{"id":30106,"date":"2012-11-20T14:31:11","date_gmt":"2012-11-20T14:31:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?p=30106"},"modified":"2017-02-27T06:22:11","modified_gmt":"2017-02-27T11:22:11","slug":"you-need-to-fight-israels-second-war-efrem-goldberg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/israel\/you-need-to-fight-israels-second-war-efrem-goldberg\/","title":{"rendered":"You<\/em> Need to Fight Israel’s Second War"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the most inspiring possessions I own sits in my office at\u00a0shul\u00a0<\/em>(synagogue).<\/p>\n

I received it in 2006 when I went with a group of my\u00a0shul<\/em>\u00a0members to Israel to volunteer in the North in the wake of the second Lebanon war.\u00a0 On that mission, we toured Sderot and saw firsthand the damage and destruction left by kassam rockets and the metal pellets that were packed therein.\u00a0 Eli Moyal, then mayor of Sderot, described to us what it means to have 15 seconds to find cover when a warning siren is sounded.<\/p>\n

We asked him how the people of his city, and the South in Israel in general, have persevered. For years, the parents of Sderot have sent their children to school not knowing if their sons and daughters will come home.\u00a0 Every time they leave their houses, residents of Sderot must be cognizant of the closest bomb shelter in case a siren goes off.\u00a0 We asked Moyal,\u00a0How have they found the strength and capacity to endure such a lifestyle?<\/em><\/p>\n

At that moment, the Mayor handed me a metal tulip.\u00a0 As I accepted it, he explained that the flower was made out of the shrapnel of a kassam rocket that landed in Sderot.\u00a0 He explained that the flower was emblematic of the challenge they face.\u00a0 The people of Israel turn the remains of a rocket into a flower, while their enemies would transform a flower into a murderous weapon if they could. Indeed, the small plaque on the flower states: \u201cSderot Tulip: From the destruction of kassams, a symbol of peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

The plain truth is that our people, and the people of Israel, have sought peace throughout our history. \u00a0Our tradition teaches that\u00a0shalom<\/em>, peace, is the greatest blessing.\u00a0 Kaddish, the\u00a0amidah\u00a0<\/em>(the “Standing Prayer”), and the Talmud itself all end with a prayer for\u00a0shalom<\/em>.\u00a0\u00a0 The Jewish people\u2019s faith in the possibility of living in peace has propelled us to survive persecution, hatred and anti-Semitism throughout the millennia.\u00a0 Whenever Israel has met an authentic partner in peace, she has made the concessions necessary to sign and maintain a peace treaty.<\/p>\n

It is therefore particularly painful, as always, to watch the world\u2019s reaction to Israel\u2019s effort to defend her citizens against incessant and unrelenting rocket attacks.\u00a0 Yes, many have stood up for Israel, including President Obama who took a critically important public position on this conflict. The White House released a statement saying: \u201cThe President reiterated to Prime Minister Netanyahu the United States\u2019 support for Israel\u2019s right to self-defense in light of the barrage of rocket attacks being launched from Gaza against Israeli civilians.\u00a0 The two agreed that Hamas needs to stop its attacks on Israel to allow the situation to de-escalate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thanks in large part to AIPAC\u2019s action alert, a resolution passed the Senate 100-0 supporting Israel\u2019s \u201cinherent right to act in self-defense to protect its citizens against acts of terrorism.\u201d\u00a0 I encourage you to take a moment to write letters to Senators throughout the country to thank them.\u00a0 You can do so easily by visiting\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Photo Credit: Honest Reporting<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But for many in the media, the reporting on Israel is neither fair nor balanced (or, worse, accurate at all<\/a>). \u00a0Perhaps nobody has been more slanted in their reporting than the\u00a0New York Times<\/em>.<\/p>\n

On the\u00a0Times<\/em>‘ Friday morning cover, the headline stated: \u201cIsrael and Hamas Step Up Air Attacks in Gaza Clash,\u201d thereby creating a moral equivalence between the Hamas rockets and Israel\u2019s attempt at self-defense.<\/p>\n

