8 pm Israel time, Wednesday, December 23 2014
82 Days Until The Election
*The situation continues to degrade along the Gaza border. Over the course of the last week, your humble servant has reported on missiles being fired at southern Israel, anti-tank berms being built, and Hamas war games taking place close to the Israel border.
At around noon today, a Hamas sniper critically wounded an IDF soldier who was part of Bedouin reconnaissance unit patroling the southern border near Kissufim. The soldier was airlifted to Soroka Hospital in Beersheva where his condition is unknown at this time.
The helicopter carrying the wounded IDF soldier arrives at Soroka today. Faces have been blurred for security reasons (photo: ynet).
In response to the attack, the IDF fired on the sniper’s position killing a Hamas field commander and wounding 3 more Hamas terrorists. Laughingly, as Hamas reported the death and woundings, it also declared the sniper was not a member of Hamas.
Meanwhile, Hamas fired more missiles into the Mediterranean today and continued work on the earthen anti-bank berms, moving from 500 meters away from the border to only 100 meters.
These berms are being made with bulldozers supplied to Hamas by Israel for moving rubble created duing the summer war (photo Barel Ephraim).
And another picture–taken by a local resident:
Note the Hamas military outposts on top of the berms, one of which has a Palestinian flag (photo: Barel Ephraim).
As one resident accurately described the situation today: “Hamas [uses the berm outposts] to examine the IDF movements in the sector and strategic locations along the border. This indicates high confidence and a clear lack of concern about IDF forces. The fact that Hamas flags wave over the area only sharpens their message.”
*Intense rioting took place throughout Judea and Samaria today as Palestinian terrorists attacked Israeli security forces at Gush Etzion (8:39 am), Luban al Sharquiya (9:25 am), Aboud Binyamin (9:49 am), Silwad Binyamin (10:02 am), Sinjil (10:16 am), Beitillu (10:20 am), Nabi Saleh (12:02 pm), Hebron (12:03 pm), Mt. Hebron (2:12 pm), Anata (3:16 pm), and Talmonim (3:30 pm).
*In a decision that defies understanding, Israel has agreed to turn over the bodies of the two terrorists who carried out the massacre in the Jerusalem synagogue last month. What will the PLO do with the bodies? Parade them through Ramallah as heroes.
TODAY’S BLOG:
Chanukah has come to an end but not without controversy. Yesterday, a picture emerged showing President Obama celebrating the holiday on December 17 in the Grand Foyer of the White House with his wife, and with Inbar Vardi and Mouran Ibrahim from the Hand in Hand school in Jerusalem.
The Hand in Hand school, which preaches coexistence between Arabs and Jews, provided the Chanukiyah (the menorah used at Chanukah). Outrageously, every other candle on the Chanukiyah had writing in Arabic.
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Can you imagine what the worldwide response would have been if a Muslim ritual object had been displayed in the White House covered with Hebrew?
- After the Chanukiyah was lit, President Obama offered this absurd description of what Chanukiyah is all about:
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“The light of hope must outlast the fires of hate. That’s what the Hanukkah story teaches us. That’s what our young people can teach us — that one act of faith can make a miracle. That love is stronger than hate. That peace can triumph over conflict.”
As your humble servant read the Chanukah story to his children and grandchildren last night, we all reflected on the meaning of our holiday.
The Chanukah story is most assuredly not a story about “hope” just as it is not a story about “love being stronger than hate”. Nor is about “peace triumphing over conflict.” To hear President Obama tell it, Chanukah is all about sitting around, singing kumbaya and yearning for peaceful coexistence.
Lest we forget, Chanukah celebrates a Jewish military victory over the forces that would have destroyed Judaism by forcing every Jew to convert to paganism. Mattatias and his sons, the Maccabees, were soldiers in a war against assimilation.
The only hope they harbored was the hope that their enemies would be utterly destroyed and they would be free to practice their Judaism. The only peace they sought was one which involved the complete eradication of paganism. The only way that their hope and the eradication of their foes could be secured was through relentless and ruthless war.
Peaceful coexistence was impossible and never crossed their minds.
By the way, don’t be surprised if tomorrow we will have the PLO claiming that Chanukah is actually a Muslim holiday that celebrates Palestinian freedom.
A student from Malawi, who had worked with an Israeli health volunteer in his country battling AIDS, came up to us as we walked down the street in the UC-Davis Picnic Day Parade and wanted to carry the Israeli flag.