Israel is under attack and it seems the whole world is against her. A Convoy of Terror against Israel – organized, deliberate, well equipped with deadly arsenal, its members well trained in inflicting terror against the West and calling for the West’s demise – has succeeded beyond the organizers’ wildest imagination. It has successfully delivered an abundant supply of anti-Israel material to an eagerly awaiting world.
I am reminded of that early Tuesday morning when the United States of America was under attack. Many it seems have forgotten. Then, too, it subsequently became known, the terrorists meant to inflict harm to the United States yet did not expect their plans-well researched, planned and rehearsed-to perform so well.
The World Trade Center towers were not expected to collapse the way they did, although the plane bound to DC was thwarted thanks only to the heroism of the passengers. The bravery of the few, the courage shown in face of the greatest adversity, the ability to unite and act together for the greater good that of one’s country, was not taken into account by our enemies. The passengers sacrificed their lives, and we must never forget.
Israel is blamed for having insufficient intelligence thus acting inappropriately. Specifically, the terrorists on board the lead vessel Mavi Marmara had planned for a bloody confrontation, while giving false and misleading interviews in English and other Western languages to the contrary. We should have all known better. It is they who hijacked the many hundreds of so-called peace activists, loading knives, wooden and metal rods and other cold weapons that they intended to use. These were not kitchen utensils and rolling pins.
Israel, instead, acted with the greatest humanity: She gave options for the successful completion of the mission, had it been a true humanitarian mission, then she gave ample warnings, and when all else failed, her top soldiers boarded the vessel expecting spits and curses, not a lynching mob whose intent was to murder the soldiers in cold blood.
The whole world was waiting for that confrontation. We all knew for weeks but have done nothing. Israel’s only error was being too soft, too concerned with human life. The compilation of “International Reactions to the Gaza Flotilla Clash” on Wikipedia was so immediate it is frightening in its length, global scope and uniformity: condemnation after condemnation, not a single exception, with only variations in the intensity of hatred.
The official condemnations were augmented by demonstrations in Israel and throughout the world against the Israeli aggression. Israel was attacked. The confrontation in mid-sea, rather than be solved by eliminating the threat, the way the Russians would have done for example, was the ruse that allowed the gates of ancient hatred, brewing for a very long time above the fires of “Palestinian misery, victimhood and right of self determination” to finally open. The boiling lava has erupted and continues to flow, bright and very dangerous.
Like the volcanic ashes that have frozen travel all over Europe, so too here was Israel stopped right in her tracks. It seemed for a very short moment, a moment that passed so fast it left one astonished, that Israel would be united. “It is a very difficult day” was heard on the streets of Israel, as reported by Dr. Daniel Gordis of Jerusalem. That summed the feelings, atmosphere and true essence of Israel’s position. But soon rumors began flowing, high-ranking officials sought cover, running away from responsibility, the High Court received petitions against the State, the UN acted faster than it ever has and the left has had a field day.
It was a very difficult day not only because hatred supposedly dormant erupted so strongly. Rather, the seven Israeli soldiers who were wounded as they embarked the lead vessel and were ambushed and lynched brought back memories-memories of Itbach al Yahud (kill / butcher / slaughter the Jews) that could have been heard in the 1929 massacres against the Jews, in 1948 as the country was attacked by her Arab neighbors and as recently as two days ago on board a humanitarian-aid convoy and hours later in capitals around the world.
Itbach al Yahud resulted in soldiers who were stubbed, fired upon, beaten almost to death and thrown off board. The real-time footage brought back vivid memories of very similar scenes of peace-loving Palestinians who butchered in a very like manner two Israeli reservist soldiers who took a wrong turn and lost their way. It was on October 12, 2000. Lest it is forgotten, the footage, courtesy of the Italian TV crew, is available on the Internet.
The two innocent soldiers were taken to a “Police Station” where they were beaten almost to death, then thrown out the balcony to the Arab mob downstairs who finished the job, waving hands dripping of the reservists’ innocent blood in a sign of victory for the world to see. Then they paraded with the bodies, much like it was done in Iraq with the bodies of American soldiers.
Lest we forget this Middle Eastern mentality, the thirst for blood of the innocents has been applied not only toward Israelis, but toward Americans as well, not only toward soldiers, but also toward “leftist, peace-loving advocates” the likes of Daniel Pearl who was beheaded on live broadcast for the world to see.
The soldiers now in the hospitals are owed a very deep, personal apology. They were sent onboard the vessels of the Convoy of Terror to complete the wrong mission. They, alone, stood in the face of the most savage adversaries. Capable and strong, honest to their mission yet completely unprepared and unequipped, they went like sheep to the slaughter, and after them we all follow.
The slaughter now continues around the world, and the scenes from the Mavi Marmara are not so farfetched. In a demonstration in Los Angeles, the mob’s behavior could have deteriorated into a lynching against a single Jewish youth carrying the Flag of Israel and wearing a t-shirt with the IDF logo. He wore a yarmulke and embodied for the haters the epitome of Jewish sacrificial blood. His innocence stood alone against their lust for blood, as shouts Allah U Akbar (“god is great”) were chanted by the vicious mob.
Israel is under a well-coordinated, well-orchestrated attack. Her friends are silent as they watch the battle from front row seats. Once again we are living a situation like that of the 1930’s, and the slogan “Never Again” has been silenced by cries of “we must finish the job of exterminating the Jews.” The call to action is being heard around the world, but now there is no one willing to stop evil from once again rearing its ugly head.
*This point-and often-counter-point presentation is sprinkled with humor and sadness and attempts to tackle serious and relevant issues of the day. The series began in 2008, appears both in print in the USA and on numerous websites and is followed regularly by readership from around the world.*