For years now I have been writing the Israel news for overseas readers, as so much of it didn’t filter through or was mis-represented and twisted by the international media.
When I look back over all my many blogs and posts, now with the benefit of hindsight, it was obvious that the status quo of regular mini defensive wars with Gaza would one day explode into something much more deadly. That doesn’t minimise at all, all the tragic deaths that have been caused by the incessant rocket fire over the past 20 years, but we genuinely thought we had some control and deterrent.
We could never have imagined in our worst nightmares the Black Shabbat of October 7th.
Despite all our awareness of the atrocities of the Holocaust we did really believe that Israel guaranteed “Never Again”. How very wrong we were !
The massacre was not even on our door step but right inside our front door !
The task of rehabilitating the nation and restoring trust and calm into people’s souls is huge, and even, perhaps, insurmountable at this time.
Being outside of Israel due to family commitments we are doing all that we can to support the “ Bring them Home” campaigns in the UK, and this week we attended a Shloshim which traditionally marks the second phase in the Jewish mourning process.
Firstly, after the funeral there is the Shiva, which lasts seven days and then the Shloshim marks 30 days. It felt so unreal because as a people we feel that we are still in day 1. Day 1 may already be 30 days old in numerical terms, but until all the hostages are released and all the body parts are recovered, how can we even start the mourning process, let alone heal.
Everyone must protect themselves, not only physically, but emotionally and spiritually. Yes we have been broken but we must put our broken selves back together to have the strength to fight for the hostages and support the IDF.
We must be very selective about the news we read and what we expose ourselves too. Its very hard as every time we think or pray for the hostages we feel the heartbreak and Hamas can easily turn us all into their victims by breaking our souls and hearts. We mustn’t let them.
Here in London we are expecting the Million Man March in support of Palestine on Sunday. This is rather daunting, as we are hearing of random attacks against Jews, in Paris, LA, and now a Jewish school in Montreal .
The marches in London chant “From the River to the Sea”, which is a call for genocide, but is apparently acceptable in London as Jihad can apparently be interpreted different ways. In reality these marches condone and support the massacre of 1400 people and the snatching of over 200 hostage in the South of Israel…. but the British Police refuse to ban them or arrest the protesters.
The bus that was circling London last week with the photos of the hostages was in fact deemed likely to cause social unrest and told to stop driving around central London. The posters of the kidnapped are removed, not only by those who support the massacre but also by the police !
While we are lucky enough in the UK to have a government that supports Israel, they do not seem to have control over the actions of those who are against Israel and are publicly promoting anti semitism.
The Kristallnacht which occurred 85 years ago today, on November 9th, left no doubt about the intentions of the Nazis against the Jews. The world stood by and did nothing and within a few short years all of Europe was ablaze.
Hamas has left no doubt about their intentions against the Jews, and while most democratic governments continue to support Israel from afar, they are failing to stem the rise of anti semitism and hatred that is spilling out onto the streets in many capitals of Europe.
The lamps went out in Europe in 1914 killing around 20 million, and culminated by the end of WW11 into a further 50-60 million deaths, 6 million being Jews rounded up from their homes and sent to cruel deaths and torture by the Nazis, ; wiping out all Jewish communities in central and Eastern Europe.
We can clearly see today why there is such a need for the Jewish people to be able to protect themselves, and while that protection tragically and temporarily fell short on October 7th, today the IDF are battling night and day to remove the threat that would happily repeat many Kirstallnachts in Israel.
There should be no talk of a ceasefire until all the hostages are released.This must be the last war that Israel is forced to fight with Hamas.
If the world does not want to see Europe ablaze again and their way of life threatened and destroyed they had better wake up, weed out and arrest those who support genocide and massacres before it is once again too late.
Shabbat Shalom