Ezzie's Blog Roundup II, 1/29

Been wanting to post this (hat tip: Ed) for a while, but it's better after a couple weeks of news pieces. The difference is that this is a comedy show.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Changefest '09 - Obama's Inaugural Speech

Daily Show Full Episodes
Funny Political Videos

More Funny Videos
Comedians on Tour

• Inspiring post by JACP - Because I Can, And So I Did.
• A Soldier's Mother posts a moving letter from a soldier to the Palestinian house he stayed in in Gaza.
• Northern Light discusses the homeless and how attitudes have changed since the Great Depression.
  
• EoZ has a comic from 1956 that's... well, nothing has changed. (I've seen this flying around since yesterday - Jameel had it today, too.)
• Via Freakonomics, Will Wilkinson asks if economists are completely clueless.
  

Enjoy!

The Best Present

When my brother turned 8-1/2 years old, he was given the best present of his life. Now, 25-1/2 years later, I get the pleasure of noting that he is more than two-thirds of the way to 50 years old, turning a grand old 34 years of age today. Happy birthday, OD! :)

A bunch of interesting pieces that aren't worth whole posts but are worth noting...

• A good friend of ours served in a new unit of the IDF during the war, sending off drones that look like model planes (but weigh a ton) and then live monitoring from the front-line command centers in Gaza, embedded with Golani brigades, what was just ahead of advancing troops. Street by street, they'd help the troops they were with move forward safely. The article about the unit is here in English and Hebrew; the Hebrew version has a video of a drone launch.
• Merkaz HaRav - A moving interview with the man who stopped the terrorists, David Shapira, at Jameel's; and Robert Avrech publicizes a wide unity event scheduled for the upcoming yahrtzeit of those who were killed.
  
• Last stuff on Gaza for now: Note how little the newscaster for Al-Arabiya cares that rockets were launched from right under her; lyrics to the song by R' Aviner; amazing to see people claim that the smuggling tunnels are mostly gone, while FOX can watch them smuggle things live and even talk to the smugglers about it; two commentaries on the post-mortem of the war, with different stances - yet both quite well written and interesting; and finally, a map of part of Gaza City noting schools, other buildings, and of course, rocket launchers and the like.
  

Soldiers' Names

Feel free to print these out and bring to shul... MiI and Tali have lists of the chayalim who have been injured and could use your tefillos. Have a wonderful Shabbos!

A beautiful example of Israeli humanitarianism:

SerandEz On Crack

That's probably not such a good title... Ah well. I started using a "stuff to post" folder in my bookmarks sidebar recently, figuring it'd be easy to put together posts and articles I really enjoyed or thought were worthy of greater dissemination, but don't have much to add to them. This latest pull started a few days ago, and as I waited to post due to the sudden burst from my friends, it built up way too fast - there's just too much worthwhile stuff out there. The following is the latest batch; some are serious, some are not; some will move you, some will make you cry; some will make you laugh, and some are just plain interesting. Enjoy!

Just so you know, this is how I grew up:

You know what else makes you question things? Waking up in Cleveland, Ohio, and looking north out the window of your Marriott hotel room and realizing that there’s a barely discernible line out there in the distance, and that that line separates the gray lake from the slightly less gray air; then going down to breakfast and watching out the window as two men carrying stacks of overstuffed binders walk straight into the teeth of the wind screaming o Lake Erie, their faces being savaged by tiny airborne razor blades; then going back up to your room and looking out your window again and observing that, while the gray slab of day has lightened a little, the contrast between lake and sky is still imperceptible; and then finally realizing that the people of Cleveland live a large portion of their lives inside a howling, subfreezing, youth-repelling, job-vanishing, anti-light box.

That's part of a really fascinating piece on LeBron James in GQ. Also, Broadway apologized to Cleveland for making fun of it in an ad, and is giving out free tickets to people with Ohio licenses! Elsewhere...

Israel vs. Gaza:

• A Soldier's Mother relates the difference in reactions in two cities... and what it's like to see your son for a brief moment during war.
• The best compilation of clips a person would need to show anyone why children die in Gaza. The scariest one is this really sweet kid, playing games with Hamas members as shooting is going on outside, talking about his future, them talking about his future, answering the reporter's questions... and then what the kid is doing at the very end: Acting as a lookout at night while Hamas carries out attacks and moves from place to place.
• RafiG posts Menachem Lipkin's excellent piece detailing what it's like to suddenly understand how Sderot lives, after the sirens went off in Jerusalem. (And about having a son in Gaza.)
• A piece in the WSJ notes that the Palestinians are helping Israel to defeat Hamas.
• EoZ has an amazing (old) video of an Israeli soldier using a Palestinian as a human shield. Wrong? Well, no - he used the Palestinian who had just thrown a grenade at him as a shield against that very grenade. Ridiculous.
• RafiG on the meetings between the army and R' Shteinman, with the army encouraging R' Shteinman to allow Arab workers to work. Interesting.
  

