It has taken a full week of war before I have been able to return to my computer to write anything at all. For journalists here in Jerusalem, it is the process of writing our thoughts down that enables our brains to sort through the onslaught of information at our disposal. Multiple press conferences each day help us to understand with greater depth the different aspects of this war. We are vulnerable as are all caring beings. Depravity shocks us even after covering it for years.
It was by chance that a printed copy of my article entitled “Do Not Abandon the Dream!” caught my eye on the dining room table. (Published August 18, 2023, on my blog at timesofisrael.com.)
The photo that I selected for that article, was of a tiny child, on the beach, planting the Israeli flag into the sand. Today the photo mesmerized me and I have once again, but for the first time ever, selected the same photo to share with you today.
The headlines today reveal the Hamas intricate, detailed, plans to murder and abduct our children. Fathoming this kind of evil is incomprehensible to the civilized Western mind. Much like the Wannsee conference in Germany, where the Nazis sat around a conference table discussing the most efficient way to murder millions of Jews, Hamas members sat together to plot the murder of innocent babies and young children. We have the documents written in their own hand…we have the proof in the bullet-riddled, burned and decapitated bodies we discovered from their attack on Saturday October 7, 2023. We continue to have the proof as they hold our children as hostages in their vile effort.
It is not enough for these sub-humans to commit atrocities on innocents. They actually wanted to inflict as much pain and agony on the collective soul of the Jewish people as possible. Children are the epitome of innocence. They are the recipients of our love, our hope and our dreams of the future. In perpetrating this violence on babies and children, their sick sense of glory is magnified for all to witness. The symbolism of their decision is quite overwhelming.
Hamas not only wanted to murder us – they wanted to murder our future. They wanted to render us heartbroken and unable to face the horror of the unthinkable.
One cannot help but wonder how Hamas knew exactly where our schools were located in cities or the child-care centers on kibbutzim. The only conclusion possible is that those enemies within, posing as workmen, manual laborers, and even as cleaners, have been reporting back through an underground web of Hamas supporters who thus far have gone undetected. Perhaps we need to be circumspect when it comes to every aspect of our lives now. We had the luxury of tikun olam until the world we were trying to heal used our best intentions to implement their vile plans, assisted with expertise gained from our naiveté.
As the days of this war proceed, possibly well-meaning people ask us to care for those who may be “collateral damage.” The actions of Hamas have made that quite impossible. The responsibility lies exclusively on their shoulders.
The evil done to our people has solidified our resolve. Our enemies have given us moral clarity. Our innocent babies will have a future. They will plant the flag of Israel in the sands of time for perpetuity.
