365. For 365 days the Jewish nation has been counting down. One October 7th to the next October 7th and all that has come in between. All that continues in a putrid overflow of hate; all that is turning our tomorrows into our todays as they, in turn, throw us violently, unwillingly into our yesterdays. All, that for a member of the Jewish people, is always here, a presence, a darkness lurking, biding its time. And STRIKE it does.
These 365 days of in-between, have been as Sir Simon Schama states "a punch to the soul". Succinct. Bitter. Defiant. A deep sadness. Once again, a “drop into a sort of sinkhole”. From deep down we hear the echoes of raucous bloodthirsty voices calling for our demise. We hear the sound of broken glass. New boundaries limiting us. Denying us membership in the human race. Canceling us and our productivity. Worst of all, is a denial of a future for our young.
Immured within that deep pit a rotten odor permeates the air. We become aware of a drip, of multiple drops, a growing accumulation of nasty polluted waters of a fetid swamp. Deeper. Drowning us. Ever widening ripples. No footholds. No handholds. And so once again the people of Israel must fight, despite overwhelming odds. Yet again. Ever again. Today or tomorrow or yesterday - apparently it makes no difference.
Once again, we are reminded that we are not the overlord of our lives. Other people, other events, and an eternal hatred all share in the blame and causality. We too are a contributing factor as we allowed ourselves to grow smug in our acceptance into society, in the successful lives we have built. Thus, that punch was perfectly positioned to smack us in the heart, to delve deep within our souls. We took down the steel walls we had built for our safety, and we were ripe for the taking.
October 7, 2023. A drowsy nation coming to life on a sleepy holiday morning. Or gathered in anticipation of the sunrise, at a dance festival. Families looking forward to their visitors of the day. Walking their dogs or enjoying the weather. Certainly not expecting multiple flying machines with armed men. Overwhelmed. Masses of motorcycles carrying men shooting guns in the air, shooting at people. Screaming with crazed harsh voices, calling for blood, blood of the Yahud, blood of the Jews. Size, age, gender -no matter. Anxious to call parents and boast of their body count. Uniformed. Nonuniformed. Tractors, cars. Murderous hearts. Beastly souls. And the slaughter began. Men, women, children, infants - it mattered not. All were considered fair targets, all to heighten the pain. It will never, ever truly heal. The scab constantly picked and torn. And so, we bled - great buckets of blood. And so, our children were stolen. Our elderly in danger. Our women brutally violated. Raped. By beasts in human form.
For perhaps five nanoseconds the world spoke words of sympathy. 5 seconds after that the emptiness of those words was glaringly clear. “horrifying” and “unforgivable” that before any Israeli troops had even entered Gaza, “the victims were being blamed for the catastrophe and people just started screaming ‘genocide’ at us”. So it began; so it continues. However, there was a difference as for once there was a unity among the nations of the world - virulent, toxic, antisemitism morphed very quickly into a rabid JewHatred. Paid activists sent by Iran, along with dupes and fellow murderous haters, university students and fifth column professors engaged in a war with Jews on their campus, to war with Jews of the world and a war with Israel to demand its cancelation, accusing it of genocide. The nation of those who had actually undergone an attempted genocide almost perfect in its attempt to reach its goal.
The authorities of the campus world, of nations, of the world. were impotent. Most probably purposely so. Egregious hate speech was excused, claimed as free speech. I wonder what would have happened if the blood being called for had been that of any other group. Would the world have stood still for that? Many doubts on that. In fact, no doubts for that never would have been. Those words would have been shut off. This spigot broken.
However, we were not broken. The laws and rules of Judaism showed us the way. The Bible spoke of war with very strict guidelines and those guidelines were followed. Yes, there was collateral damage of “civilians”. However, the enemy is where that enemy is and one must fight that enemy where it is. When that enemy specifically places its civilians in a place of danger as a weapon of war, then so be it. Responsibility for that is upon them, not the one waging a defensive war foisted upon them. We Jews have learned well the lessons and truths of history, that in every generation there will arise one who desires our extermination. Our responsibility, our duty, is to defeat them. Iran. Hamas, Hezbollah, Houti. All their supporters, all who joined them in bloodlust, one and the same. Yet it is Israel who is condemned.
We are not down and out. No way. No how. Never. Never again will we allow others to decide our fate. We need to exercise our rights as an entitled nation - entitled to defend itself, entitled to wage war when it is forced upon them. Entitled to fight the enemy where the enemy is. Blame for collateral damage of civilians belongs on the shoulders of those who use civilians as a weapon of war.
Nor have the Jews of the diaspora given up. Anti Zionism is Anti Semitism is JewHatred. The idea of Zion, our homeland, our eternal wish to return from Diaspora, from Exile, to our home, is woven into our very DNA. It cannot be denied, and it cannot be forgotten. We have longed for, prayed for, fought for - a constant. Never denied. Woven deep within our very souls. Never discarded. Weak Jews who collaborate with the enemy are of no account in this matter.
Millennia of persecution and murder have not won the day. We are here. We are here and here we remain. Millenia of persecution and murder have not won the day. The cost is dear, but we will continue to pay it. We paid for it in the ghettos. We paid for it in the concentration camps We paid for it in the mounds of dead in the ravines. But we will not be wiped off the face of this earth. And we will not concede the disappearance of the state of Israel, nor our right to be there. We will defy any and all who think or attempt otherwise.
October 7. 2023. Continuing every day, every single day. Our hostages are dying, our people are dying but our nation continues on, forever. We are one and there are over 400 events in America, joined by events in Canada, joined by a mass march in South Korea in support of Israel, joined by protests and gatherings worldwide, - No, we Jews will not remain silent. We will not go down silently. We will not cooperate that way and we will do and say what we must do and say.
Am Yisrael Chai. The people of Israel live.
Lanetzach - Forever.
Amen Selah.
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