!היום תורנו. הננו The title of this blog is a rough translation
of these Hebrew words printed on a sign that has been plastered onto army
vehicles and personnel carriers at the front in Gaza.
The sign reflects the connection that our soldiers feel to the heroes of the
past who held nothing back in the service of their people and their country. It
also reflects the determination to continue that tradition and declares "We
are here" ready to do what is necessary to secure the defence of this
country. Just as our Biblical forefathers responded to the call of history in
service of their families with the words "I am here", our soldiers
are employing the same unselfishness with the same words and with the same
determination to provide security for their country, their children, and their families.
I have been asked a few times what sites to visit in order to get reliable information about the war and listen to factual reports about what is
happening at the front. My advice is to avoid most of the American and Canadian
and news reports that are so steeped in their commitment to be even-handed to
both sides of the conflict, that they have lost all perspective of what is
right and what is wrong. I have found the Israeli television stations and the
reports that they are producing regularly and publicizing on YouTube.com to
be factual and detailed. They are uploaded with Hebrew subtitles, and if you can manage the Hebrew, you will
find the reports enlightening and informative. Many will bring you to tears.
Even if the Hebrew is too much for you, the scenes in the videos from the front
and the self effacing and professional manner of the officers, and also the light-hearted and sometimes serious
voices of the soldiers who are daily risking their lives will leave a lasting
impression.
I would like to relate the stories of a few
heroes and heroines very briefly with the understanding that they are
representative of literally hundreds of similar acts of heroism and self
sacrifice.
Story 1
First you should familiarize yourself with a
general map of on of the areas around the Gaza
strip.
Near the bottom right of the map you will notice 2 communities which a located a few km from the border with Gaza, namely, Beeri, and Shokeda. Kibbutz Beeri has been in the news continuously since October 7th because it was hit very hard by the initial wave of terrorists that overran the Kibbutz. Many of the accounts of atrocities committed by the terrorists took place in the Kibbutz of Beeri. The houses of the community are mostly destroyed. Just east of Beeri there is a stand of trees of the type that passes for a forest in the western Negev. On the other side of that forest is the community of Shokeda. In Shokeda there were few casualties, and the houses of the community are still standing, locked up and waiting for the return of their owners. Why the difference? This past Friday Shauna and I were part of a senior's group in our Yishuv that paid a visit to the residents of Shokeda who are temporally living as refugees in a modest hotel in the town of Neve Ilan just west of Jerusalem not far from Tel Stone. One of the women of the community (most of the men are called up) came out to speak to us and answer our questions.
During her presentation she spoke about a helicopter that was hit by enemy fire and had to make an emergency landing just west of Shokeda between the town and the forest. The following is a news report from the Times of Israel about the incident:
Dozens of troops from the Paratroopers
Brigade were aboard the Sikorsky CH-53 Yasur helicopter when it was struck, but
none were hurt, according to Hebrew media accounts published Saturday after the
military lifted a gag order on reporting details of the
incident. The pilots were able to land the helicopter, allowing the
soldiers to safely deboard.
What this article did not report was that there was more than one miracle that
took place with the downing of that helicopter. The pilot and the soldiers in
that helicopter were unaware that in the forest below them terrorists were
making their way towards Shokeda and preparing to invade the town. In the town itself there were a few armed adults, members of
the local Kitat Konenut, security committee, who would have stood little
chance against the terrorists. The helicopter was hit, and the pilot
miraculously landed the helicopter without casualties between the forest and
Shokeda. Then, the 50 or so soldiers on the helicopter
jumped out of helicopter not fully believing that they had survived, what must
have been a harrowing experience. Within seconds these same soldiers found
themselves face to face with dozens of terrorists who were attacking them from
the forest. Thankfully, our soldiers prevailed and the residents of
Shokeda remained secure behind their defensive wall, saved by the cavalry that
had unexpectedly arrived in the eleventh hour in their defence. A few nights
ago, after Shabbat I was walking home with my neighbour and told him this story
and he responded that he had heard about it from a cousin
of his who was himself one of the soldiers on that helicopter that saved
a village.
