Dear Friends,
I arrived back home late last night, after having spent another day up
North. This was the first time I was there since the cease-fire was declared
last week. More than a month ago, people left their homes not knowing where
they were going. Now more than a month later, these same people don’t know
what they are returning to.
Some people returned to find their homes had been completely destroyed,
others found homes without windows, which had been blown out by the impact
of the missile attacks. Scores of homes have been looted and whole families
have lost absolutely everything they ever owned. There is a severe lack of
food and amenities in many cities. There is a great need for funds to help
these families rebuild their homes and regain a measure of stability.
Israel’s resounding failure in this war is glaringly clear. Ehud Goldwasser
and Eldad Regev, our two soldiers kidnapped by Hizbullah are still in
captivity and we have not been given any information regarding their
well-being or whereabouts. 118 soldiers lost their lives in this war.
Civilians were killed and hundreds were injured. There is severe destruction
all over the North. Israel has not succeeded in defeating Hizbullah. This
cease-fire has highlighted Hizbullah and its benefactors, Iran and Syria’s
greatest victory. Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah and his terrorist group’s
leaders are alive and no longer in hiding. Thousands of Hizbullah terrorists
armed with thousands of missiles and rockets are roaming free in Lebanon.
How long do you think it will take before this cease-fire becomes a thing of
the past?
Throughout the day we met people who spoke of their mixed emotions. They
clearly are happy to no longer be living in bomb-shelters and want to
rebuild their homes and their lives, but they are on edge all of the time
and unsure whether to invest in rebuilding their homes, when it is obvious
that Hizbullah remains an unquestionable threat and it seems inevitable that
we will be at war again in the foreseeable future. One of things common to
all the places we visited were the large amounts of people who told us they
believe this cease-fire is temporary. I have heard Military Intelligence
reports on the news stating that Israel will face a rebuilt Hizbullah within
a maximum of the next two years. We heard how on Wednesday, Hizbullah
terrorists were already taking up observation positions along the northern
border. We then heard from soldiers that they had spotted Hizbullah
terrorists watching them through telescopes. All this clearly proves that
Hizbullah was not sufficiently weakened in this war. Hizbullah have not been
deterred in any way from amassing weapons and ammunition and they are as
determined as ever to continue with its declared position of wiping Israel
off the face of the earth.
I was told in various cities how sirens have been accidently sounded at
times. A woman shared with me her experience when a siren was accidently
sounded in Kiryat Shmona on Thursday morning. It had been three days since
the cease-fire went into effect and she had been in her living room clearing
debris when she heard the siren. She told me how the fear and anxiety came
rushing back as everyone rushed to safety at the nearest bomb-shelter. She
said she was very relieved when they were later told they were allowed to
leave the bomb-shelter but she asked “What will be next time?” She told me
she lives in constant fear that at any moment Hizbullah will launch rockets
into Israel again. I keep hearing of friends and the husbands of my friends
who have been sent home with their army-issued weapons and have been told to
be prepared to be called back at a moment’s notice.
The whole day I was engrossed with thoughts of how this all began. A lethal
ambush of IDF soldiers on the 12th July, resulted in two of our soldiers
being kidnapped and eight others murdered. This was then followed by
Katyusha rocket attacks on all Northern Israeli cities that lasted more than
a month. Hizbullah also attacked an Israeli navy ship, killing four sailors.
As Hizbullah continued rocketing Israel and more and more Israeli soldiers
and civilians were being killed, reserve soldiers received emergency call-up
notices, taking them away from their families and homes and into the
battlefield. It will take months to fully assess the extent of the very
heavy damage to homes and property all over the North. With every day that
passed, the conditions in the bomb-shelters and protected rooms became more
and more dire. Hygiene conditions were terrible in countless shelters and
given how hot it gets in the summer here in Israel, people struggled to
remain in such small, enclosed spaces for such long periods of time,
especially those in bomb-shelters without any fans.
