Courage Under Fire

Numerous people sent me a blog post which has been reverberating around the internet -- its title translated into English; "One who believes isn't afraid" The article is about a trip to a wedding last night in Southern Israel, and how the wedding took place, under Gazan rocket fire.

....the scene was just as it would be at any other wedding in Israel.

Except for the part during the chuppah when they had to stop for a few minutes because the Iron Dome was intercepting a rocket, and the huge WHOOOSHH sound made it impossible to hear the ketubah. Except for when, before the toasts, the brother of the chatan read out a list of "what to do if" scenarios and explained where all the closest shelters were. Except for the part where the Code Red alarm sounded twice during dancing, and half the wedding party vanished.

The author then contemplates the "fear factor" versus the "importance of being at the wedding, and not letting the terrorists win." I suggest you read her article to get a better understanding of what we're going through here, and why we continue living here even under seemingly insane conditions. Blog post is here -- "They call me Shev"

I can easily connect to her post, since on a personal level I made aliya/moved to Israel on the eve of the First Iraq War, when Iraqi scud missiles pummeled the country, and American "Patriot" anti-missile batteries attempted to keep Israel safer.

I moved here fully knowing that Israel was about to be at war, yet couldn't fathom being anywhere else.

Years later under the current conditions, I still can't imagine living anywhere else.

My oldest son is currently studying in his pre-IDF yeshiva in Southern Israel, and he has less than 10 seconds to get to bomb shelter from the time a siren goes off. Yet he had absolutely no qualms about going back to his yeshiva this Sunday, knowing full well that Southern Israel was under attack. Eyes wide open, he is fully aware of his surroundings, yet cannot imagine NOT being anywhere else.

Now is not the time to run away, it is the time for the country to stand strong -- not simply to send a message to the Palestinian terrorists who want us to run away, but for ourselves and to remind us why we're here. Standing strong and together reenforces our conviction that this IS our country, our land, our national homeland -- where we belong as a nation.

And we're not leaving.


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