The Israeli Message – We will prevail. We have no choice; we are home and we aren’t going anywhere
By Harris Zvi Green
December 1, 2023
My dearest friends,
After not having seen Omer for eight weeks, he finally made it home for the weekend. We were thrilled to see him and hear about his experiences. Omer is only 21 years old. He has had to shoulder enormous responsibility for achieving his unit’s objectives on the battlefield and ensuring the safety of his soldiers. We are so proud of him and our other serving grandchildren. Indeed, we’re proud of all our soldiers and volunteers.
The week began with a cessation of hostilities to enable a so-called “prisoner exchange”. The release of convicted terrorists plus humanitarian aid to Gaza in return for people who couldn’t harm a fly – elderly ladies, mothers, teenagers and young children. The aid includes fuel which will certainly find its way to re-energizing the Hamas military machine.
At the time of writing these lines, Hamas continues to hold 145 hostages in captivity under the most appalling conditions. The hostages include 10-month-old Kfir, his four-year-old brother, Ariel, and their parents, Shiri and Yarden Bibas. Nineteen of the hostages are more than 60 years old. After 55 days, we don’t know who’s alive and who’s no longer with us.
We’ve gone full circle.
Israel is, once again, perceived to be the aggressor. Hamas and Gaza are perceived to be the victims and the underdogs. As expected, the international community has made a conscious decision to forget the events of October 7. These have now been relegated to obscure footnotes in the history books in order to cast the Palestinian narrative in concrete.
But the Israeli people will not forget the events of October 7. We will not move on and wait for yet another round of violence.
Last week a friend sent me a mail with a self-filmed clip of a gang rape by Hamas militants on October 7. He asked for my opinion as to whether he should distribute the clip to his mailing list.
I deliberately refrained from watching the clip. I don’t have the stomach for such animalistic behavior. I can only imagine that the images in the clip are so horrific that they are literally unbelievable.
I suggested to my friend that, out of respect for the victim and her family, he shouldn’t distribute the clip. I will, however, share with you the caption to the clip.
Eyewitness accounts: Palestinian terrorists gang rape Israeli girl, cut off her breasts while she’s still alive, then shoot her in the head and continue to rape her.
My apologies for having violated your sensitivities so invasively by sharing this. Its depravity shocked me to the core. These are the monsters Israel has to deal with. These are the sadists whose crimes are being sanitized by the UN, some Western leaders and much of the media.
My parents and teachers of blessed memory taught me to differentiate between good and evil. They taught me that truth was the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Shame was the painful feeling of humiliation.
Fast forward over my life span.
Good is no longer good. What we deemed good is now considered feeble. It reflects weakness. Evil is much worse than it ever was. As for the truth, it’s no longer relevant. There’s no more shame. Anything can be rationalized. Everything is excusable.
Meaningless words like “decolonization” and “apartheid” have been created or rebranded to whitewash and justify the most heinous acts of terror.
Friends, there’s no colonization and no apartheid in Israel. I know that. You know that. We all know that. So, let’s drop all the buzz-words with their negative connotations. Demonizing Israel and rationalizing anti-Semitism won’t advance peace.
International leaders, empowered by the media, hear the arguments. They refuse to listen. They see the terror. They choose not to register. They want to move on. They don’t give a damn about Israel’s well-being, her right to security and her government’s duty to protect her citizens.
Irish Premier, Leo Varadkar, gleefully announced that Israeli-Irish national, Emily Hand, was “found after having been lost.” He made a conscious decision to ignore the fact that 9-year-old Emily was brutally kidnapped and held hostage in a Hamas prison for 50 days. He deliberately made this gross misrepresentation of the facts to provide credibility for a false narrative.
In a carefully orchestrated act, the Prime Ministers of Spain and Belgium called for the prisoner release cease-fire to be made permanent. This would achieve stalling Israel’s military offensive, saving the genocidal Hamas leadership and get us back to square one. These guys should stick to football. Conflict resolution and making the Middle East a safer place in which to live are clearly not their forte.
Spain announced its intention to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state. That’s quite a reward for the Hamas October 7 massacre and the public hanging by Hamas militants of two Palestinians suspected of “collaborating with Israel”. It’s so easy for the PMs of Spain and Belgium to propose suicidal scenarios that don’t affect their own security. Does anybody believe such a scenario in the Middle East is a viable option to end the conflict?
What does this say about those who elected these clowns to their positions? We will not allow these people to determine our future.
Kay Burley, Sky television anchor, claims Israel’s agreeing to release 150 Hamas prisoners in exchange for 50 Israeli hostages proves Israel cares less about the value of Palestinian lives than Israeli lives. What gives her the right to draw a moral comparison between normative Israeli citizens and convicted Hamas terrorists? If the numbers bother her so much, why doesn’t Ms. Burley criticize the Hamas leadership for demanding this outrageous rate of exchange?
Israel continues to receive lectures from biased television personalities regarding its obligations under International Law. Yet, these same self-styled “champions of human rights” haven’t got what it takes to read the riot act to the Hamas leadership. BBC’s Middle East correspondent, Jeremy Bowen sounds like a shyster lawyer trying to negotiate a plea bargain with an alcoholic judge on behalf of a small-time pimp cum drug dealer in a one-horse town.
I can go on and on and on, but, like me, by now, you must be experiencing motion sickness.
In spite of it all, Israel will prevail. We have no choice. We are home and we aren’t going anywhere. We’re between the river and the sea and we are free.
My condolences to those mourning their nearest and dearest. My wishes to the injured for a complete and speedy recovery. May God protect our brave soldiers.
Wishing you all Shabbat Shalom and better times ahead.
Am Yisrael Chai.
Harris Zvi Green
About the writer:
Harris Zvi Green, born in Cape Town / South-Africa. Graduated from the University of Cape Town with a B. Com. degree and immigrated to Israel 53 years ago. He served as the Chief Financial Officer at a number of Israeli hi-tech companies. He is now retired. Married with 3 married children and is the proud grandfather of 13 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren.
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