World (& Media):

• These riots are actually a bit scary. Batya has some crazy clips of protests in London against Israel, which are mostly large masses of Muslims and others chasing the British police for blocks, throwing orange cones and other items at them in the process. (Note: I'm pretty sure that there have been no violent pro-Israel demonstrations.)
• Via Yourish, watch this takedown of a CNN anchor by Israeli spokesman Mark Regev. He did a fabulous job answering every point.
  
• EoZ catches the ICRC President in quite the lie - not only is Gaza not so incredibly densely populated, but guess what is many times more densely populated than Gaza - or even Gaza City? That's right: Manhattan.
• Israel Matzav calls this the best commentary on Gaza. It's up there.
  
• Treppenwitz notes that every one of Israel's neighbors has checked into the fight.
  

Judaism & Life:

• Who wants to help Irina pick a Jewish name?
• MiI and ProfK on questions to consider when picking a school.
• R' Dr. Benzion Twerski on suicide.
• Nephtuli pointed out this interesting piece on Mr. Mom on CNN.

Israel Uncovers Booby Trapped School in Gaza

This is a really fascinating video, posted by the IDF Spokesperson, showing Israeli soldiers detailing how Hamas had booby-trapped an entire school with explosives, with the fuse starting from a neighboring zoo. Luckily, the IDF did not get hurt, and perhaps more importantly, they were able to film and publish the video showing just how Hamas works. Take a moment, watch, and send it around.

Stand Up & Support Israel

Thanks to SuperRaizy for the reminder...

For those who live in the New York area [or who can travel to it from along the Atlantic Seaboard], there will be a Solidarity Rally to support Israel outside of the Israeli Consulate (42 St. & 2nd Ave.) this Sunday at 11:00 AM.

Dear Diary

(Reposted from here)

Today rockets landed in Northern Israel. Everything seems to be so out of control. I'm afraid something much worse is going to happen before things get better. Hamas keeps sending rockets from Gaza and Israel keeps getting blamed for all the deaths. I just don't get it. Why can't smart people use their common sense and see that Israel is the one being bullied here?

I feel so helpless. There's nothing left for me to write - it's all been written already. Besides, who would hear me? I can pray, but I can't see the results of my prayer. I pray every day and every day there is still war. I feel guilty for sitting here in America complaining about my misfortunes. Woe is me who feels helpless. I'm safe, aren't I? Shouldn't that be good enough? Those rockets can't reach me here.

So strongly do I feel my insignificance. I am a mere pinprick in the vast enormity of the world, and no amount of "but every person matters"will convince me otherwise. I know how much effect I have on things. Zero.

What do my fears, my cries, my desperate yearnings for Israel's peaceful sovereignty matter in the great wide world? Who is listening? Who cares? I'm just an anonymous American girl who would probably get eaten alive by any well-educated Palestinian supporter who really knew how to argue. I don't want to argue. As much as I want to punch Hamas in the face, as much as it angers me to see people being so blind to what's really going on, I don't want to get caught up in arguments that serve no purpose but to rile up the other side. Any true Palestinian supporter is not going to change his mind just because I can spit back the pro-Israel script.

Sometimes it feels like no matter how much I follow the news, no matter how much I learn, no matter how much I think I know, there's always some very important fact I don't know. That always gets me in the end.

I wish I was more powerful.

Sometimes it's like the entire world has lost its mind. I know I shouldn't throw around labels, but so much has gotten so liberal, so overly tolerant, that the lines of tolerance have gotten completely blurred. Tolerance and acceptance are not the same. I can tolerate something going on, within reason of course, without giving it my okay. I am allowed to disagree with something I feel is immoral. That's not discrimination. Just because someone is not living the ideal life, just because someone seems to be an underdog, doesn't mean that person is doing the right thing. Where do we draw the tolerance line? I feel like I live in a world that is constantly apologizing for itself. Isn't that what makes it possible for terrorists to use civilian shields? Because whoever attacks those poor civilians is automatically evil? Isn't that what makes it possible for a country to give another, smaller group of people a piece of land, those people using that land to attack the first country, the first country attacking this smaller group of people in defense, and the first country ending up the horrible enemy? The terms "good" and "evil" are not as black and white as that. Why is that so difficult to see? Someone being harmed does not mean the action which caused that harm was evil. And someone being saved does not mean it was a good thing that person was saved. Good and evil are not the same as comfort and discomfort. We don't live in this world to be comfortable. We live to be moral.

