[Background: I lived in Israel after I graduated college in the US and served in the IDF at the end of the first Lebanon war and then during the first Intifada, around 1985-1988). My best friend in the IDF and I have remained close since then, he still lives in Israel and now has three boys, two of them military age. When I was visiting Israel last November I spent a lot of time with the young son in the military and he is in a special forces unit that specifically trains for urban combat in Gaza. The funny thing is that he was most interested in hearing about my hunting stories and really liked the stories about stalking big game across long distances. This is the Facebook post he made today and it basically sums up everything about the conflict. One side is sending kids into danger hoping for them to be killed, the other side sends their kids into danger hoping that they come home safe and can protect the country]
"For my Facebook friends that don’t live in Israel, I wanted to send you a short message.
I am not sure how much you hear about what is going on here, but if you are listening to the news lately, you may be getting a less than full idea of the situation on the ground.
There have been huge and violent demonstrations among the Arabic population in Gaza lately, on the border with Israel. The objectives of these incidents are simple: to subject the Israeli army and the surrounding area residents to as much injury and damage as possible. Boulders, Molotov cocktails, kites (yes kites) in flames are sent across the narrow border – all with the ability to kill. This in fact has been going on in an organized manner for many weeks, although intensifying this week in conjunction with the moving of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
I have two sons doing their mandatory army service, and one of them is stationed exactly in this area. Every day my friends and I compare notes, discussing if our children were hurt or if they were forced to protect themselves. Thank goodness my sons are uninjured so far, besides the unknown effect of the traumatic conditions they are forced to endure.
Please keep my sons in mind when you hear these stories from far away.
We in Israel have absolutely no offensive objectives, trying to gain more land or whatever else. We simply wish to live in peace and security.
May this time come soon!"