We spent the day distributing food and other items to people in Kiryat
Shmona, Ma’alot, Nahariya, and Haifa. In all these cities, the majority of
residents have returned to their homes but there are still people living in
bomb-shelters as they simply have no home to return to. Given the
cease-fire, this trip was very different and it was very important to me to
meet up with people I had met on previous visits and find out about their
current reality. As a result we went to many, many homes where we were
greeted by familiar faces. Everyone was very grateful for the assistance we
brought them and for our continued efforts despite the cease-fire.
They have not created a word to adequately describe the measure of disgust I
felt when I walked into homes that had been looted. It is a very particular
kind of person who can steal from people who are sitting in bomb-shelters in
order to protect their lives and that of their loved ones from enemy missile
attacks. We saw so many disheveled homes, filled with debris and parts of
missiles. Rooms with craters in the walls, floors and ceilings from missile
attacks. We witnessed the army checking fields and open areas where missiles
had landed, to find missiles that had not yet exploded and therefore still
pose life threatening danger to people in the vicinity. We were told that
many such missiles have been found, some which have only exploded partially
and so those too still pose a threat. It is estimated that there are tens of
thousands of such missiles.
Schools start September 1st in Israel. Yesterday we saw little kids coming
home from school. When I enquired about this, it was explained to us that
some schools and nursery schools have opened their doors especially early,
in order to give children structure and routine, after all they have been
through this summer and after having spent more than a month in underground
shelters and bomb-shelters. While we were in Nahariya I spoke with people
who were very excited, as yesterday was the first time they were receiving
mail since the start of the war. I felt elated to see so many more cars on
the roads. People are coming back to the city even though hundreds have not
yet returned. Everywhere you look, you see destruction, broken glass, and
buildings that suffered direct hits from missile attacks.
Six years ago, the government under the leadership of then-Prime Minister
Ehud Barak, unilaterally pulled our troops out of Lebanon. Those of us who
stood in opposition of this decision stated time and again that doing so put
Israeli lives in danger and would set the framework in which Hizbullah would
be unrestricted in amassing ammunition and missiles with which to terrorise
Israel. Our calls went unheeded and this war saw the return of the IDF to
the security zone in Southern Lebanon from which it left six years ago.
In this war more than 2000 terrorist command rooms, military positions and
logistical warehouses were destroyed by the IDF. Over 7000 targets were
struck by our airforce. More than 170 bridges and 270 vehicles were blown up
and 320 missile launchers were destroyed. In excess of 500 Hizbullah
terrorists were killed and we have at least 20 terrorists in our custody.
Despite all this we did not manage to deter Hizbullah from firing more than
3200 missiles into Israel. The amount of ammunition that the army caught and
impounded is mind-boggling and includes hundreds of anti-tank missiles and
motorbikes which Hizbullah terrorists used for a speedy get-away from the
site of rocket attacks. It has been reported that the level of
sophistication of the night-vision equipment found in the hands of Hizbullah
terrorists has shocked our army.
Throughout the war Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah continued to release
videotapes in which he threatened Israel with continued missile attacks and
restated his aim of eradicating the “Zionist enemy”. Hizbullah is a part of
the coalition Lebanese government. The same government that the
international community has pledged to rush financial aid to and the very
same one who has stated in the clearest of terms, will not make any effort
to disarm Hizbullah.
Let it be clear to everyone that we have to take care of Iran, for it is a
problem that will not disappear. Iran reported last week that starting this
past Saturday it would be launching large-scale military maneuvers all over
Iran, “aimed at introducing Iran’s new defensive doctrine” military
spokesman General Muhammad Reza Ashtiani declared. This announcement was
made as Iran adamantly refuses to suspend its uranium enrichment and nuclear
program and openly supports Hizbullah.
The Palestinian Authority is simply one more Iranian emissary. During this
war in Lebanon, mass rallies in Gaza and Ramallah were organised and led by
so-called moderates within the Fatach party and security forces, in full
support of Hizbullah while demanding that Hassan Nasrallah bomb Tel Aviv.
