Today was a tough day for me. For a few minutes it appeared that a swarm of drones crossed from Lebanon into Israel. Fortunately, that was an erroneous report predicated on a mistaken alert. Not clear, is whether the terrorist infiltration alert issued for Ma’ayan Baruch, a kibbutz abutting the border with Lebanon was erroneous too. That alert struck me. I worked the fields of that Kibbutz fifty years ago. Over the last few years, I returned several times and I wrote about the kibbutz and its prior brushes with PLO terrorists in my book Living in Heaven: Coping with Hell.
Also impacting me were the several rockets fired from Syria into the Golan Heights, a mortar shell reported falling onto Kiryat Shmona, a town in northern Israel, and yesterday an anti-tank missile fired from Lebanon at a military vehicle near Avivim. I have driven past Avivim, close to the Lebanese border, on multiple occasions. I know the land. This morning, I felt that Israel would soon be deluged by a rain of fire from multiple directions.
However, later in the day two things uplifted me. First, Israel now has a unity government. Benny Gantz has joined Netanyahu’s war cabinet. So has Gadi Eisenkot. Both are former IDF Chiefs of Staff. Both opposed Judicial Reform. And the deal is clear, until this war is over, there will be no Knesset legislation unrelated to the war that is not agreed upon by all.
The second thing was President Biden’s statements today about anti-Semitism to a roundtable of Jewish community leaders. He said, “I Refuse to be Silent.” And then, “I truly believe, were there no Israel, no Jew in the world would be ultimately safe . . . It’s the only ultimate guarantee.”
Why do I highlight Biden’s statements? Especially, because I am determined to keep politics out of this newsletter and will refrain as best I can from examining the nuances of statements generally pro-Israel for what should have or should not have been included or their level of politicization (former president Trump and other Republican candidates also denounced Hamas and/or its actions). I refuse, because my priority is unity for the destruction of Hamas.
But I mention Biden’s statements because of the travesty that occurred at Harvard University this week. There, thirty campus organizations signed a statement saying, “We, the undersigned student organizations hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence.” Leaving aside Harvard administration’s late lukewarm rebuttal that failed to criticize the statement (I could go on all day about that), how have we reached such a point where Jewish life is so cheap? One would think that the live-stream pre-planned slaughter of Jews by hordes of murdering Hamas thugs would evoke some semblance of condemnation from even the most jaded. But no. Just more of the same—hatred of anything Israeli—and yes, anti-Semitism deeply ingrained in the heart of supposed academia. And so, I refuse to be silent.
And I ask those that are reading this to refuse to be silent.
Fortunately, already I am seeing that refusal. In the posts and emails of those I know and love, Jews and those who care are fighting back in the information war that we are now all living in. They too are refusing to be silent. They are speaking and doing. As a result, support for Israel’s existence and right to defend itself is unifying and vociferous. Realization of the true nature of her foes is mounting. The days are gone where too many reprehensible statements and false comparisons went unrebutted.
This gives me hope on a day that I began to feel despair. Because President Biden is right—without Israel no Jew can truly feel safe.
To all my readers. For the last few days, I have been sending this newsletter out daily. I will slow the pace to every two or three days now, unless events require otherwise. I will also devote special editions to rebutting articles or opinion pieces I find especially objectionable that have wide circulation.
And, to those who have recently become subscribers—I thank you so much. And, to those who have been with me from early on, you formed the base from which views of this newsletter has increased—from three to tenfold depending on the issue. And so I thank you very much too.
Collectively, we have a job to do. To do our small part to give Israel the space and time to eradicate Hamas. And to help ensure that Israel survives.
And to all of you receiving this bi-monthly newsletter, please write to me about what you think could be improved. While normally this newsletter exclusively focuses on Hezbollah, October 7, 2023, mandates that for now I do something different. And, of course, unsubscribe if you would rather not get this. But, if you think it worthwhile, please forward this newsletter to anybody who you think would be interested in reading it.
Israel’s Struggle with Hezbollah—A War Without End is now available in eBook and hardback format on Amazon and IngramSpark. This compelling narrative explores Hezbollah’s origins and cancerous growth, traces Israel’s response, and reveals Israel’s present readiness to meet Hezbollah’s challenge.
Cliff Sobin
Important Link—Alma Research and Education Center: Understanding the Security Challenges on Israel’s Northern Border