I received this email today from the president of the Shalem Center in Jerusalem, Daniel Polisar. People have sometimes told me I’m eloquent. I’ve got nothing on this. It’s beautiful, and it sums up all the reasons Israelis should be proud of their children.
An excerpt:
As I left to return home before the start of the Sabbath, I understood the answer to the question I had been asked by a young woman 6,000 miles away. Yes, on the tactical level it can be a handicap to love life when your opponent loves death. But in the end, it is that love of life that will enable us to prevail. We will defeat those who love death, because we love life so much that we Israelis—from teenage girls to senior officers in wartime—know how to give comfort to those who have lost a loved one, and to say, “We are with you.” Our love of life enables us to confront tragedy, and emerge with the pride and resolve, the hope and the faith, that Dalia showed.
We love life so much that we educate our children to love life, though surrounded by enemies who hope, pray, and work for our deaths. It is this love of life that enabled the Jews to return to our homeland and rebuild a state after 2,000 years, and it is the sense of mission stemming from this love that will sustain the Zionist dream long into the future. We love life so much that we refuse to have our sense of morality dulled by enemies who seek to force us to kill women and children in order to defend our families. Though our principles limit the IDF’s effectiveness, they provide us with intangibles that more than compensate—the confidence and the strength to pursue our aims secure in the knowledge we are acting justly, and the unity that comes from a society acting in accordance with its most cherished values. And yes, let no one err, we will win because we love life so much we are willing to brave death, if necessary, to ensure that our people can lead free lives in the country we have established against all odds. In the end, it is this love of life that will enable us to prevail—not only in the war in Gaza, but in all the challenges we face in the years and generations to come.
January 19, 2009 at 9:28 pm
BS”D
Well, I wrote a despairing response earlier, and now this has once again given me hope. Thanks.
I’m putting your blog down on my blog surfer. Thanks again.
January 19, 2009 at 9:29 pm
BS”D
The despairing response was at another blog…to an Israeli who was wondering what the point of all this is. I wondered too. Not much comfort.
January 20, 2009 at 9:25 pm
??????????….
“We love life so much that we refuse to have our sense of morality dulled by enemies who seek to force us to kill women and children in order to defend our families. Though our principles limit the IDF’s effectiveness, they provide us with intangibles that more than compensate—the confidence and the strength to pursue our aims secure in the knowledge we are acting justly, and the unity that comes from a society acting in accordance with its most cherished values. And yes, let no one err, we will win because we love life so much we are willing to brave death, if necessary, to ensure that our people can lead free lives in the country we have established against all odds.
In 23 days 1300 Palestinians killed by Israel including 417 children & 108 women, 5320 injured.
Respect for life? Several of your previous blog postings discuss how you just want this war to end. Why receive hope and comfort from winning? Who wins in this? Who wins in war?
January 20, 2009 at 9:28 pm
Moreover, “established against all odds”. I’d be interested in your take on the establishment of Israel and the ethnic cleansing that occurred. It is factual the number of Palestinians killed in the establishment of Israel and the fact 80% of Palestinians no longer live in Palestine. Like the establishment of the US, why is the suffering and history so often ignored?