Furthermore, Palestinian spokesmen have declared that the fate and possible
release of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier kidnapped by Palestinian
terrorists on the 25th June, lies not in their hands but rather in those of
the Iranian and Syrian decision-makers. Syria’s President, Bashar Assad gave
a speech last Tuesday in which he called for the “redeeming of the Golan
Heights” and clearly stated Syria’s intention to destroy Israel. Army
reports tell us that Syria has stockpiles of missiles with the potential of
reaching every part of this country. Think what destruction they will
inflict upon us, if we fight that war the way we just fought this one.
Israel was forced into a war started, paid for and conducted by Arab
terrorists! The U.N. unfailingly aids and supports the very nations
determined to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. How long before U.N.
facilities & interests are added to their list of targets? Could the U.N.
make their agenda any clearer? We know what Hizbullah got out of this
cease-fire. Syria undoubtedly will demand from the U.N. unprecedented
payoffs and rewards for the same.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has his hands full as he tries to survive
politically. There are calls for an investigation by the state commission of
inquiry into grave mistakes made during the war, protests for him to resign
immediately and demands for the cessation of his “realignment plan” or
Disengagement 2. Soldiers from Ma’aleh Rechavam arrived back home from the
battlefield in Lebanon and found letters awaiting them, informing them that
they were slated to be evicted from their homes. I find it inconceivable
that while the country is at war on two fronts, in Lebanon and Gaza, the
government finds the time to destroy Jewish homes. Despite all this, Olmert
insists that Israel was victorious in this war. Olmert is currently being
investigated by state officials on multiple charges of corruption and
illegal political appointments he is suspected of having made while Trade
and Industry Minister. In addition, Olmert and his wife Aliza are under
investigation by the State Comptroller’s Office regarding allegations that
they received approximately half a million dollars in illegal profits on the
purchase of their home in Jerusalem. There are also reports that Olmert
paved the way for the contractor to receive permits from the city, allowing
the construction of an additional two apartments in the same building.
Yesterday, Chaim Ramon resigned from the government as a result of the
indictment filed against him. He is no less than our Justice Minister! He
will stand trial on charges of sexual harassment. Two women have come
forward with charges against him. Not only was he a strong advocate of our
army unilaterally leaving Lebanon in 2000 and Gaza last year, but as
recently as March of this year, he claimed that Hizbullah would not dare
attack Israel. The list of members of Knesset currently under investigation
and those who have already been indicted is lengthy.
While government officials on every level are tripping over themselves to
place blame on each other for the huge errors and short-sightedness of this
war, IDF Chief of Staff, Dan Chalutz, not only continues to assert the great
success of this war, but is under attack for his audacity in taking the time
to liquidate his investment portfolio three hours after our two soldiers
were kidnapped by Hizbullah and while the IDF was entering this war. He too,
must be sent home.
Where was our leadership? Where are they now? They still talk about the
possibility of living in peace with our neighbours. Can one truly be that
blind and delusional? Have they really learned nothing from the wars we have
fought and from the clear, methodical and consistent speech and actions of
our self-declared enemies?
Wherever we went yesterday, from city to city we heard repeated time and
again how the residents of these cities are receiving aid and help from
private volunteers and organisations and from some municipalities in the
country and nothing from the government! We saw street-cleaning machines
that were sent to the North from Jerusalem to help clean streets all over
the North. We met residents of Ra’anana who have been helping to clear
fields, parks and debris in Kiryat Shmona. We met countless volunteers from
all over the country who have generously given of their time to clean and
repaint bomb-shelters in preparation for the next time that our brothers and
sisters will be needing them in order to protect their lives – and that time
is not far-off!
With the help of all of you who have contributed so generously to our
project, we will continue to send trucks filled with ready-prepared meals to
the North daily. While funds continue to come in, the food and supplies will
continue to provide some measure of comfort to as many people as we are able
to provide for. I remain deeply indebted to all of you who have and continue
to send money and to those who have brought packages of other supplies to my
home. The people in the North are unfailingly grateful and appreciative!
No comments:
Post a Comment