Moment of reckoning

So here we are. Exactly where we knew we would end up even though many of us had convinced ourselves otherwise. We knew the ceasefire wasn't a real ceasefire -- even before Hamas sent its first round of Enjoy-the-Ceasefire rockets within an hour of its commencement. They weren't consulted (yeah right) so they weren't playing.

We citizens of central Israel, meanwhile, have become very adept at integrating warning sirens into our day:

• We pick our grocery stores according to the best shelter arrangements by location (it's all word-of-mouth and is based on size, friendliness of store staff, toilet arrangements); 
• We decide when the best time of day to shower is so that we don't end up wet and running to the shelter in a towel; I know some teenagers who have this all figured out. I'm too old to care about getting caught in public in my towel.
• We get really peeved when the sirens go off when we are watching a good movie while riding the stationary bike at the gym; Ten minutes to get to the shelter, wait out the boom, and get back to the gym really disrupts the story line of a TV movie.
• We try to figure out if it is worth the drive to Tel Aviv to see a dance performance at 7:00 pm because that is another popular bombing time; I mean who wants to get dressed up just so you can pull over on the side of the highway, jump out of the car and lie on the pavement in your good clothes?
• We wonder if we need to wear pajamas in case we have to jump out of bed in the middle of the night for another shelter rendezvous. Okay, towels are one thing but nudity is a totally different story.
• And when the guy painting your house mentions that his son is one of the Iron Dome soldiers you want to kiss him and thank him for contributing his sperm to such a worthwhile project.

The problem is that very few of us olim really considered the implications of Hamas being so irrationally suicidal that the Israeli government might actually have no choice but to introduce a ground war. Don't bother saying you knew it was coming -- I am out there everyday with the rest of you and I can tell you that there was a lot of sidewalk discussion about soldiers sitting around twiddling their thumbs. Truth be told, we didn't mind.

And then it happened. 

I know I wasn't the only one refreshing Google News for the millionth time yesterday when the news bulletin popped up. I felt like I had just hit a brick wall going 90 miles an hour. Somehow you can feel total panic and numbness at the same time. And then as the numbness starts to subside, fear begins to fill the void almost instantly. Nature really does abhor a vacuum.

Then as you try to regain any inkling of clear, rational thought, you start to remember everyone you spoke to the previous week who mentioned that their son was sitting near the border with Gaza awaiting instructions. 

All of a sudden the war is real. All of a sudden you are scared -- not for yourself, but for the implications for all of us. All of a sudden your clever mental adjustments for sirens fall away and if you are me, you start to cry. I am not a big crier, but it just overcame me. I couldn't help it and I couldn't stop it.

So as we go into Shabbat -- July 18, 2014 -- I wish all of Israel quiet. I wish all the members of Hamas to be swooped up in the Islamic version of The Rapture so they can all go straight to their 72 virgins and I can go back to my otherwise wonderful life here. I really do not want to lie on the ground in my good clothes.

I am past my super-saturation point

I am just not built to keep my thoughts to myself. I can't help it. When people say things that really upset me, I try as hard as I can to stay quiet. I really do. Generally, I am successful but once in a while, when emotions are running high due to circumstances beyond my control, I just bubble over and explode. I am at that super-saturation point now.

First, before I get to what is bothering me, I would like to thank all my friends and family who have written to inquire about our well-being over this past week. That was very nice of you and I appreciate it. I would also like to thank my mother who has called me more in the past week than she has the past year.

Now for the people that I would like to disappear off the face of the Earth. In no particular order because I think you are all ignorant, misinformed and deluded individuals.

1. Those armchair Israel supporters outside of Israel who say the most ridiculous things -- all the while trying to sound like they either know what they are talking about or act like they are really concerned about what is happening here. Stop giving me and everyone I know "likes" on Facebook when we post about the war. And for heaven's sake, stop posting your own crap concerning a ground invasion into Gaza. Did the IDF ask for your input? I didn't think so. So stop giving it.

I can't say too much because I don't want to start my own personal Holy War, but I will say this. If one more person who supports Israel, from outside the borders of the State, insists on posting their opinion on a social media site that I follow concerning what the IDF should do, I am going to get on a plane and come throttle you.  I ran an ad hoc survey in synagogue last night and everyone agrees with me (lefties and righties) that if you continue to do so, they would be happy to join me. Trust me, it will go a lot faster if I have help.

If you do not have a horse in the race, then just shut up and be supportive. We are not interested in your opinions or your "likes". Your input is cavalier and you pride yourselves without cause. It's not your sons, sons' friends, friends' sons, etc... whose lives are at risk. You have no right to say anything. If you actually want to do something useful, write a letter to your government officials telling them how they can influence the situation (they won't, but you will feel better and I won't be so upset with you). Better still, go collect money and toys for people in the southern communities of Israel who are too busy running to their bomb shelters to write any letters. There are definitely ways you can be helpful; lots of them. Giving your thoughts on military strategy is not one of them.

Now in the name of balanced commenting, one of my friends suggested that when Jews outside of Israel give money to Israeli causes they fully expect to be able to give their accompanying opinions.  Let me just nip that whole idea in the bud; stop expecting something in return for your money – it compromises the quality your generosity. And if you can't give money without giving opinions, then keep your money. We don't need it. There is no comparison between the importance of your donation and the value of our children.

2. The western media – take a look at a few of the most recent doozers. Breibart.com and BusinessWeek. Essentially what both articles say is that Israel has an unfair advantage over the so-called Palestinians (SCP) because we have the Iron Dome. And we are losing the battle for international support because of it. First of all, FYI, we don't care. We aren't in the battle to begin with. And second, what would you expect your government to do if you were being attacked constantly by a bunch of madmen? If the government has to call everyone it knows in far flung locations before it makes a move, we will be suitably dead and then we will surely gain heaps of international praise.

I really could say more but if that doesn't say it all, I don't know what will. If being the only democracy within at least a thousand mile radius doesn't give Israel credibility, nothing will. The only kind of Jews the world likes are dead Jews. I have said that before and if necessary I will say it again. If you don't believe me just check The New York Times, the Grand Pooba of anti-Israel bias in the guise of a respectable newspaper  with fair reporting. I just can't wait until all the radical Muslims move into your neighbourhoods and want to impose Sharia Law on you or want to wipe you off the face of the Earth. I'm not joking. I can't wait.

3. The rude woman in Sobeys grocery store in Thornhill, Ontario, who, six years ago, interrupted my conversation to say: "I overheard you say you live in Ra'anana. chatter.... chatter.... chattter....Well, Ra'anana isn't really Israel." Rude lady, whoever the hell you were, I am sitting here now while my totally Israeli son is on his way back to his totally Israeli yeshiva in the West Bank (at 11:00 pm Saturday night) and I am stress eating my totally Israeli popcorn that I bought in my totally Israeli grocery store, so you can bite me.

Now I feel much better.