This diary entry is only that. A diary entry. No one needs to read it because I'm not saying anything new. I'm saying what's already been said. Just look around. There is no need for me to speak, and so I remain silent, except in my own private thoughts, in my own writings, in my own diary.

I hope the world, one day, will learn not to be blind and will finally be able to...see.

It's Been A Hard Day's Night

It's been a long week, hasn't it? It's hard to believe Chanukah was over just a week and a half ago...

At Casa SerandEz, we've been weathering a mild case of strep for Serach that knocked her out of commission for a couple of days, helping plan and make calls for the Lander Alumni Shabbaton for next month, following the news, and otherwise surviving. Now we're preparing for a nice reunion weekend with some good friends, while wondering how to defeat the Empire of G and why people never tell us their thoughts on our rare serious piece of writing. Ah well.

There's just too much happening to round things up or express coherent thoughts, so some random musings on different subjects:

• Just as a reminder, first: Jameel & Aussie Dave are live-blogging everything from Israel (with some assistance from friends to keep it going 24 hours a day). Jack is rounding up posts and articles from all over consistently (usually twice a day). The IDF Spokesperson puts out official summaries and videos here and there. And it's worthwhile to plug an amazing blog: An Israeli Soldier's Mother.
  

• There are countless pieces all over the internet about what is going on in Israel; the objective of my piece was to actually go through the options available to Israel, which is something I haven't really seen.
• Pictures you won't be seeing anytime soon on the major news media: Israeli soldiers helping out Palestinian civilians (can't find the blog now, anyone know?) and Hamas terrorists who had just been shooting at them who they captured. (Pictures you won't be seeing anywhere, ever: Hamas helping Israeli civilians or soldiers. Pictures you'll rarely see, either: These.)

Other good stuff, thoughts:

• If you're a Browns (or Bengals) fan - ouch.
• Not sure what to think of Mangini... posted my thoughts in short here.
• Napping works better than caffeine.
• Elder of Ziyon (who has been awesome - check out the rockets calendars especially) rips the Guardian for letting Hamas' Meshaal write a propaganda op-ed.
• Great piece on Dan at BeyondBT. Ironically, as a kid, I always wanted to be from Shevet Dan. Lots of lessons well put in the post...
  
• The WSJ has really good pieces [all very different aspects] by Natan Sharansky, Bibi Netanyahu, and its own Brett Stephens.
• WestBankMama thinks Hamas is losing both short-term and long-term.
• Treppenwitz thinks the SkyNews studio he was interviewed in demonstrates well how others see the Middle East.
• Hard to know what to make of this: The New York Post goes after a former SEC mid-level employee who was named by Markopolis as having worked on (and let go) Madoff. While I'm sure she did the best she could and that it wasn't the easiest thing to catch, Markopolis had laid out pretty well why it had to be bogus; the real story is that the SEC is probably full of hard-working, well-meaning people just not cut out for the task: "...branch chief in New York, actually investigated [Markopolos' claims] but with no result that I am aware of. In my conversations with her, I did not believe that she had the derivatives or mathematical background to understand the violation." Ouch. Yet another problem with the ideas of regulation - people end up relying on them, and guess what! Government often can't do things as well.
• Loved this one, which a number of people have pointed to - Jeffrey Goldberg in the Atlantic (!) rips the world: The World's Pornographic Interest in Jewish Moral Failure.

The Lone(ly) Moral Path

One cannot turn on the news or visit nearly any news website today without a screaming headline about the war between Israel and Hamas in Southern Israel and in Gaza. This latest series pits each side into a war that almost seems to have more to do with public relations, the media, and getting out their message than it does with the actual fighting - though of course that PR war is all about how each one is fighting. While everyone the world over seems to have condemned Hamas' actions of sending rockets into Southern Israel, noting that Israel's difficult 2005 withdrawal from Gaza should have ended the violence, the focus has been squarely on the Israeli response. There is the constant barrage of "Israel has the obligation to defend itself" from its defenders, an equally steady stream of "Israel is striking back disproportionately" by its detractors, and most confusingly, a large group in the middle attempting to say both.

The question this poses to the average follower, however, is: Well, which is it?

Before we can answer this, we have to analyze what options are available to any government in Israel's position and what restraint must be exercised in the quest for an effective but moral response. There would seem to be five basic options available; the first two being the easiest to reject:

• Israel should nuke Gaza. The pros of this approach are obvious: It effectively solves the problem. Hamas will cease to exist, and Israel probably wouldn't have to worry about its neighbors much after that. The con is a small thing called morality: The killing of millions of civilians is, you know, immoral - not to mention the likelihood that such an action would start a regional if not world war and create havoc around the globe.
  