Story 2
On the morning of Shemini Atzeret October
7th, Lieutenant Colonel Guy Madar was visiting his grandparents in Kiryat Gat
in order to celebrate the holiday with them. Upon hearing about the
events around the Gaza Strip he grabbed his pistol and ran
to his car and drove the 80 or so km to the area of the battle. Guy had left
his uniform and machine gane back at the base so all he had with him was his
pistol and his civilian clothes. He drove down highway 232 past Alumim and
about 7 km past Beeri before he saw anything unusual. He saw the terrorists and
engaged them with his pistol killing a number of the enemy. At one point he was
wounded and was forced to stop the car and rolled out of the drivers seat
into a ditch where he lay unable to move bleeding from his wounds. After a
couple of hours he heard soldiers speaking Hebrew and tried to call out to them
but his voice was so weak he could not be heard. As the soldiers approached and
saw him in the ditch in civilian clothes still holding his gun one of them was
about to shoot him thinking he was a terrorist. Then another soldier cried
out "Don't shoot! Don't shoot! I see Tzitzit! I see
Tzitzit!" At which point they bandaged him as best they could
and called for him to be removed to the hospital.
Story 3
On the morning of October 7th, 3 soldiers
were standing a post on the southwestern tip of the Gaza Strip just outside
Kibbutz Kerem Shalom, near the border with Gaza and with Egypt. The three were fast friends, devoted to each other, and well trained.
Two of them were born in Israel, Omer Batito dark skinned, slim, and wiry, with a narrow face and skimpy dark beard. The other, Yaron Shai, was tall with a strikingly handsome face, light brown hair and a carefully trimmed beard. The third, Levinson, who was also the senior officer, was born in North America, with blond hair, a lone soldier, with a noticeably slighter build than the other two.
As one of them was preparing some coffee and breakfast they a loud explosion nearby. It was 6:30 in the morning and a cloud of mortars began to rain down on their position exploding all around them. Grabbing their rifles they jumped into their vehicle and drove around the Kibbutz on the perimeter road until they saw the terrorists on a rise overlooking the kibbutz where an Israeli tank was stationed, They soon noticed more terrorists at the foot of the rise in front of the fence of the kibbutz. There were at least 50 of them. The terrorists were breaking trough the fence and preparing to invade Kerem Shalom. Omer Batito, the driver, ran over a couple of terrorists and then there was a deafening explosion as the back of their vehicle was hit by and RPG rocket. They veered right off the road crashing into the chain link fence. Using the car as cover the 3 of them began firing at the terrorists out the windows. Most of the terrorists were behind them and Yaron opened the vehicle door to have a clearer shot at them even though it exposed him to direct fire. For 45 minutes the three of them held off the terrorists but at one point Levinson saw that Batito was hit badly in the arm and the leg and he dragged him away from the window and onto the other side of the vehicle. Then Levinson noticed that Yaron had stopped firing and when he looked behind him he could see that Yaron was also badly wounded. Levinson grabbed whatever ammunition he could find and began shooting like a mad man in all directions. He could sense that he himself was also bleeding from somewhere in his head and that he was also bleeding from a bullet wound in his neck. Levinson desperately tried again to call for help and this time he succeeded in reaching a fellow officer, named Matan, inside Kerem Shalom. Matan promptly gathered his troop and they jumped into their vehicles and came to Levinson's position. For another hour they fought off the terrorists in a pitch battle. By this time the Kibbutz was awake and prepared to help fend off the attack. If not for the initial 45 minutes when the terrorists were held off by the three soldiers, the Kibbutz may well have been overrun and the results would have been tragic indeed.
This completed the first part of
the battle. Accompanied by Tomer and his troop, Levinson drove with the wounded Omer Batito and the body of Yaron Shai to the
army base in order to receive medical care and call for an ambulance, only to
find that their base was overrun with terrorists. A battle of
several hours ensued during which they managed to clear out the base take
control and wait for additional reinforcements. When Levinson
was interviewed weeks after the battle he was asked by
the reporter if during the battle he and his two friends realized
that they were saving the lives of the residents of the Kibbutz. She asked if
it was difficult for him to be called a hero. He paused gave a meek smile
and then with great humility he said, "Yes, it is not comfortable for me, because in the end all I did was get up
in the morning, put on my uniform and my vest, contacted
my command post for orders, and stood my post. I
did what I was trained to do."
Story 4
At the same time as the battle at Kerem Hashalom was taking place, two tanks manned by female soldiers of the Caracal brigade were making history. They drove their tanks on paved highways from Nitzana at breakneck speeds for tanks in order to join the battle raging with the terrorists around the Gaza border that had crossed the border. By all accounts they acquitted them selves bravely and efficiently. You can read about it here at this link.
Friends and family, please remember that this is not a quick military operation that is over in a day or two. This is war. Don't listen to the "Even handed at all costs", "Morally bankrupt", portions of the world media and, yes, even many of our fellow Jews as well. This is war, and Israel must do what it must do in order to defeat Hamas and end the cycle of murder and hostage taking once and for all.
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