your nation. There is a virus growing in your own people and it is spreading to your children and grandchildren. Stop it!
Enough!
How dare anyone blame this war on Israel. It is time the world practiced what they preached. It is time they live up to their own standards. The next time someone comes to attack THEIR children, I want a completely proportional response. I want them to stop and calculate. Remember, it isn't about saving the lives of your family. It's about making sure that the world approves and will not condemn your actions. Be careful, because apparently in their eyes, all people are not created equal... They can attack us because they are "terrorists" and that's what terrorists do. We cannot fight back because they are cowering behind the backs of 3 year old children.
Enough.
I will not stand silently by watching my family be attacked night and day. I will not sit and wait for the bombs to fall. I will rise and defend my husband, children, and nation by whatever means, doing whatever it takes. Wouldn't you?
Disproportionate?
How dare they.
Enough.
We are very close to Gila's wonderful family. Gila (Kanal) Zarbiv volunteered a couple of summers ago in an ambulance in Sderot. She has experienced the terror of rockets falling around her, and wrote about that terror and fear here:"gila writes" where I also found this post.
...
I am tired of turning on the news and seeing them talk about Israel's disproportionate attacks.
Where were they when Kasam after Kasam landed on Sderot?
Where were they when we pulled out of Gaza to give the Palestinians their chance to have change?
Where were they when the Israeli army went door to door seeking out terrorists and risking THEIR lives to save the lives of innocent civilians?
Where were they when Israel stood by since 2001 and let Kasams kill innocent Israelis and DID NOTHING!?
Where have they been?!
How dare anyone make this anything other than it really is: Israel defending her people, her nation, and her homeland. It is not a revelation that Israel has not lost a war since her existence. Its a necessity! When we lose a war we will lose our homeland. There is nowhere for us to surrender to! We are surrounded by countries that hate Israel and the Jewish people and would like nothing better than to push us into the sea. If we give them that chance, we will drown.
So now, Jewish world, as you sit back and watch your brothers fight for you and your family die for you, I beg you to fight back! Challenge this close minded, one sided, media bias that we see every day.
Enough is enough! I dare one of those reporters to come to Sderot, or Ashkelon, or Be'er Sheva and survive one night. I dare them to walk through the streets, hear the sirens, fall to their knees, and hold their breaths for 15 seconds as a Kasam wails overhead. I dare them to hear the voice "Code Red, Code Red" and wonder, is this the end? Is this going to be the rocket that lands on me? Am I going to be the next statistic on CNN?
How many times do we hear "only one killed in Sderot" and breathe a sigh of relief. "Only one." Close your eyes and imagine your wife, your husband, daughter, son, brother, sister, boyfriend, girlfriend, father, or mother were that "only one." It's OK. It was just one. Stop whining...
Enough.
I am intensely saddened when I see the pictures of the innocent Palestinian children who are caught up in the cross fire. I am intensely infuriated when their deaths are blamed on Israel. Israel did not ask for this war. Israel did not want this war. Israel did not choose this war. Israel was attacked. Since her very existence she has been attacked. Be it on her buses, her streets, her homes, and her cities.
Let us be very clear. Israel is not randomly attacking Gaza. Israel is responding to the HUNDREDS of rocket attacks that have landed on her soil that have SPECIFICALLY targeted civilians and civilian homes. Israel is responding by bombing SPECIFIC Hamas locations and killing 400 people, 90% of whom are Hamas operatives.
Disproportionate? Hamas kills men, women, and children. Israel kills terrorists.
Disproportionate?
ENOUGH!!
This war, in my opinion, is too late. Israel should have stood up years ago when the first rocket fell.
How ridiculous is it to imagine that after Sept 11th America would have done nothing in response. How dare America start a war! Its disproportionate. All that happened was three measly planes hit three measly buildings! What right do they have to go fight an entire country?! What justification do they have?
The Arabs think they can fight us? They think they are up to our level of standards? Well kol yisrael arevim zeh lazeh. We Jews are all connected. Take a lesson Arabs. Wake up. You want justice? You want peace? You want equality? Then deserve it! You alone are responsible for the actions of your people and your nation. There is a virus growing in your own people and it is spreading to your children and grandchildren. Stop it!