• Israel should do nothing. This approach is only slightly murkier: Israel would not have to worry about killing civilians, as they wouldn't be killing anyone at all. The rather important con, however, is that this too is completely immoral. Every government is responsible for the protection of its citizens and has an obligation to carry out that responsibility, however difficult it might be. All people have the right to expect their government to protect them from any and all terror attacks.
  

As neither of those caricatured options are even remotely appropriate, the answer must lie somewhere in between. The difficulty is, as always, in determining where that balance lies. Certainly, it would be lovely if all of Hamas would congregate in a remote field where Israel could stop the terror threat without a single civilian casualty; as this is not reality, however, Israel cannot wantonly bomb Hamas without inflicting destruction on Gaza's civilians. The remaining options are the following:

• Israel should bomb all Hamas positions. The argument for this approach would be that every Hamas target needs to be destroyed, and civilians are simply unwitting pawns who unfortunately cannot be spared to oust the terrorist threat. Moreover, some may argue that the population's overwhelming support for terror and their election of Hamas in democratic elections means that they deserve what they voted in - war.
• Israel should engage in a tit-for-tat with Hamas, striking only at targets which are clear and present dangers to Israel. For example, anytime a rocket is fired at Israel, Israel could take out that rocket while trying to avoid any civilian casualties. Or perhaps even more carefully, Israel would take out only threats which were immediate dangers and those which would definitely result in zero civilian casualties. More simply put, Israel's primary objective would be to minimize all civilian casualties, and within that framework, destroy as much of Hamas as possible. Strikes at Hamas would be limited to those which did not hurt civilians as well.
  
• Israel should avoid civilian casualties only insofar as it doesn't limit its own ability to take out terrorist targets. Israel's primary objective would be to maximize the dismantling of Hamas' terror capabilities while giving as much attention to avoiding civilian casualties as can be reasonably expected within that framework.

As the primary desire is to create the most effective moral solution to the current situation, it is very difficult to say that indiscriminate bombing is a fair approach. While it would fulfill Israel's responsibilities to its citizens, it would effectively end any chance of a lasting peace with a group which already shows a difficulty in respecting Israel's desire for coexistence and peace. Indiscriminate bombing sends a clear message that Israel places its own desires not just first, as one might reasonably expect, but too far above those of the Palestinians.

On the flip side of this, a framework which proposes the minimization of all civilian casualties as its primary objective is simply not sustainable, and in the long run, immoral. Terrorists - and Hamas is quite clearly guilty of this tactic - make use of civilians to protect themselves from attack. A reluctance to take out a terrorist for fear of harming civilians allows and encourages terrorists to further exploit innocent civilians for their purposes, placing themselves amidst large populations to dare their opponents to target them. This translates into civilians constantly being placed in harm's way, and often will result in their economic loss, injury, and death when the other party feels compelled to attack regardless. Simply being placed into such a situation is immoral; on top of that, it furthers terrorism by protecting those terrorists who would otherwise be eliminated, when the more moral attacking party is uncomfortable with the civilian casualties that would be incurred. (This process has been seen countless times in the Palestinian territories, as Hamas leaders will often place themselves in large urban populations. When they are still not important threats, Israel refuses to take them out, citing the collateral damage that would occur; when they are finally too important to ignore, Israel is forced into a position where their actions are likely to kill the many family and friends who either wish to stay with the terrorist or are unable to get out, even after warnings from the Israeli Defense Forces.) Furthermore, an unwillingness to take such terrorists out would result in greater popular support for them while allowing the nearby civilians to be deluded into even greater service on behalf of a cause that they see firsthand actually works.

What remains as the only viable option for a moral army is the precision targeting of enemy units, minimizing the impact such actions would have on civilians - but without sacrificing any necessary undertakings. It is a maximization of attack first, an accounting for civilian casualties second. A responsible and moral government cannot trade the lives and well-being of its citizens in a quest to avoid casualties. Even one terror attack is an allowance a government is not permitted to make on behalf of its citizens. To that end, all stops must be pulled out in ensuring that a terror regime cannot survive. Unfortunately, this translates into occasions where civilians will unwittingly be killed because of their proximity to terrorists who have deliberately placed themselves next door - or even under the same ceiling. To that end, Israel's willingness to risk missing some terrorists in the short-term to avoid large civilian casualties by sending out advance warnings is quite impressive and honorable. However, once such a warning has already been given, even if the civilians remain, it is an army's responsibility to carry out its operation regardless of the tragic loss of life that may occur in the process. In the long-term, this will also help reduce the ability of terrorists to utilize human shields, as they will not stop the terrorists from being targeted; not only would the terrorists still die, but they themselves would be blamed for the civilian deaths as well, eroding the group's popular support. (This, too, is being seen in Gaza, as Hamas is being increasingly blamed for the deaths of civilians.)

