" I am the L-rd your G-d who rescued you from the land of Egypt... gods besides Me you should not know, and there is no Saviour but Me" (Shemot 20: 2 & Hoshea 13: 4) . A Sephardi discussion on Orthodoxy, the world, notes, essays & other pedantic musings
So there is a cease-fire agreement in place between Israel and Hamas. For Israel a lot has been achieved, such as destroying the terrorist tunnels and hitting the terrorist cells hard. But there has been a cost on lives and money: $2.5 billion, 70 Israeli dead and 2,000 Gazans, not all terrorists have lost their lives.
Then there is the backlash against the Jewish diaspora community, the terrible relationship between Israel and the US... and seemingly most media outside of Israel was hostile to her. Bibi's popularity has slumped, despite overwhelming support for the war in Israel, his cabinet seems quite divided.
So no one comes out a clear winner. But for the various parties involved, my personal view is that Israel stopped too early, probably due to US and European pressures. However much this has effected the political landscape, it won't alter the fact Hamas is still there. Sooner or later, when they've rearmed they will start to attack Israel again. The cycle will continue until Hamas is gone or Israel. And it won't be Israel disappearing.
In Israel there is the diplomatic flurry for Israel to come to terms with terrorists who wish to see the destruction of the Jewish people, whilst the brave men and women, Jews and non Jews alike of the IDF are fighting in fierce battles to stop the terrorism that has been the bane of the Children of Israel ever since Israel pulled out of Gaza nine years ago.
As for what happens now : we need to sit tight and realise we are all in the long haul of bringing the terrorists to book . We need to continue to pray and support Israel and the IDF as well as those in the diaspora community who feel that are under threat. We must also Daven for the very men and women, the young flowers of Israel who serve in the IDF, in doing what they have to do, namely defend the people of Israel against all harm and in so doing being willing to commit the ultimate sacrifice in their blood and possibly, their lives.We also need to find muster and a prayer for Israel and for our diaspora, that our leadership will model themselves on the Israeli leadership of Moses, the steadfastness of Deborah, the spiritual guidance of Samuel, the faithfulness of Hannah, the courage of Esther, the military prowess of David and the wisdom of Solomon.
Above all, we as a people need to continue to follow Hashem and pray that he will, via the brave men and women of the IDF, swiftly deliver the children of Israel from harm. May we be able to see the coming of Mashiach and the end of all wars & universal peace as it is said "The L-rd will be King over the whole earth. On that day there will be one L-rd, and His Name the only Name." [Zechariah 14:9].
Two other concluding thoughts. Firstly over at Esther's Place, she reminds us that Jews have used their wits and intelligence to defend ourselves in centuries before and that this is a key part of the equation today :
"The one thing that we must remember is that we Jews have often had to defend ourselves and our religion, when we had no Israel and no IDF. We did so on the back of our wits, belief & sheer courage : does anyone remember the disputation of Barcelona? So today there is an Internet and yes it can be full of disturbing messages and arguments.
We must regain that voice quickly and win the argument .It is not social media that is the problem, rather we must remind ourselves that we are Jews and we have never been afraid of defending our faith when necessary, often with the most powerful weapon of all: words, writing and debate. So today we must remember that whilst opponents have a voice so do we. Let us make them hear us. Let us win the argument once more. "
Secondly and finally, after gross hypocrisy of the latest UN resolution (where is their consideration for the ethnic cleansing of Iraq's Christian minority?) ,Ambassador Ron Prosor tells it how it is :