Enough!
How dare anyone blame this war on Israel. It is time the world practiced what they preached. It is time they live up to their own standards. The next time someone comes to attack THEIR children, I want a completely proportional response. I want them to stop and calculate. Remember, it isn't about saving the lives of your family. It's about making sure that the world approves and will not condemn your actions. Be careful, because apparently in their eyes, all people are not created equal... They can attack us because they are "terrorists" and that's what terrorists do. We cannot fight back because they are cowering behind the backs of 3 year old children.
Enough.
I will not stand silently by watching my family be attacked night and day. I will not sit and wait for the bombs to fall. I will rise and defend my husband, children, and nation by whatever means, doing whatever it takes. Wouldn't you?
Disproportionate?
How dare they.
Enough.
We are very close to Gila's wonderful family. Gila (Kanal) Zarbiv volunteered a couple of summers ago in an ambulance in Sderot. She has experienced the terror of rockets falling around her, and wrote about that terror and fear here:"gila writes" where I also found this post.
...
In Everything We Do
Our family is worried about us. Friends too, even 
random people: an insurance agent, our broker, and the AT&T customer service rep to whom we have spoken in America in the past few weeks are worried. You ask how we are managing, what we see in Jerusalem of the war, and what people are saying, thinking and feeling. To tell you the truth, on the surface life has not changed much.
On Shabbos Chanukah as we sat down to our meal at about 11:30 AM, we did hear something unusual: jets flying over the Old City.
We are off the flight track for most aircraft, so we commented to our guests from America-our daughter and her soon to be chosson!-that it was strange to hear. And the talk moved on to more pertinent things.
Motzi Shabbos, as is our custom, we flipped up our laptops. There it was: we were at war. Well, finally. How much longer was our government going to allow primitive but deadly missiles to destroy normal life in towns, on moshavim and kibbutzim?? You’ve heard it all, I am not going over the situation again as so many have done it already and better than me.
As far as our lives are concerned, we go about our routines. Davening, learning, ulpan, shopping, working, eating, sleeping as we always have. Weekday, Shabbos, back to the week.
Just below the surface however, thoughts of the war-or rather the kids serving in it, seep into everything we do. In the makolet (market) there is a bin by the register where we can place a little something extra that we buy for the soldiers. A neighbor collects homemade goodies, notes, socks and money for them. A cab driver who came here decades ago from Kurdistan told me about his son serving there, and on the bus a mother told me that her son had not been sent, but he wants to be there. A Birthright student at our home last Shabbos, told us how the color drained from the face of the chayal (soldier) assigned to her group when he was called up. These boys are always with us.
Out and about in the city, especially at night, the crowds are noticeably thinner as Hamas threatens to retaliate in our malls and cafes. The seminaries and yeshivos are limiting the travel of their students. I imagine adults as well, are keeping close to home and internet. The only increased presence is in the number of security guards. Cars coming through Jaffa Gate are scrutinized. On Ben Yehuda and in town, we see many more guards or “bitachon.” Bitachon is what they call the security detail here; bitachon also means “trust.”
The bitachon stand on the streets and at intersections, they ride on buses, check our bags in the doorways, and are probably posted on rooftops and monitoring surveillance screens. They will thwart the attempts of those who are dying to kill us, but even the bitachon cannot always keep us safe. So we place our ultimate trust in HaKodesh Boruch Hu, who is there in the street with us, riding with us, monitoring our every move as well as our enemy’s. It takes a lot of bitachon to live here.
Our ulpan teacher, Ruti tells that her brother has a lot of bitachon. He and his family been have spending many hours in bomb shelters. They live in Beer Sheva which has been the recipient of recent Hamas attacks. When one of my ulpan classmates used our new word “mefached” (afraid) in a sentence referring to the Jews in the South, Ruti was quick to tell us that her brother was not mefached.