One of the biggest problems in the Middle East has been Israel's inability to consistently stay with any option, let alone the correct one. For decades, Israel's approach has fluctuated from doing nothing to strong bombing, from tit-for-tat to precision strikes. For there to be any kind of peace between Israel and Gaza, Israel must make it clear to Hamas, the Palestinian people, and the rest of the world that they will be taking one and only one approach to this conflict which has already cost so many lives, and there is only one such road to take. This option will not be easy and it will certainly not be comfortable, but for the sake of its own Israeli citizens and for the future of the civilians of Gaza, Israel must choose this lone - and if need be, lonely - moral path.

Below The Gartel

In light of the current war, I noticed (via Josh/ParshaBlog) that some are using this as an excuse to question and/or bash Charedim and their approach to learning vs. serving in the army, due to the fact that many yeshivos are fleeing from areas which are in range of rockets to the North. JewishWorker:

On one hand the move is understandable, with rockets landing in Ashdod they wanted to move to a safer place. However, on the other hand, this raises some serious questions. The Charedi world justifies the draft exemption for yeshiva students based on the following:

1. Torah learning protects everyone
2. The boys are engaged in מלחמתה של תורה
3. Talmidie Chachamim don't need protection

Based on these it would seem that the Yeshivas should stay where they are. If the boys who are learning are engaged in war just like the soldiers why should they abandon their posts? In addition if Torah learning protects, let them stay where they are and be protected by their Torah. Their move undermines the claim for draft exemptions and looks very bad. The soldiers are entering Gaza to fight while the yeshiva bachurim are fleeing to safer havens.

These criticisms seem to be below the belt and unfair, if not stupid. Whatever one's opinions are on serving in the IDF vs. learning Torah, this seems to be a misrepresentation of the Charedi position and an illogical conclusion regardless of the Charedi position. As it was presented to me, part of the Charedi position on serving stems from the ability of the army to function without them. There is no need (and to a large extent, desire) on the part of the IDF to enlist thousands of Charedi yeshiva bochurim into the army. That said, they recognize that every person should be doing their part in the servicing of the country, and feel that the best way for them to do so is to learn, which is an integral part of keeping the country safe.

Regardless of whether this is true or not, or whether one agrees with the line of reasoning or not (or even if one agrees that that is the line of reasoning!), the suggestion that moving out of the range of rockets somehow undermines the Charedi position is mind-boggling [and stinks of Charedi-bashing]. Certainly, learning Torah is not magic. Nobody [normal] would suggest moving the yeshiva bochurim to sit on top of tanks to protect them. Simply having a number of bochurim in a yeshiva in Ashdod or Ashkelon or wherever will not create an invisible bubble shield around the city to keep rockets out - or even around the yeshiva building. It is not unreasonable to suggest that many of the same people criticizing them now would criticize them for relying on such ideas and putting themselves into danger if they remained.

As is clear from this post on VINNews (also via Josh), which details what different yeshivos are doing, the primary question each yeshiva is debating is whether the danger from the rockets warrants uprooting themselves to move North for the time being. Yes, Torah "protects" - but it doesn't justify or allow putting one's self (or leaving one's self) in a makom sakanah (situation of danger). Moreover, one could just as easily argue that for them to carry out their 'duties', they are best able to do so in areas where they don't have to be concerned about safety, where there are no distractions from a rocket landing nearby, where they aren't rushing every couple of hours into bomb shelters. The idea that Charedim taking the same types of precautions as any other Israeli citizen in a time of war is somehow hypocritical to their position seems to be rather ridiculous.

War Is Cruelty

“War is cruelty. There's no use trying to reform it. The crueler it is, the sooner it will be over.” - William Tecumseh Sherman

