Residing in the north of Israel places one thus far outside the ranges of the rockets from Hamas. Living close to the coast makes us less prone to attacks by the Arabs under the Palestinian Authority. So, we should feel safe and outside any real threat. That feeling was shattered this last few days. The initial reports were not all that informative beyond that Iranian forces, the IRGC, had launched a terror attack against northern Israel. There was no specification stating where along the north this attack was launched. The good news was that it had been intercepted by the IDF and the launching point of the drones eradicated. Still, hearing that Iron Dome units had been placed in the north as preparation for this anticipated assault is fine, but were we the target or somewhere else? Well, as with all things, time will tell. Still, hearing about such a threat which had some unthinkable result as several drones laden with explosives was the one clear item we heard the morning after the Sabbath. It was not until several hours later, as everything was slowly coming back into full operation after the Sabbath that we heard that the attack came well east of our town. There is nothing like reports of terror attacks potentially being in one’s area to bring home that everywhere in Israel is within any number of Arab forces sworn to our destruction and the death of as many Israelis as possible. Sobering would be a definitive understatement.
One thing many people around the world are often unaware is exactly how small Israel actually is. People we have met believe that Israel is around the size of the average European country while some actually believe that Israel is close to half the size of the United States. The look of disbelief on these people’s faces when they are informed that Israel is approximately the size of New Jersey with a much narrower midsection is priceless. This means that much of Israel is within strike distances from outside her entire perimeter. Hamas can reach over two-thirds of Israel from their Gaza location which is beyond the reach of the IDF without necessitating a full invasion by soldiers as Israel refuses to utilize the tactics used by the United States, Russia and most of the rest of the world where air-power is used to eviscerate any target as well as much of the surrounding region. Israel uses ground forces when it becomes necessary to destroy the Hamas forces, rockets, mortars and other offensive operations and operators. The Palestinian Authority has taken a completely different route to increase their terrorist capabilities. Rather than expend the effort, time and their security forces, they instead pay any terrorist and their family a hefty salary for life for every Israeli they murder. This investment has led to knifing attacks, shootings, car rammings and other forms of attacks which are launched in shopping centers, at bus stops or any other location where a group of people make for ample targets. Even the sole individual is vulnerable as even a single Israeli murdered means that your family will live well into the future. But the real threats come from, you guessed it, the north. That threat is traceable directly back to Iran and takes the form of Hezballah and the IRGC which are spread across southern Lebanon and all across Syria.
Exactly How Small is Israel
A Comparison Against Four
Well Known Countries
Hezballah and the IRGC pose such a special threat that they deserve additional comment. Where Hamas is limited to Israel south of Haifa, Hezballah and the IRGC have missiles and rockets which are capable of reaching all of Israel and beyond (see map below). Additionally, these two militaries, and they are both legitimate military terror armies, are backed by Iran and everything they have is stationed from the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea. This includes ballistic missiles and weapons loaded with anything from nerve agents, biological agents, chemical agents and, once they produce them, assuming they have not already, nuclear warheads. Further, Iran could use any exchange, such as the events over the past weekend, as an excuse for declaring any strike they launch against Israel was in response to any Israeli response to terror assault whether they be rockets launched from neighboring countries, ambushes along their borders, drone attacks such as the recent ones or any interception of terror forces across these borders. Iran has often rattled her sabers after Israeli forces have intercepted across border attacks or struck rocket and artillery platforms used to strike into Israel often launching air to surface missiles from within Israeli airspace across into Syria and Lebanon as necessary. These two armies, IRGC and Hezballah, directly take their orders from Iran and the majority of their attacks are ordered from Tehran. These are just some of the threats which Israel faces, but things will become worse in the not too distant future unless the world awakens to the threats being faced by Western civilization.
Hezballah Rocket & Missile Threat
The main step away from Israel which has infected too much of Europe will take root and infect the United States. Anti-Semitism has been increasing at rates formerly believed impossible over the last decade and it promises to accelerate and soon becoming beyond political will to resist the growing hatred. One need simply look at the candidates seeking the Democrat Party candidacy for President in the 2020 elections. Even Joseph Biden was forced to alter his expressing support for Israel making that a minor backside issue in his campaign. The remainder sound more like Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib than they do the Democrat Party of our youth. Bernie Sanders holds Israel in the deepest of contempt while defending himself from claims of anti-Semitism claiming he is Jewish and thus cannot be an anti-Semite while his history is replete with statements forsaking anything to do with his birth religion. This is far from unusual for far-left Jews of Western civilization as they defend their anti-Israel positions with the claim that they are Jews while declaring their atheist beliefs forsaking the tenets of Judaism. Their Judaism is nothing other than a shield they wield to deflect criticism of their positions against Israel and Zionism while ignoring every other nationalist movement and government on the globe. Should the Democrat Party continue their slide into anti-Semitism, anti-Zionism and anti-Israeli political positions, when they inevitably resume the handles of power, Israel will find herself cut loose of United States support. That should stand as a double warning, one to Americans and the other to those in power in Israel who will be required to address such an eventuality.