No-he has bitachon, she said. He and his wife run for the bomb shelter holding their precious children, but he sincerely relies only on the great kindness of the Almighty for the safety of his family.
The war trickles into our conversation in ulpan and Ruti uses these current events and the history of Israel as a teaching tool. The news we know, does not unequivocally get across to the world the situation here and this frustrates many students. Ruti says, quoting Ben Gurion: “Lo chashuv mah et choshvot hagoyim, mah chashuv mah osim haYehudim: It’s not important what the nations think, what is important is what the Jewish people do.”
In everything we do, thoughts of the chayalim seep into our hearts and minds. Every
morning when we wake, we pray for them and learn for them, we shop for them, we are more considerate of fellow workers in their merit, we talk of them at our meals, say brachos with more kavana (intent) and say a prayer for them as we lay our heads on our soft pillows in our warm homes every night.
Gaza is not so far away from us and these boys are never far from our hearts. We breathe the same holy air and see the same piercing blue canopy above. I do not think that the Jerusalem sky has ever been bluer than since this war began. And on the days when the sky is not blue, it’s been raining. The kind of slow, generous soaking rain that seeps far below the surface and ensures another year of life. The kind of rain we pray for. The kind of rain that builds our bitachon. The rain of bracha.
May the great kindness of Almighty protect every one of our soldiers and civilians in the line of fire. May He send us rains of bracha and endow us with yet another year of life here, secure in the Land He promised to us. And may every one of our chayalim-and you, too- safely come home soon.
-Renee & David ...
random people: an insurance agent, our broker, and the AT&T customer service rep to whom we have spoken in America in the past few weeks are worried. You ask how we are managing, what we see in Jerusalem of the war, and what people are saying, thinking and feeling. To tell you the truth, on the surface life has not changed much.On Shabbos Chanukah as we sat down to our meal at about 11:30 AM, we did hear something unusual: jets flying over the Old City.
We are off the flight track for most aircraft, so we commented to our guests from America-our daughter and her soon to be chosson!-that it was strange to hear. And the talk moved on to more pertinent things.
Motzi Shabbos, as is our custom, we flipped up our laptops. There it was: we were at war. Well, finally. How much longer was our government going to allow primitive but deadly missiles to destroy normal life in towns, on moshavim and kibbutzim?? You’ve heard it all, I am not going over the situation again as so many have done it already and better than me.
As far as our lives are concerned, we go about our routines. Davening, learning, ulpan, shopping, working, eating, sleeping as we always have. Weekday, Shabbos, back to the week.
Just below the surface however, thoughts of the war-or rather the kids serving in it, seep into everything we do. In the makolet (market) there is a bin by the register where we can place a little something extra that we buy for the soldiers. A neighbor collects homemade goodies, notes, socks and money for them. A cab driver who came here decades ago from Kurdistan told me about his son serving there, and on the bus a mother told me that her son had not been sent, but he wants to be there. A Birthright student at our home last Shabbos, told us how the color drained from the face of the chayal (soldier) assigned to her group when he was called up. These boys are always with us.
Out and about in the city, especially at night, the crowds are noticeably thinner as Hamas threatens to retaliate in our malls and cafes. The seminaries and yeshivos are limiting the travel of their students. I imagine adults as well, are keeping close to home and internet. The only increased presence is in the number of security guards. Cars coming through Jaffa Gate are scrutinized. On Ben Yehuda and in town, we see many more guards or “bitachon.” Bitachon is what they call the security detail here; bitachon also means “trust.”
The bitachon stand on the streets and at intersections, they ride on buses, check our bags in the doorways, and are probably posted on rooftops and monitoring surveillance screens. They will thwart the attempts of those who are dying to kill us, but even the bitachon cannot always keep us safe. So we place our ultimate trust in HaKodesh Boruch Hu, who is there in the street with us, riding with us, monitoring our every move as well as our enemy’s. It takes a lot of bitachon to live here.
