The evacuation of Gaza is now completed, and the world has been watching closely. As a proud member of the Jewish People, I have nothing but admiration for the soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces, for the humane way they carried out this most difficult military assignment. Most soldiers train to fight against their enemies; the Israeli army was specially trained to evacuate their own families, friends, and sometimes even their own rabbis and teachers. In fact, there was nothing easy about this assignment; according to the NY Times, an Arab reporter on the scene asked his anchor in Dubai, "Did you see the soldiers crying?" Yes, we all saw the soldiers crying and anyone with a heart and soul had to be moved by their compassion coupled with their calm discipline under exceedingly trying conditions. More tears were shed than blood, and that speaks volumes about the talent and the humanity of the Israeli Defense Forces.
I believe that on both sides, something precious was lost and something precious was found. On the Israeli side, what was lost were the hopes, dreams and aspirations that the settlers had for their future in Gaza. Some settlers had lived in Gaza for over thirty years; they were encouraged to build their homes there by Ariel Sharon himself. They showered their love onto the land; for them, Gaza was a gift promised by God, and the sadness of leaving overshadowed the pride they must have felt at making the dry land bloom. This land which had started out uninhabitable, became a land rich in crops and vegetables and flowers and food. Losing their homes, and their Divine sense of mission, brought palpable grief to those who had to leave. And who can blame them?
And what did they find? The Israelis gained the respect of the world community. Or at least they should have, but the sounds of the world's nations' applauding have been muted, to put it mildly. What other nation could have pulled of what the Israelis did, with so little violence, and with no loss of life? In addition, the exit from Gaza is yet another step toward Israel gaining back its Jewish majority. With the rising Arab birthrate, the demographics had begun to work against the State of Israel retaining its Jewish majority. The Jewish State is entitled to have a Jewish majority and so now it will.
On the Palestinian side, what was found was new land to settle, for the new country they hope to create. In the nascent Palestinian State, Gaza will serve as the living laboratory. Here is where the Palestinian nation will birth itself; here is where the societal norms will be created, where true freedom for all, women as well as men; where quality education for the next generation, which will recognize the State of Israel as a neighbor not an enemy; where the creation of jobs and a fair economy, will all take hold. What a find!
What have the Palestinians lost? It seems to me that they have lost forever the ability to blame Israel for all their problems. For now, it is all up to them; they must be the ones who will begin to translate the harsh words of their prayers into the hard work of their hands. They must be the ones who will begin to lay down their armaments and their harmful rhetoric in favor of publicly proclaimed peaceful intentions and the desire to live in peace with Israel.
Lost and found-we only learn anything important about ourselves by how we respond to the losses in our lives. Both Israel and the Palestinians have suffered great losses this past week. Perhaps these losses will lead to a greater realization that what has been found will contribute to a world of peace. What a find that would be for the whole world.
Rabbi Mel Glazer
Temple Israel of the Poconos
Stroudsburg, PA
570 421-8781
http://www.templeisraelofthepoconos.org
The process of researching this topic has been an interesting... Read More
Industrial Recruiting. The absence of a state income tax in... Read More
Death may not be dignified in any light but the... Read More
ACCREDITATION: - Scholastic regimentation from the post WWII period has... Read More
These leaders like the Rothschilds who backed Crowley's Hermetic Order... Read More
We learned some lessons in these last few wars. For... Read More
One question not addressed in GM Crops and Monsanto Terminator... Read More
The European Court of Justice ("ECJ") ruled in Praktiker Bau-... Read More
Iran has threatened to raise America's fuel prices again. They... Read More
With new environmental technologies and modern efficiency methods in mining... Read More
I would like to discuss a few issues we have... Read More
The FTC franchising division purports their law enforcement experience in... Read More
Bosnia-Herzegovina (heretofore "Bosnia") is an artificial polity with four, tangentially... Read More
The United States has enemies, which call the country the... Read More
Here are some miscellaneous thoughts on issues many of which... Read More
You know we have sent many, many army tanks with... Read More
Many in the World Media are quick to judge the... Read More
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act Was created on July 30th 2002, by... Read More
Indonesia's Energy Minister, Purnomo Yusgiantoro, is unhappy with the modest... Read More
Recently scientists have been watching the exponential growth of marine... Read More
Our Airports have excess capacity, which is not being used... Read More
In the event of that a threatening nation to the... Read More
Maybe some of the people complaining ought to go to... Read More
Let's put it all into perspective: the U.S. has an... Read More
I heard on the news this week how America continues... Read More
Well many have complained that the FBI and CIA dropped... Read More
The prosecutors in the Martha Stewart Case used testimony from... Read More
Many are very impressed with the NIMA (National Imagery and... Read More
As concerns grow over the threat of bioterrorism and weapons... Read More
You, the reader, should be aware of my affluence of... Read More
Clint Eastwood recently plunged into the murky political pond with... Read More
Einstein when ask how did he believe WWIII would be... Read More
On June 16, 1972, a security guard at the Watergate... Read More
The more I study the dynamics of WWII the more... Read More
Tulipmania - this is the name coined for the first... Read More
A Governmental commission, headed personally by the Prime Minister has... Read More
The official working week is being reduced to 35 hours... Read More
With the recent shakeups in the presidential cabinet, it has... Read More
Well, another election has come and gone in the US... Read More
There is nothing-absolutely nothing-insofar as political power when it is... Read More
Unions are angry at the high salary of the executives... Read More
The number-one question people ask us is, "What possessed you... Read More
In the previous article, we described the various methods developed... Read More
I was dismayed to learn the other day, that my... Read More
Regarding the issues with the Space Shuttle and the in... Read More
As global warming continues to escalate the concerns of today's... Read More
I propose a special Projection Device code-named: "TIPED". This system... Read More
I am an incurably ill American male forced to leave... Read More
Rational, sober, logical citizens wonder what exactly the terrorists want.... Read More
Many folks who are pro-NASA and Pro-Space Colonies say that... Read More
Recently I met a man in a coffee shop, a... Read More
30 years ago, California, later followed by other states, decided... Read More
A. THE PHILOSOPHY OF COMPETITIONThe aims of competition (anti-trust) laws... Read More
Much of our personal and cultural perspective on the world... Read More
The Right's defense of John Thune in the Dan Nelson/MetaBank... Read More
We know that the International Terrorists like the idea of... Read More
Land Mines have been one of the most evil left... Read More
Any chances for a country to be ruled by alternative... Read More
America has some monetary issues, which need to be addressed.... Read More
To be justified, taxes should satisfy a few conditions:Above all,... Read More
In discussing the OODA Loop theory on Limited War by... Read More
Where are all the high-speed trains we were promised? Where... Read More
Today we have a new franchise report from the Federal... Read More
This is the second of a series of four articles... Read More
"Those who sacrifice essential liberty for temporary safety are not... Read More
In Belarus parliament is going to struggle with degeneration of... Read More
Political |