Bernie Sanders anti-Israel Support
Between the terror scare the other morning and watching as the world continues to drift away from Israel, we are concerned as to whether Israeli leadership will make the necessary adaptions to military and political stances and dependencies such that Israel does not end up blindsided when the inevitable comes to pass. The recent Rashid Tlaib and Ilhan Omar fiasco where Israel exercised the right of any nation to prevent those who work for their destruction from entering their borders, as the United States did with an Israeli Knesset Minister Michael Ben-Ari, laid a spotlight upon exactly which politicians from both parties upon which they can trust. It also was eye-opening, and not exactly a pleasant one. Israel will be required to be the sole source for whatever may be her military weaponry and other systems as well as facing the potential that she will become the outcast of the entire world with perhaps a dozen exceptions at best. This might go so far as to include agricultural requirements for feeding all Israelis, Arab, European, Asian, from the Americas as well as Jews, Christians, Muslims and every other person residing within her borders not to mention virtually every other need or requirement for a healthy and content society. Between Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza, Hezballah and the IRGC in Syria and Lebanon all taking orders from Tehran and Iran also making threats against Israel (as well as the United States, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and others), the possibilities for a multi-front war with Israel facing rocket and missile attacks from the north and south, terrorist tunnels on both fronts if they have not all been detected, across border infiltrations, drone attacks at both fronts and possible military attacks complete with armor and air support from out of Lebanon and Syria plus potential assault and launchings out of the Sinai Peninsula, a hot bed of terrorist groups, Israel could face what will amount to an existential threat to her existence.
There is another item we used to hear when back living in the United States coming from people who otherwise supported Israel was that they never would stand for American forces to be used in defending Israel. Some who did not like Israel were somewhat more direct claiming that they would not stomach American boys and girls having their lives placed in jeopardy over a nation of Jews. Well, allow us to place these fears to rest, Israelis refuse outright and definitively do not desire for any troops from another nation to come and fight and possibly die fighting for Israel. We are totally aware that there is no faster means of losing what support Israel has with any nation than to have their young people returning in caskets because they were helping Israel defend herself. Should there be those, like Colonel Mickey Marcus who fought with the Israelis defeating largely the Arab attempt to destroy the nascent state of Israel in the 1848 War, who choose to put on an IDF uniform and fight under their own choice and not as a foreign soldier, that is an entirely different situation. Would we expect to hear pushback should any of these volunteers die, most certainly as we expect pushback over virtually any and every act taken by our government (should we ever elect a new one), military and even our relief efforts in natural disaster regions. Hey, we’re Israel, the Jew amongst the nation, we never expected anything different. Still, Israel will hopefully do whatever she is required to do to protect her people and defend her lands. Our wish is for the world to finally make good on the promises made after World War I and allow us our full borders as laid out in the Mandate System and presumably protected under Article 80 of the United Nations Charter and enforceable by the United States under the Anglo-American Treaty and by Britain, Italy, France, Russia and Japan as signatories of the San Remo Conference, the Treaty of Sèvres and numerous other agreement, treaties, accords and conferences all which referred to promises made under the auspices of the League of Nations and the Allied Powers from World War I. We do not require the world to love us, like us, approve of us or do much which would show us favor and acceptance, but we will eventually, preferably sooner rather than later, insist that promises made by the unanimous vote at the League of Nations be finally honored and once our borders have met these guidelines set out now approaching a century past, leave us in peace and we will share with the world our discoveries, new technologies, computing advances, medical cures and treatments, agricultural methods, clean water technology, communications technology, security and other software, advances in physics and virtually everything else all without attempting to be moralistic. Friendship with other nations will always be preferred, but respect has to be the minimum, and that minimum is one thing which Israel can demand as she is entitled to at least that modicum of respect, just as is every other nation.
Beyond the Cusp
Beyond the Cusp 