Our ulpan teacher, Ruti tells that her brother has a lot of bitachon. He and his family been have spending many hours in bomb shelters. They live in Beer Sheva which has been the recipient of recent Hamas attacks. When one of my ulpan classmates used our new word “mefached” (afraid) in a sentence referring to the Jews in the South, Ruti was quick to tell us that her brother was not mefached.
No-he has bitachon, she said. He and his wife run for the bomb shelter holding their precious children, but he sincerely relies only on the great kindness of the Almighty for the safety of his family.The war trickles into our conversation in ulpan and Ruti uses these current events and the history of Israel as a teaching tool. The news we know, does not unequivocally get across to the world the situation here and this frustrates many students. Ruti says, quoting Ben Gurion: “Lo chashuv mah et choshvot hagoyim, mah chashuv mah osim haYehudim: It’s not important what the nations think, what is important is what the Jewish people do.”
In everything we do, thoughts of the chayalim seep into our hearts and minds. Every
morning when we wake, we pray for them and learn for them, we shop for them, we are more considerate of fellow workers in their merit, we talk of them at our meals, say brachos with more kavana (intent) and say a prayer for them as we lay our heads on our soft pillows in our warm homes every night.Gaza is not so far away from us and these boys are never far from our hearts. We breathe the same holy air and see the same piercing blue canopy above. I do not think that the Jerusalem sky has ever been bluer than since this war began. And on the days when the sky is not blue, it’s been raining. The kind of slow, generous soaking rain that seeps far below the surface and ensures another year of life. The kind of rain we pray for. The kind of rain that builds our bitachon. The rain of bracha.
May the great kindness of Almighty protect every one of our soldiers and civilians in the line of fire. May He send us rains of bracha and endow us with yet another year of life here, secure in the Land He promised to us. And may every one of our chayalim-and you, too- safely come home soon.
-Renee & David ...
This One's for Matan & ALL Soldiers of Israel (including you!)
Private Matan Ar'ye Schwartz of the Foreign Relations Branch, IDF Ground Forces, wrote this letter to his family's congregation in America. Please read it to the end, it's very powerful. Kol haKavod, Ar'ye~
Hello Temple Or-Elokim!
I'm writing this to you from Israel...I'm sure you've been seeing a lot of us on the television recently...the situation has certainly tense.
For those of you who don't know me, my name's Matt (or Matan if you know me from Israel). Many of you know my family (my parents Fran and Marvin, and my two brothers, Dave and Sam). I made Aliyah to Israel a year ago to live my dream and do my part to help build the Jewish state. This past December 27th was my one year anniversary of Aliyah, the date I landed in Israel to start a new life. Keep that date in the back of your head.
Presently, I'm serving as a Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) and Linguist for the Foreign Relations Branch of the IDF Ground Forces. What I'm going to talk to you about tonight isn't approved by the IDF, it doesn't contain any top secret information, and most of it doesn't have to do with the army at all. What I'm going to talk to you about tonight is my reality, as I've experienced it.
I started my basic training in August of 2008 and completed it in November of 2008. I was then assigned as a non-combat soldier (due to my academic background and personal preferences) to the Foreign Relations branch of the IDF Ground Forces. While combat soldiers receive the respect and glory that comes with the hard work they do, I wanted to give back in the best way I could and while I can fire a gun, I much prefer to choose a pen as my weapon...and I was fortunate enough to be afforded that opportunity.
Recently, I moved to a Kibbutz that was kind enough to adopt me as a Lonely Soldier (a soldier who has no family in the country). This Kibbutz like all Kibbutzim in Israel, has made the land grow...lush grass is everywhere...you breathe in and your chest just fills with an overwhelming pride of what we've been able to accomplish in the desert...agriculture and animals and families with young children are everywhere, the Kibbutz - even in tough economic times - is thriving.
As is my usual weekend routine when returning to the Kibbutz on Thursdays (I don't go to base on Fridays or Saturdays), I went food shopping, I dropped off my uniform to have it washed and pressed for the coming week, I waved to the cows hanging out in the refet (cow shed)
and I had lunch and dinner in the dining hall with friends before I settled down for a weekend of what I thought was going to be rest and relaxation.