Even more disturbing are the two large pictures immediately underneath.\u00a0 One is of the corpse and funeral of Ahmed al-Jabari, the leader of the military arm of Hamas who was responsible for Gilad Shalit\u2019s capture as well as countless terrorist attacks and rocket launches. Underneath is the picture of the funeral for Mirah Scharf, the pregnant Chabad Rebbetzin serving in New Delhi who was visiting Israel to commemorate the\u00a0yahrzeit\u00a0<\/em>(anniversary of someone’s death) of the murdered Holtzbergs when a Hamas rocket hit her apartment and killed her.<\/p>\n

Placing such a headline above those two pictures is tantamount to portraying a parallel between the funeral of Osama Bin Laden and one of an innocent victim killed in the Twin Towers.<\/p>\n

In an article on Thursday describing events, the\u00a0Times<\/em>\u00a0wrote: \u201cHamas mostly adhered to an informal cease-fire with Israel after the war since 2008-09.\u201d\u00a0 Mostly adhered?\u00a0 Hamas has fired 1,345 rockets into Israel during that period.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Times\u00a0<\/em>further wrote, \u201cThe abrupt escalation in hostilities between Israel and Hamas, the militant organization regarded by Israel as a terrorist group…..\u201d Regarded by Israel?\u00a0 Our own US State Department has declared Hamas a terrorist group.<\/p>\n

Most egregiously, in their initial report on the targeted assassination of Ahmed al-Jabari, the Times waited until the sixth paragraph to mention the barrage of rockets that have been raining down on Israel.<\/p>\n

When Israel needs to defend herself, she must fight minimally two wars simultaneously.\u00a0 There is the war to defeat her sworn enemies and then there is the war to win public opinion and portray reality accurately.\u00a0 Arguably, nobody in the world is better trained and more prepared to fight the first type of war than the Israeli army. \u00a0As we watch from afar, we must accept the fact that there is nothing we can do to intercept rockets or eliminate terrorists.\u00a0However, there is much we can do to triumph on the second front and perhaps nobody can do it as well as we can.<\/p>\n

We must hold the media accountable to report what is unfolding accurately.\u00a0 I implore you to write letters to the editor of local and national newspapers.\u00a0 Take to social media to get out the accurate story of what is occurring in our beloved homeland.\u00a0 We must keep the pressure on our elected officials to continue to publicly show support for Israel and her right to defend herself.\u00a0\u00a0 Thank them when they do and place pressure on them if they don\u2019t.\u00a0 Sign up for\u00a0AIPAC\u2019s action alerts<\/a>\u00a0to learn exactly what you can do when you are needed most.<\/p>\n

If Israel is to triumph in all aspects of this latest conflict, the IDF must do its job and we must do ours.<\/p>\n

But we must not neglect one more partner in this battle. The name Israel has chosen for this operation is being translated as Operation Pillar of Defense. However, its official Hebrew name is so much more significant: Operation\u00a0Amud Anan<\/em>, Pillar of Clouds.<\/p>\n

The reference, of course, is to the Biblical account of the Clouds of Glory that protected the Jews from any harm from above as we traveled through the desert on our way to the promised land.<\/p>\n

Thousands of years ago we had no choice but to rely on the protection provided by the miraculous clouds of glory.\u00a0 Today, we have merited another kind of miracle in the form of the young men and women of the incredibly powerful Israeli army.<\/p>\n

We have begun the month of\u00a0Kislev<\/em>\u00a0that contains the holiday of Chanukah.\u00a0 Years ago, a battle raged in Israel of the few against the many. As we look out at the countries that surround Israel and those that are biased against her throughout the world, we are reminded that yet again we number the few against the many.<\/p>\n

May Hashem protect His country and His people and give them the resolve and tenacity to persevere.\u00a0 May the people of Sderot smell the flowers of peace and no longer have to fashion the tulips of kassams.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Support OU Israel by clicking here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tell us your stories<\/a>\u00a0about living In Israel under the specter of war and rockets.\u00a0It can be your story or something you’ve heard from a friend or loved one.\u00a0Support each other with your shared experiences<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Rabbi Efrem Goldberg<\/strong>\u00a0is the Senior Rabbi of the Boca Raton Synagogue (BRS) in Boca Raton, Florida. He serves as Co-Chair of the Orthodox Rabbinical Board\u2019s Va\u2019ad Ha\u2019Kashrus, as Director of the Rabbinical Council of America\u2019s South Florida Regional Beis Din for Conversion, and as Posek of the Boca Raton Mikvah.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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