I was thinking about the war, and how different people approach war and truthfully, many problems in life. There are times where it is best to simply face up to the problem, take the 'lumps', as you will, and move on. This is certainly true in war, as stated so well above by General Sherman during the Civil War. As I was thinking about this, I was reminded of a short op-ed I wrote for the Lander Chronicle [Vol. 4 Issue 1] in the fall of 2003. Large chunks of it are quite apropos now, so I'm reposting it in full here. (The writing is a bit weak, especially in the beginning, but I threw it together rather fast and was forced to edit out a bit by the school. Long story.)

~~~~~~~

There is an old cliché in sports: ‘Defense wins championships.’ There is also a second truism on the subject: ‘The best defense is a good offense.’ The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have had an elite defense for over five years, yet were never able to win the NFL championship until this past year. The explanation for this was an offense that was so fruitless that their defense, no matter how superb, was not enough to compensate. In warfare as in sports, these guidelines form the foundation for victory. The Soviet Union did not win World War II by successfully defending their motherland from the Nazis. Defense does not stop the opposition from attacking; it only diminishes the effect of that attack. Attacking is different: it weakens, and possibly devastates, the opposition’s capacity to attack; if only because they now have to concentrate on their own defenses. Hence, it follows that World War II was won when the Russians, British, and Americans finally infiltrated Germany and smashed its capacity to wreak havoc and destruction upon the world. These concepts should be applied to the State of Israel. Israel has a horrible mess on its hands – not only from the now 3-year old Palestinian intifada, but from world pressure and condemnation. However, there is a way out of both messes at once, and that’s to temporarily make them both bigger. Israel’s only option to make its land safe for its citizens, and to gain worldwide respect, is to stick to its guns: both figuratively and literally.

As a visiting group of US Senators pointed out recently, Israel has the firepower to destroy the terrorist infrastructure among the Palestinians, they just lack the resolve to use it for fear of world opinion. But this is illogical. Currently, they are being condemned at every turn, no matter how hard they try to be accommodating. Therefore, they have little to lose in terms of political capital. Economically, Israel can no longer afford to allow this charade to continue.

The drain the intifada has had on the economy is staggering. There has been only one short period in which the economy stopped falling, public pressure was reduced, and people weren’t being killed as often: when they followed the United States’ lead in Afghanistan and went in strong after the terrorists. This is not even remotely surprising. There seems to be a recurring theme in history that those ethical leaders who have the fortitude to use power to achieve a safer world are shunned and yelled at before they act, yet praised and respected when they do. They are questioned on a moral basis: How could they destroy another? Yet these questioners fail to acknowledge that these others are oppressors and bullies, inherent threats to the world as a whole. And when they are at long last confronted, those who showed their courage are praised. Just as Israel was at first eschewed for its strike on the Egyptian Air Force in 1967, and again for its attack on Iraq’s nuclear facilities in 1981, these decisive actions were imperative to its safety. Now, these are hailed as two of the most brilliant tactical maneuvers in modern warfare, in addition to being viewed as heroic, brave – and necessary.

In the Civil War, General William Tecumseh Sherman decided to absolutely annihilate everything in his armies’ paths; whether soldiers, tobacco fields, or entire cities. In a speech to the leaders of the city of Atlanta, he explains why he is intent on burning their hometown to the ground despite their pleas: “[I] shall not revoke my orders, because they were not designed to meet the humanities of the cause, but to prepare for the future struggles in which millions of good people outside of Atlanta have a deep interest.” Later he laments about the press, “You have heretofore read public sentiment in your newspapers that live by falsehood and excitement; and the quicker you seek for truth in other quarters, the better.” But his deepest comments were in the middle of his speech: “I want peace, and believe it can only be reached
through union and war.” Just as General Sherman did then, Israel must now act for its survival as a nation by fighting for its people and its ideals. It must ignore the press and the so-called “humanist” claims heaped upon them; show enough prescience to look not just at the present, but in the future struggles of millions; and show its resolve by attacking the terrorists with a strong arm and its superior firepower until the possibility of threat is totally stamped out of existence.

Ezzie Goldish
First Year Representative

Where To Read About The War

Firstly, the IDF Spokesperson now has a blog as well, which shows, discusses, and gives some explanation of some of the actions being carried out in Operation Cast Lead, or even some footage of Hamas actions just to show how they truly work, such as shooting mortars from a UN school. It also has a post in memoriam for the soldier who was killed by a rocket two days ago.

Jameel (@ the Muqata) and Dave (IsraellyCool) are the live-bloggers of this war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Jack keeps churning out roundups of posts from the J-blogosphere and pieces from the media, though it's worthwhile to note that the stories the media picks up tend to be about a day or two behind the blogs. Even some of the news aspects are slightly trailing the blogs...