On December 27, 2008, the day where I was celebrating my first year in Israel I was brought out of my room at 11:30am with the sounds of bombs dropping.
The Kibbutz that I live on is called
Kibbutz Zikim. Kibbutz Zikim is two miles from the Gaza City...for Chanukah, they have one of the largest menorah's I've ever seen...you see it, standing defiantly, at their front gate when you come home. This Menorah is like no other menorah in the world...it's been hand made out of collected Ketusha rockets.
Since my second week on the Kibbutz I had began to get used to hearing "Tseva Adom, Tseva Adom, Tseva Adom" (which literally means "Red Paint" but is our version of "Red Alert")...blasting from speakers in the area.
From the moment you hear the first "Tseva Adom" you have 15 seconds to run to a shelter...and you start to count down as you move, quick as lightning, to the safest area near you...your heart pounding in your chest...it isn't fear...it's adrenaline...you don't have time to be afraid...you barely have time to react...and you pray as you run that you'll be near a shelter, your eyes darting around you to assess in a split instant what might stop a qassam from landing on you if death has your number,breathing becomes an afterthought...and then you feel the earth shake -- impact...you let out a nervous laugh...you survived again...and you take out your cell phone and call your friends, trying to make sure that they did too...eventually, as I would learn, you just stop running.
As I heard the bombs dropping I was worried that our alert system failed us - why weren't our sirens going off? I ran back into my room to pull up a news site to figure out what was going on, when I saw the headlines that the Israeli Air Force was finally taking action against Hamas who has taken over the Gaza Strip...my phone began to ring, a friend of mine was telling me to get to the first shelter I could find and to stay there...it was going to be a long day.
All day and through the night Tseva Adom could be heard, crackling from speakers breaking the stillness of the air. My room shook, my windows flexed...thankfully, my Kibbutz was not hit.
I have said that I was getting used to the Red Alerts...and it's true...in one day alone Hamas had fired 60 rockets into Israel. Their barrage of attacks after the expired truce (and, even during it) is what prompted the IDF to act in the first place.
And for a few days I stayed away from the Kibbutz. My commanding officers and fellow soldiers letting me know I could stay at their houses if I needed to, some begging me not to return to the Kibbutz, to rethink my decision to live there (after all, I may be a Jobnick, but I'm a Jobnick who's job it is to use his head, which requires that my head remain firmly attached to the rest of my body) and so I had ventured back and forth between Tel Aviv, my Base, and my Kibbutz as I let the adrenaline seep out of my body I tried to figure out where I stood on the issues...and when you're running to shelters constantly your body goes into protection mode "run...run...keep running...make it in the door...ten seconds left...nine seconds..." and sometimes it takes a little bit of Shabbat to figure out what the right thing to do is. That's one of my favorite things about Judaism, is that it's never too late to make the right choice.
Right now, there are countless soldiers braver than I am standing guard at Gaza, waiting for word from their commanders to put their boots on the ground. These are my boys...these are the soldiers that my base - the Ground Forces base - are responsible for. I have said that this isn't endorsed by the IDF, and that's true...but as a soldier in the Foreign Relations branch of the IDF Ground Forces - and make no mistake, no war has ever been won without putting boots on the ground - who has friends sitting in tanks right now waiting for the word, I think it behooves me to do a little foreign relations:
I want you to become soldiers for Israel.
Now, I know that making Aliyah and joining the IDF might not be your thing (though there are volunteer programs for that if you really want to), there's a lot you can do right now for Israel...and we need you...now, more than ever!
So what can you do for Israel?
If you've just finished High School, or need a semester away from College or have just graduated college and need some time to clear your head, come and volunteer - whether with the IDF, the Magan David Adom, as a Fire Fighter or on a Kibbutz -link don't worry training and Hebrew classes are free - you'll learn how to save lives, you'll help build the land, you'll make life bloom in the desert while working side by side with people from all over the world. Housing and food stipends come standard with every program.
For those of you who don't have the luxury to pick up everything and come for a few months, then come and visit us for a couple of weeks (yes... right now...there's no better time!).
