Then Chanukah starts winding down, the IDF winds up... and our nation's young adults -- my teenage cousin, his girlfriend, their buddies -- are going up in jet planes, or planning down on the ground, risking their lives while our nation's kids and adults are hovering under bus stops and in shelters.
The U.N. can condemn all it wants. So can France, and whoever else. Enough is enough. Once again, Hamas is using their own citizenry as cannon fodder, and their willingness to do so is terrible for them, and ultimately, even more terrible for us.
Hamas wants us out, wants us dead. They say as much, all the time. But we're here. To stay.
Even those families who have been temporarily forced out of their homes -- in Sderot, in Ashkelon -- will be back soon. Meanwhile, their kids did not return to school this morning along with their fellow pupils around the country. Instead they are hovering within their houses or taking physical refuge in the homes of relatives, friends and strangers around the country. Where does the psyche take refuge? I do not know.
I look at that ubiquitous map, the one outlining Kassam ranges, and take note that we are within 50 kilometers of Ashkelon, only slightly beyond the farthest estimated capabilities of the longest-range weapon Hamas has amassed -- for the time being. If you've never been here, you might have a hard time envisioning just how small this country is. If you already live here, I don't need to explain.
I oppose war, hate violence, condemn mass destruction, and most of all, detest the thought of pain and suffering enacted by one group of humans on another. But enough is enough. We've been saying this for too long, while those ominous lines denoting Hamas' weapon range expand outward from the front page into our front gardens, our own front line.
Enough is enough.
ושבו בנים לגבולם.
(For a recent report / opinion, please read one of my favorite blogs, A Soldier's Mother, here).
Keep the balance,
ALN
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3 comments:
Mazal tov on the wedding!
Tonight, my kids were sitting around calmly discussing how many kilometers separate us from the various rocket hits... And yet the world dares to condemn us!
ושבו בנים לגבולם
Amen.
I agree with every word. My second grader sees the newspaper headlines and asks questions I can't answer, things like "are we really safe here?" and "why do they hate us?". He's not even eight yet, he shouldn't have to know about any of this.
My thoughts and prayers go out to all those within range of these terrible rockets.
I understand that according to research, Israeli kids have a realistic understanding of death 1-2 years, on average, earlier than their Western cohorts, because of all the violence. (I would think that Palestinian kids do to, for the same reasons). What a sad situation. I still think it's worth it to raise kids here, though we pay certain heavy prices.
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