A couple posts I particularly liked in addition to Gila's below were Treppenwitz' on the media being allowed into Gaza, and WestBankMama's on an impressive feat the Israeli school system is pulling off, educating even the 200,000 students who are within range of the rockets and can't go to school. Excerpts on expand.

3. The Palestinians have demonstrated their willingness to play to the cameras during two Intifadas. Your presence has a tendency to get young, bored, otherwise-non-political Palis out onto the streets and into violent confrontations with our troops. So far we've been able to limit our attacks to Hamas leaders and combatants. But once your camera crews draw out the idle young mobs, the casualty figures will shoot through the roof. And that will end up being your story. Reporters are supposed to report the news... not manufacture it.

4. You have demonstrated that you have no contextual or historical background for covering this conflict. You have also made it clear you have no desire to acquire either. You will inevitably send in 'journalists' who don't know the geography, language, culture or history of either side in this conflict, forcing them to rely on unreliable (and biased) local sources and 'fixers' to supply the meat of their stories. There are already Palestinian journalists inside Gaza. Your stories are going to end up echoing their propaganda, so why not just take their feed?

The educational ministry has set up a way to teach the kids (at least part time) by having both the students and teachers go online. Each schoolkid gets a special code and a time to go on to a site, and he gets assignments from his teacher. Sometimes the teacher is online also, and can answer questions in real time.

Due to the fact that the cities of Sderot and the small villages near the Gaza border have been under rocket attack for years, the government saw to it that each child received a computer. They haven’t done the same for the students in Ashdod or Beersheva, because the rockets haven’t reached there until now. But at least most of the kids are covered.

Enough

With thanks to Chana; posted with permission. (Ed. note: Edited slightly for presentation.)

ENOUGH
by Gila (Kanal) Zarbiv

Enough.

I am tired of turning on the news and seeing them talk about Israel's disproportionate attacks.
Where were they when Kasam after Kasam landed on Sderot?
Where were they when we pulled out of Gaza to give the Palestinians their chance to have change?
Where were they when the Israeli army went door to door seeking out terrorists and risking THEIR lives to save the lives of innocent civilians?
Where were they when Israel stood by since 2001 and let Kasams kill innocent Israelis and DID NOTHING!?
Where have they been?!

How dare anyone make this anything other than it really is: Israel defending her people, her nation, and her homeland. It is not a revelation that Israel has not lost a war since her existence. Its a necessity! When we lose a war we will lose our homeland. There is nowhere for us to surrender to! We are surrounded by countries that hate Israel and the Jewish people and would like nothing better than to push us into the sea. If we give them that chance, we will drown.
So now, Jewish world, as you sit back and watch your brothers fight for you and your family die for you, I beg you to fight back! Challenge this close minded, one sided, media bias that we see every day.

Enough is enough! I dare one of those reporters to come to Sderot, or Ashkelon, or Be'er Sheva and survive one night. I dare them to walk through the streets, hear the sirens, fall to their knees, and hold their breaths for 15 seconds as a Kasam wails overhead. I dare them to hear the voice "Code Red, Code Red" and wonder, is this the end? Is this going to be the rocket that lands on me? Am I going to be the next statistic on CNN?

How many times do we hear "only one killed in Sderot" and breathe a sigh of relief. "Only one." Close your eyes and imagine your wife, your husband, daughter, son, brother, sister, boyfriend, girlfriend, father, or mother were that "only one." It's OK. It was just one. Stop whining...

Enough.

I am intensely saddened when I see the pictures of the innocent Palestinian children who are caught up in the cross fire. I am intensely infuriated when their deaths are blamed on Israel. Israel did not ask for this war. Israel did not want this war. Israel did not choose this war. Israel was attacked. Since her very existence she has been attacked. Be it on her buses, her streets, her homes, and her cities.

Let us be very clear. Israel is not randomly attacking Gaza. Israel is responding to the HUNDREDS of rocket attacks that have landed on her soil that have SPECIFICALLY targeted civilians and civilian homes. Israel is responding by bombing SPECIFIC Hamas locations and killing 400 people, 90% of whom are Hamas operatives.

Disproportionate? Hamas kills men, women, and children. Israel kills terrorists.

Disproportionate?

ENOUGH!!

This war, in my opinion, is too late. Israel should have stood up years ago when the first rocket fell.

How ridiculous is it to imagine that after Sept 11th America would have done nothing in response. How dare America start a war! Its disproportionate. All that happened was three measly planes hit three measly buildings! What right do they have to go fight an entire country?! What justification do they have?

The Arabs think they can fight us? They think they are up to our level of standards? Well kol yisrael arevim zeh lazeh. We Jews are all connected. Take a lesson Arabs. Wake up. You want justice? You want peace? You want equality? Then deserve it! You alone are responsible for the actions of your people and your nation. There is a virus growing in your own people and it is spreading to your children and grandchildren. Stop it!