Come and visit and see the beautiful ancient walls of Jerusalem and pray at the Kotel
(speaking as a soldier, we really, really appreciate your prayers! And what better place to do it than in Jerusalem?), come bathe in the natural springs and cool off at our wonderful ocean resorts.
Enjoy the finest coffee the middle east has to offer and dance the night away in our nightclubs - Tel Aviv, the city where the party, literally, never stops! Shop for some art in Zichron Ya'akov at the artist colony and enjoy fresh milk from our country's refets (Israel, where we have holy cows!).
Come visit us, we're your country too!
For those of you who do the Sunday crossword puzzle in pen (you know who you are...yes, you) start writing! Write very day to your editor. We need your voice. Ask them why it's Israel's responsibility to treat Hamas terrorists in our hospitals (we did, recently, to one who had a 'work related' incident), ask them why when the Palestinians share borders with Egypt and Jordan it's Israels responsibility to take care of them...ask them why we should be providing them with food, money, gasoline, and Jewish doctors while they're bombing our civilian centers, and ask them why we should consider them partners for peace when they seek our total destruction, their vision of "liberating" Palestine includes all of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and every other city from the north to the south of Israel where Jews live. Ask them why they surround themselves with children and store rockets and bomb making materials near or under schools and use their men, women, and children as human shields.
Ask them every question that should be burning in your chest when you watch this current media circus.
For those who are good with computers...start blogging...start emailing...start YouTubing and twittering...counter every thing you hear with facts, don't back down, don't give an inch!
This current operation in Gaza is about changing the equation, about setting our own terms...and like anything, it's a state of mind...so yes, it's been a little bit scary here recently...but it's our choice as to whether or not we're going to give into fear...help us set the tone, but please - whether you write your editor or start thinking about visiting - don't be quiet...don't forget us...we need your voices...because I'm almost hoarse...and we need to know that you have our backs...because while we get to sleep at home tonight there are IDF soldiers in the rain that falls this time of year in the south who are far away from their homes and there are parents who don't know if their children are going to be coming home again and it's the least we can do!
In Israel, when a bomb goes off we go outside...when a terrorist blows up a cafe, we
go out for coffee and though I was caught up in a state of shock...in Israel you're told two things "look around, and look up" and so I looked around and knew what I had to do to do the right thing and I'm looking up and forward, towards the future...and I can tell you that I'll be sleeping in my room on the Kibbutz come Sunday night.
I'll be in Jerusalem, our holy city, for Shabbat this weekend...dancing with Breslovs, walking the ramparts of our old city walls, and putting a note in the wall for everyone...it's blank...so if you need to say anything to the big guy upstairs, there's a blank piece of paper in the wall waiting for you to write your hopes and wishes on it.
But please don't forget us...we need you, I need you to raise your voices!
Acharai! (after me!),
Signed:
Private Matan Ar'ye Schwartz
Foreign Relations Branch, IDF Ground Forces
A look at Tzeva Adom - video - "15 Seconds" ...
Hello Temple Or-Elokim!
I'm writing this to you from Israel...I'm sure you've been seeing a lot of us on the television recently...the situation has certainly tense.
For those of you who don't know me, my name's Matt (or Matan if you know me from Israel). Many of you know my family (my parents Fran and Marvin, and my two brothers, Dave and Sam). I made Aliyah to Israel a year ago to live my dream and do my part to help build the Jewish state. This past December 27th was my one year anniversary of Aliyah, the date I landed in Israel to start a new life. Keep that date in the back of your head.
Presently, I'm serving as a Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) and Linguist for the Foreign Relations Branch of the IDF Ground Forces. What I'm going to talk to you about tonight isn't approved by the IDF, it doesn't contain any top secret information, and most of it doesn't have to do with the army at all. What I'm going to talk to you about tonight is my reality, as I've experienced it.
