Israel's Stabbing Intifada: Test for the Nations?

Erev Shabbat Noach

4 Heshvan 5776

This post is dedicated l’iluy nishmat Nehama Consuelo bat Sarah Imeinu v’Avraham Avinu on her 2nd yom neshama.

Last Tuesday, I had to go downtown (not the Old City, but modern downtown Yerushalayim) for my semi-annual dental appointment. This is the sort of ordinary thing people do in cities every day. Fortunately for you, I did not personally witness any of the terrorist attacks that were going on during that very period of time; so, you are spared that much unless you dare click the links above. A lot of it is graphic because the Arabs who made the videos love blood and gore – but the CCTV footage from security cameras (which is mostly what I linked to) also serves us to remind the media that it cannot get away with “alleged” as a descriptor of the perpetrators or the actions. If you can see it on raw (unedited) footage, it is no longer alleged, but actual. No Photoshopping here!

While I’m at it, I should point out that the Almighty is at work making miracles as well!

As you might be aware, the Jews of Israel are undergoing the trial of their lives (and for some, their murder). It has been said that no matter how bad the situation has been prior to now, the tension each of us bears has never been greater. All parts of the country have seen murderous attacks on civilians, and many of them who survived are in the hospital in what we call “moderate” condition. This basically means it could go either way.

I have not come to those of you outside Israel today to whine and complain, but with a warning. You might not have realized that this situation is as much a test for you as it is for us. Here’s what I think about it until now; there could be even more.

Inside Israel…

I believe our test in Israel is whether we will look to G-d and call to Him in the midst of our fear, anger, stress and, for some, the loss of loved ones, and whether our self-defense is out of our faith (emunah אמונה) that He is on our side, or just because we think we have the right to (and, while this is important, it is not all. Any human being has that right.). Will we “keep our eyes on the prize” – concentrate on getting to our destiny as Israel Redeemed, which our enemies are doing everything they can to keep us away from, and thus in the process thwart their own destiny as part of World Redeemed? – or crash and burn because we forget why we are here, in our Holy Land, at this important juncture in history?

Outside Israel…

The first part of your test is your “ear for music.” What I mean is: Is the information you are getting on key or off key? On- or off-beat? Starting on the right foot, or on the wrong one? Does it make sense?

Too many times, while we have been relentlessly attacked, the media say nothing. They are the three monkeys: see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. Only when Israel strikes back do they suddenly come alive and report, unceasingly. As a good musician with an ear for music would be able to know immediately that something is wrong with what s/he is hearing, we should be able to know when we are hearing disinformation, no matter how long and how unceasingly it has been going on.

If you, dear reader, have heard this music all your life, you are certainly welcome to hear something else for a change, and so that you may figure out the truth for yourself. Not your truth or my truth, but the truth. Evidence abounds, but it’s all in the sequence of events: If you leave off the first event, and put the second one first, it is as though, in 4/4 time, you start on 2 rather than 1. I find this all the time when it comes to news about Israel, which is why I often add on items for further reading after my posts.

Musicians will know what I am talking about. I am sure there are other, more useful metaphors if you’re not one.

Secondly, whether you are Jewish or not, does your thought process change when it comes to Israel, as opposed to any other country? Do you hold her to standards you would consider impossible if your country were held to them? If so, why?

For myself, there is yet another test: Am I “preaching to the choir” – that is, reaching only people who agree with me, whether inside or outside Israel, Jewish or not – or am I gaining the attention of some who thought differently prior to reading this blog and others like it?

An interesting insider’s view...

From Dr. Phyllis Chesler, on A7:

A leftist Israeli friend called to tell me how "shocked" he was that an attack took place in Kiryat Gat, in Petach Tikva, "within the '49 lines." He really thought that the despised Jewish "settlement" was only on the 'West Bank' or in East Jerusalem.

Said I: "But the odious "settlement" has always been Tel Aviv, it has always been the last Jew standing in a sovereign, Jewish state."

You don’t have to take it from me.

Better yet, read this Geula update from Rav Yosef Berger (English translation by Rav "Yeranen Yaakov"). Some of our rabbis also believe that redemption could come as soon as the 10^th of Tevet (22 December). It could get worse – possibly a whole lot worse – before it gets better. I hope each of us merits to make it.

Shabbat Noach shalom.

P.S. Around here lately, you can't even trust a photojournalist...

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16 October 2015