Enough!

How dare anyone blame this war on Israel. It is time the world practiced what they preached. It is time they live up to their own standards. The next time someone comes to attack THEIR children, I want a completely proportional response. I want them to stop and calculate. Remember, it isn't about saving the lives of your family. It's about making sure that the world approves and will not condemn your actions. Be careful, because apparently in their eyes, all people are not created equal... They can attack us because they are "terrorists" and that's what terrorists do. We cannot fight back because they are cowering behind the backs of 3 year old children.

Enough.

I will not stand silently by watching my family be attacked night and day. I will not sit and wait for the bombs to fall. I will rise and defend my husband, children, and nation by whatever means, doing whatever it takes. Wouldn't you?

Disproportionate?

How dare they.

Enough.

Gila (Kanal) Zarbiv volunteered a couple of summers ago in an ambulance in Sderot, working as a medic, as well as going door to door to different bomb shelters to find out what the citizens of Sderot needed. She has experienced the terror of rockets falling around her, and wrote about that terror and fear [including running out into the open road to grab a child] here.

Can Digital Media Save Israel?

Our friend Jon (whose job title at Digitas is "Emerging Channels Specialist", so he actually knows this stuff a bit) posits that this is the first digital social war:

In a war, everyone has a story to tell. For the first time ever, we are witnessing the first true digital social war.

The Israeli Government and friends of Israel are working tirelessly to share, inform, converse, gather, socialize, advocate and persuade. While diplomatic channels may be closed, the web is always open.

From a marketers perspective, war is the ultimate PR nightmare.

Israel the brand looks to be gearing up to face this head on.

While certainly every war translates into PR battles all over, and Israel has always had its difficulty fighting this battle with a world seemingly bent on being against Israel, new media may be allowing Israel to show its side of the story - unfiltered by major media outlets or foreign governments. While it was Hezbollah who took better of advantage of devices such as YouTube a couple years ago to quickly put up videos of wounded from an Israeli airstrike, Israel is now doing the same (if not better) to put those airstrikes into context - whether by showing rockets being loaded on a truck in a residential neighborhood or the secondary explosions from an ammunition depot in the heart of a Gazan town. Israel has long been ahead of the Palestinians in power and with its moral standards; if they can stay ahead in public relations, perhaps they can actually win a war.

YouTube Pulls IDF Videos

(Hat tip: Jameel) That didn't take long. YouTube has pulled some of the IDF videos from its site, though there are countless other videos of the same type. Of course they pulled the ones that best showed how Hamas keeps its weaponry smack in the middle of civilian populations, and that Israel does anything but bomb indiscriminately.

Shocker.

As The War Rages

Sorry for no posts considering all that's happening, been a bit under the weather here.

My in-laws, sister-in-law, brother-in-law, and nephew are heading to Israel for another nephew's Bar Mitzvah this week. (Mazel Tov to the OurBS, Eh?/Eema2Four family!) Even if they weren't, and even if almost all my living relatives and way too many friends and family friends didn't, it would still be important to know what's going on in Israel this week, as the war with Hamas in Gaza rages on, SO:

• Jameel and Dave are (as usual) live-blogging as much as possible. They're the best sources of straight up "what's happening" that you'll find, certainly here in the States.
• Jack has a pair of roundups of some of the better posts about what's happening, so check those out. He's putting together a third one now.
  
• If you only have time for a couple people, Treppenwitz has had a few great posts this week that really get to the heart of it all; he also notes what anyone can do to help.
• ADDeRabbi has probably the shortest, sweetest post that nails the media coverage perfectly. (Eliezer StrongBad also liked this one and pointed it out as well.) On the flip side, Daled Amos notes that this time around is a little better, with Al-Aqsa even showing a Palestinian girl blaming Hamas for all wars. We'll see.
• I thought this DryBones comic was telling. Read his post, too, but here's the comic: Note that this was not written today, but 33 years ago. Some things just have not changed...
  
• Finally, one thing the IDF and Israel seem to have realized is that PR is extremely important. To that end, the Israel Defense Force seems to have created a YouTube account - IDFNADESK - and they have been putting up videos of operations being carried out. The videos are very telling, showing just how Hamas situates itself among civilian populations - from ammunition depots to carrying missiles to trucks for transport in the middle of the cities - before showing them being blown off the face of the earth. It's actually mind-boggling that Israel has managed to be as precise as they have been in avoiding civilian casualties. (Trep has a good post on this, actually.) Here's one of the videos:

Please have everyone in Israel and serving in the military in your prayers.

The War Has Started in Israel

Shabbat Morning in Israel -- IAF jets attacked Gaza and the operation has begun.

Jameel is war-blogging again; get the latest up-to-date news at The Muqata.

Shavua Tov, Chodesh Tov, Chanuka Sameach.

--Jameel

PS: let's hope we win this time.