I started my basic training in August of 2008 and completed it in November of 2008. I was then assigned as a non-combat soldier (due to my academic background and personal preferences) to the Foreign Relations branch of the IDF Ground Forces. While combat soldiers receive the respect and glory that comes with the hard work they do, I wanted to give back in the best way I could and while I can fire a gun, I much prefer to choose a pen as my weapon...and I was fortunate enough to be afforded that opportunity.
Recently, I moved to a Kibbutz that was kind enough to adopt me as a Lonely Soldier (a soldier who has no family in the country). This Kibbutz like all Kibbutzim in Israel, has made the land grow...lush grass is everywhere...you breathe in and your chest just fills with an overwhelming pride of what we've been able to accomplish in the desert...agriculture and animals and families with young children are everywhere, the Kibbutz - even in tough economic times - is thriving.
As is my usual weekend routine when returning to the Kibbutz on Thursdays (I don't go to base on Fridays or Saturdays), I went food shopping, I dropped off my uniform to have it washed and pressed for the coming week, I waved to the cows hanging out in the refet (cow shed)
and I had lunch and dinner in the dining hall with friends before I settled down for a weekend of what I thought was going to be rest and relaxation.On December 27, 2008, the day where I was celebrating my first year in Israel I was brought out of my room at 11:30am with the sounds of bombs dropping.
The Kibbutz that I live on is called
Kibbutz Zikim. Kibbutz Zikim is two miles from the Gaza City...for Chanukah, they have one of the largest menorah's I've ever seen...you see it, standing defiantly, at their front gate when you come home. This Menorah is like no other menorah in the world...it's been hand made out of collected Ketusha rockets.
Since my second week on the Kibbutz I had began to get used to hearing "Tseva Adom, Tseva Adom, Tseva Adom" (which literally means "Red Paint" but is our version of "Red Alert")...blasting from speakers in the area.
From the moment you hear the first "Tseva Adom" you have 15 seconds to run to a shelter...and you start to count down as you move, quick as lightning, to the safest area near you...your heart pounding in your chest...it isn't fear...it's adrenaline...you don't have time to be afraid...you barely have time to react...and you pray as you run that you'll be near a shelter, your eyes darting around you to assess in a split instant what might stop a qassam from landing on you if death has your number,breathing becomes an afterthought...and then you feel the earth shake -- impact...you let out a nervous laugh...you survived again...and you take out your cell phone and call your friends, trying to make sure that they did too...eventually, as I would learn, you just stop running.
As I heard the bombs dropping I was worried that our alert system failed us - why weren't our sirens going off? I ran back into my room to pull up a news site to figure out what was going on, when I saw the headlines that the Israeli Air Force was finally taking action against Hamas who has taken over the Gaza Strip...my phone began to ring, a friend of mine was telling me to get to the first shelter I could find and to stay there...it was going to be a long day.
All day and through the night Tseva Adom could be heard, crackling from speakers breaking the stillness of the air. My room shook, my windows flexed...thankfully, my Kibbutz was not hit.I have said that I was getting used to the Red Alerts...and it's true...in one day alone Hamas had fired 60 rockets into Israel. Their barrage of attacks after the expired truce (and, even during it) is what prompted the IDF to act in the first place.
And for a few days I stayed away from the Kibbutz. My commanding officers and fellow soldiers letting me know I could stay at their houses if I needed to, some begging me not to return to the Kibbutz, to rethink my decision to live there (after all, I may be a Jobnick, but I'm a Jobnick who's job it is to use his head, which requires that my head remain firmly attached to the rest of my body) and so I had ventured back and forth between Tel Aviv, my Base, and my Kibbutz as I let the adrenaline seep out of my body I tried to figure out where I stood on the issues...and when you're running to shelters constantly your body goes into protection mode "run...run...keep running...make it in the door...ten seconds left...nine seconds..." and sometimes it takes a little bit of Shabbat to figure out what the right thing to do is. That's one of my favorite things about Judaism, is that it's never too late to make the right choice.
