# 421 – War Erupts – First Comments

Surprise/shock – We were woken this morning by a call from Aviva’s sister, whose dramatic news almost panicked us. It’s 50 years since the Yom Kippur War. Could history be repeating itself with Israel’s apparent unpreparedness? Albeit it was then 2 major countries, Syria and Egypt, who surprise-attacked. This time, it’s that ‘nuisance’, Hamas.

– Already min 40 Israelis reported killed and over 740 injured.

– Stories of several Israelis captured. (Gilad Schalit was exchanged for over 1,200 Palestinian some years back).

– Thousands of rockets fired from Gaza. We agree it was ‘thousands’; they say over 5,000. A few reached Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

– Hamas calls it ‘Al-Aqsa Storm’! Al Aqsa….the mosque built on the site of Judaism’s most holy site, the Temple. (Islam forbids the desecration of religious sites – refer to their wars with the Hindus).

The Palestinians conveniently forget that the 1947 UN Resolution 181 proposed to create 2 states, with Jerusalem as an international city. The Jews agreed. The Arabs didn’t. War. Jordan occupied Jerusalem, subsequently destroying nearly all the synagogues. (Aviva lived as an infant facing the walls of the Old City. Bullets from the Jordanians hit the wall just inches above her head).

When the Jews regained Jerusalem in 1967, they declared the city to be free of religious prejudice, handing the Temple Mount back to the Arabs. Stupid! For now, the Jews have to get special permission to visit the Temple Mount, and are officially ‘not allowed to be seen to pray’ while there. (I may detest our current Nat’l Security Minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, and appreciate that his visits there are ‘unhelpful’. But it’s absolutely ridiculous that he does not have the right to go there).

– Why now? I don’t believe Hamas’ story that it’s about our behaviour on the Temple Mount. Nor do I believe it’s the problems with the ‘settlers’. My theory is that it has to do with the fear of being ‘left behind’ by their Arab brothers. The Abraham Accords were the slap in the face for them. The current moves towards Saudi Arabia are for them the last straw. They know that if an agreement with MBS is signed, other moderate Arab nations will follow. And they will be left behind in the dust.

They don’t understand that there are other priorities, such as an alliance against Iran and its proxies (incl. Hamas, of course). They don’t understand that while they have repeatedly refused to negotiate, Israel (in the same region, with similar ingredients) has become an important potential partner: security, military, agriculture, irrigation, cyber, AI, tourism etc. etc. They don’t understand that these are far greater issues than personal feelings.

– What now? Well, however Israel deals with this, the World will criticise. The tougher, the worse the complaints. As I’ve said so many times, it’s not just that Israel’s propaganda machine has not been functioning. It’s that the World is not listening. It just criticises. And, sorry to keep saying this, antisemitism plays a part. Israel may not be perfect, but the accusations of apartheid or the treatment of its Arab residents as 2nd Class citizens is wrong.

Of course, minorities in any country will have complaints. And considering the problems Israel has had with its neighbours every day of its existence, it’s not surprising that it sometimes ‘drags its feet’. But when you see how Palestinians (or other minorities, such as Christians in Gaza!!) are treated by their Arab brothers, then Israel suddenly becomes the light in their lives.

– The messier this becomes, the more vicious Israel’s response, the greater the danger of opening up more fronts, especially from Hezbollah. They are in the same Iran/Hamas axis. That’s our greatest worry.

This is a mess. Very complicated. It’s of course not just us/them. So many others are involved, or interfere.

I watched Al Jazeera this morning (plus Israel TV, plus Sky, CNN. We do not have BBC, and I try to avoid Fox – men have too much Brylcreem, women too much blonde hair).

Al J’s view was frightening. A reminder of how blind one can be, or just extreme. The Palestinians’ Mustafa Barghouti repeated himself on Al J and Sky – the ugliest lies. The reports from Gaza, West Bank, Southern Lebanon or Syria or wherever told such a different story to what I believe. Maybe I’m wrong. But I don’t think so.

Enough for now. Who knows what the next 24 hours will bring?

I shall end by introducing the headline I planned for this letter:

An Historic Headline

I refer to last week’s J-Post – ‘Israel, Germany seal Arrow deal’. Israel has signed it’s largest ever deal – over $3 billion-worth. Selling defense systems to….Germany. This is how far we have come. How DARE the Palestinians destroy this incredible story.

Stephen