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Richard Hacker's avatar

I do volunteer work for a Jewish NGO that supports Israel through word, deed, and donations. Our particular group has spent time and money helping the people, of what I now call the “Eshkol Envelope” (formerly the “Gaza envelope”), develop their infrastructure and communities. Two weeks ago, I returned from a solo trip to the area. It was a sobering visit. A number of kibbutzim (small villages) were devastated, losing up to 30% of their population and up to 50% of the buildings and infrastructure destroyed. Others, better prepared, more alert to the danger, or just plain lucky, defended themselves well. Even the large city of Sderot was brazenly attacked and people murdered. However, the worst was the site of the Nova Music Festival massacre.

I first witnessed (I will not say “visited”; this was not a vacation) the automobile storage “graveyard” of all of the cars recovered from the site. The storage area is at least two American football fields long, twice the width wide, and it is full of burned out and destroyed vehicles. From the bullet holes that can be seen through the sides and the windshields, Hamas had no shortage of ammunition. I then continued to the actual site of the massacre. A large billboard shows pictures of each of the 360 men and women who were assaulted, raped, mutilated and abused while yet alive, killed, and burned in the most horrendous manners unimaginable. At random, I took the picture of a young, beautiful, human being who is typical of all who are no longer with us. It pains me to think of the terror inflicted on her and the others simply because they were Jews. I cannot even bring myself to describe the atrocities. The worst was the fact that the atrocities were recorded on the victims’ cell phones and then sent to the victims' contact lists. Not only was terror inflicted on the victims, terror was inflicted on those who knew them and loved them the most. Even the furthest depth of hell has no place for these monsters.

I write this not for pity or sympathy; Israel needs neither from us. I write this as an object lesson and a warning. Screams of "Death to Israel, death to the Jews, and especially death to America" are not protest slogans. They are an action plan. What starts with the Jews does not end with the Jews. Those of us here in the U.S., who think that we are immune from this type of terror, are deluding ourselves. If given the chance, our enemies will inflict upon us the same terror with the same intensity and lack of remorse as at Nova. And who will protect us in our blissful ignorance? Our conflicted government? Our lazy leaders? Our defunded police? Look around. I’m not sure so anymore. The people living along the Gaza border certainly thought that they were protected by their government and army. Now look at them. It is long past the time that we remove our collective heads from our posteriors and demand from our leaders a stop to the hate and madness. If they cannot or are unwilling, then it is time to change leaders.

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Diane Steiner's avatar

Very spot on, Joshua. We see the blatant hypocrisy all too well. The man who was asking you and your parents for donations for the children, most likely thinks Israel is committing genocide. As you said, where were these people with all of the starving and abused children suffering in this world? Where were the cries of people when genocide was committed in Syria, Turkey, Sudan, China, Iraq, and on and on? Where were the so-called women's groups crying "believe them when they say they've been raped?" All missing in action and so quiet the silence was breathtaking.

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