***UPDATE AUGUST 4TH*** SCROLL FOR UPDATES***
I left the North, where yesterday there were over 230 rockets fired at civilians, and two Iranian missiles went further into Israel than ever before. With each launch the barbarians learn more. I spent the top of the day on the Gaza border.
The most reasonable, rational voices I have heard in this country are those in the war zones, both civilian and military.
I heard two extraordinary men , the Deputy Commander of the Gaza Divsions, Erez Katz and the Mayor of Sederot, Elli Moyal. Katz'a remarks can be found in a download at the bottom of this post (scroll down), Mayor Moyal's words (which I insist you listen to because he outlines the devastating cold facts and its rare you hear it) will be part of the S'derot post. These are voices, these are the truth tellers that you must pay attention to. Katz has the military campaign in the south ground, Moyal has the big picture, he's got it cold.
Nsarallah is vicious but he is smart. He has declared war on the civilians in Israel. He has not attacked the army, This is a war against the civilians. Over
230 rockets fired at Israel on Wednesday, has the world gone fucking
mad? Call the President and tell him to leave Israel alone. A ceasefire
is a hudna. Would we have adhered to a ceasefire after Pearl Harbor, 9/11 or the invasion of Normandy?
This is a war on civilians. Homes, hospitals, schools....... It is madness.
These Iranian foreign legions are not fighting Israel's army. They are
attacking the people of a sovereign nation. And Ahmadinejad said today
the only way to resolve the Middle East crisis is to destroy Israel.
Ssomeone must speak for the individual. Someone must speak for the
civilized man. That someone is you and I. Call the President at
Comments:
202-456-1111 Switchboard: 202-456-1414, FAX:
;202-456-2461 and tell him not to pressure Israel for a ceasefire. Leave Israel alone, they have enough to do.
I spent the morning on the Gaza border with the IDF. Watch the VLOG below. These guys are genuine, warm, funny. Very funny, considering.. The conditions they live under are brutal-- the oppressive heat, the bare amenities, intermittant gunfire, homemade rockets slamming into Israel, and yet they maintain a light, easy outlook on the world. They know who they are and why they are there. They sleep on hard cots out in open air tents, heat surrounds them (think Iraq but no barracks) and the cycle of constant fire from the homemade rockets lobbed by the Philisitines out of Gaza with increasing regularity, but mostly at night, makes real sleep elusive. Gaza is very difficult. The terrorists in Gaza launch their homemade rockets from homes and residential areas. The IDF, always avoiding civilians at all cost, will, return cannon fire and hit those launching sites during the day. I experienced a round of cannon fire.
While we were listening to Deputy Commander Erez Katz you will hear the sound of cannon fire. Please listen to this audio download. It gives you an inside look into the challenge of a military commander fighting an unscrupulous enemy.When you listen to the deputy Commander of the two Gaza Divisions, a man I had a deep affection for, you will hear the sound of cannon fire in the background.
Your intrepid blogger.
These soldiers love each other and to watch then banter in the face of the mortal threat to their country is astonishing. Make no mistake about it, Israel hangs by a thread. No time for hack politicians. Israel needs to take control of her destiny.
REC ROOM
Volleyball
Israel is a strange country. It is the only place where the people mourn the deaths of soldiers more than civilian deaths. Because the death of a soldier is the death of our children, our future fathers and mothers, our brightest hopes. Nothing tears at the heart of our people more. At this time, when our soldiers are being called up to the front in the thousands from all segments of the population, all parts of the nation, we as a nation embrace them collectively, as one, holding them close to our hearts, the way a mother embraces her beloved, only child. hat tip Naomi Ragen
An extraordinary man is running these divisions. He was so tough, so smart............so human. In discussing Gilad Shalit, you could see him become overwhelmed with sadness still feeling it was his duty to protect his soldiers. Ultimatel, his responsiblity. But he could not know that the Philisitines had developed a new "strategy"...............digging for months with their claws, like rats, into Israeli territory past the tanks and trucks, to make their pact with evil and kidnap Shalit. I really respected this guy. He had it all. And in all of his detailed explanations of operations, he was deliberate and exact, depsite his rather poor English. But these are the men that win wars. Bright, strategic, empathetic, warm, exacting, logical......... a great leader. The Philistines have beheaders.
While we were listening to this Deputy Commander Erez Katz you will hear the sound of cannon fire. Listen to this audio download. It gives you an inside look into the challenge of a military commander fighting an unscrupulous enemy.When you listen to the Deputy Commander of the two Gaza Divisions, a man I had a deep affection for, you will hear the sound of cannon fire in the background.
I you are interested in how it goes down in Gaza and the 411 on Gilad Shalit, it's something for you to listen to. Here's the download, if anyone wants to convert to MP3, have at it
Download gaza_deputy_commander.mp3 (MP3 conversion
hat tip Hezi)
Atlas and Deputy Commander of the Gaza Divisions Erez Katz. Send something to the Friends of the IDF if you can. I saw the work they do, it would break your heart.
UPDATE: This is the base of today's military op into Gaza.
UPDATE: An incredible photo essay from Diogenesis over at Free Republic here.
UPDATE August 4th: Two of the boys from this unit, the Golani brigade, were killed before dawn Friday in heavy clashes with Hezb'Allah in the village of Makarbe.
One of the fallen soldiers was identified as First Sgt. Daniel Shiran, 20, from Haifa.
An officer was seriously wounded and taken the Rambam hospital in Haifa.
Two additional soldiers were wounded, one seriously, after an anti-tank rocket hit their tank in the village of Ataybeh, in the eastern sector of southern Lebanon.
The patch of the soldier seated next to me is the patch of the Golani brigade.