Right now, there are countless soldiers braver than I am standing guard at Gaza, waiting for word from their commanders to put their boots on the ground. These are my boys...these are the soldiers that my base - the Ground Forces base - are responsible for. I have said that this isn't endorsed by the IDF, and that's true...but as a soldier in the Foreign Relations branch of the IDF Ground Forces - and make no mistake, no war has ever been won without putting boots on the ground - who has friends sitting in tanks right now waiting for the word, I think it behooves me to do a little foreign relations:
I want you to become soldiers for Israel.
Now, I know that making Aliyah and joining the IDF might not be your thing (though there are volunteer programs for that if you really want to), there's a lot you can do right now for Israel...and we need you...now, more than ever!
So what can you do for Israel?
If you've just finished High School, or need a semester away from College or have just graduated college and need some time to clear your head, come and volunteer - whether with the IDF, the Magan David Adom, as a Fire Fighter or on a Kibbutz -link don't worry training and Hebrew classes are free - you'll learn how to save lives, you'll help build the land, you'll make life bloom in the desert while working side by side with people from all over the world. Housing and food stipends come standard with every program.
For those of you who don't have the luxury to pick up everything and come for a few months, then come and visit us for a couple of weeks (yes... right now...there's no better time!).
Come and visit and see the beautiful ancient walls of Jerusalem and pray at the Kotel
(speaking as a soldier, we really, really appreciate your prayers! And what better place to do it than in Jerusalem?), come bathe in the natural springs and cool off at our wonderful ocean resorts.Enjoy the finest coffee the middle east has to offer and dance the night away in our nightclubs - Tel Aviv, the city where the party, literally, never stops! Shop for some art in Zichron Ya'akov at the artist colony and enjoy fresh milk from our country's refets (Israel, where we have holy cows!).
Come visit us, we're your country too!
For those of you who do the Sunday crossword puzzle in pen (you know who you are...yes, you) start writing! Write very day to your editor. We need your voice. Ask them why it's Israel's responsibility to treat Hamas terrorists in our hospitals (we did, recently, to one who had a 'work related' incident), ask them why when the Palestinians share borders with Egypt and Jordan it's Israels responsibility to take care of them...ask them why we should be providing them with food, money, gasoline, and Jewish doctors while they're bombing our civilian centers, and ask them why we should consider them partners for peace when they seek our total destruction, their vision of "liberating" Palestine includes all of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and every other city from the north to the south of Israel where Jews live. Ask them why they surround themselves with children and store rockets and bomb making materials near or under schools and use their men, women, and children as human shields.
Ask them every question that should be burning in your chest when you watch this current media circus.
For those who are good with computers...start blogging...start emailing...start YouTubing and twittering...counter every thing you hear with facts, don't back down, don't give an inch!
This current operation in Gaza is about changing the equation, about setting our own terms...and like anything, it's a state of mind...so yes, it's been a little bit scary here recently...but it's our choice as to whether or not we're going to give into fear...help us set the tone, but please - whether you write your editor or start thinking about visiting - don't be quiet...don't forget us...we need your voices...because I'm almost hoarse...and we need to know that you have our backs...because while we get to sleep at home tonight there are IDF soldiers in the rain that falls this time of year in the south who are far away from their homes and there are parents who don't know if their children are going to be coming home again and it's the least we can do!
In Israel, when a bomb goes off we go outside...when a terrorist blows up a cafe, we
go out for coffee and though I was caught up in a state of shock...in Israel you're told two things "look around, and look up" and so I looked around and knew what I had to do to do the right thing and I'm looking up and forward, towards the future...and I can tell you that I'll be sleeping in my room on the Kibbutz come Sunday night.I'll be in Jerusalem, our holy city, for Shabbat this weekend...dancing with Breslovs, walking the ramparts of our old city walls, and putting a note in the wall for everyone...it's blank...so if you need to say anything to the big guy upstairs, there's a blank piece of paper in the wall waiting for you to write your hopes and wishes on it.
But please don't forget us...we need you, I need you to raise your voices!
Acharai! (after me!),
Signed:
Private Matan Ar'ye Schwartz
Foreign Relations Branch, IDF Ground Forces
A look at Tzeva Adom - video - "15 Seconds" ...
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