A Brief Explanation

Live From War in Israel Day 11

I have some new readers, and I think it is incumbent on me to give a quick history and explain why I ended up here In Israel. I will try to keep this brief.

My parents were both Holocaust survivors from Poland. My mother was 9 when the war broke out. Her entire immediate family was murdered. My father was one of eight siblings, half of whom were murdered along with his parents. I have too many aunts, uncles, and cousins who were killed to count. I have been aware of Nazi atrocities from a very young age.

I (and I am told I am not alone) would always know where the exits in schools or movie theaters were. I would sleep with a bat next to my bed. Normal stuff.

I have always said that I really didn't know this wasn't normal. My wife was the first person I met in my life, when I was 15, who had four grandparents.

When we met, she refused to date me unless I said I would make Aliyah one day. Having no idea what that was, I said yes.

I was 16, I would have said yes to just about anything.

I always knew that Israel was a safe haven for the Jews, a place that would ensure that we would NEVER AGAIN be slaughtered.

It took 37 years, but eventually, we made it. Over that time, we regularly came to Israel, first for a few weeks a year, then to about 10. We sent our kids to Israeli camp in Israel and hoped that one day, when we moved, two of our four kids would join us. We made Aliyah almost eight years ago. Three of our children have as well, and I have not given up hope for the fourth.

Although I probably should have gone to therapy, I have only done so once, shortly after we moved here. I grew up being told that only crazy people need therapy, and if my parents didn’t, then no one did. ( they most likely did but who is going to admit they are crazy)

I was having a lot of anxiety. I came to Israel to be protected and to be in charge of my own destiny as a people. A place where, if push comes to shove, we would not have to depend on anyone but our children and grandchildren to keep us safe. Yet every day, all I heard was Iran threatening to wipe us out. It took a toll on me, so I went to therapy one time, spoke about it, and felt better.

My reaction to the threats was clearly due to my Holocaust upbringing. If anything, I have learned that if someone says they are going to kill you and wipe you off the face of the earth, you should believe that they mean that.

And yet, today  there is no panic. I don't even flinch when a siren goes off. My wife said that my Holocaust PTSD was flaring. I asked her why she thought that. She said that I was insistent that we stock up on supplies like water and canned goods. I explained that that was not PTSD; that was learning from the past. When Hezbollah joins this war, one of the first things they will do is try to disable the power grid and water supply. It is what we would do. In the worst case, we will be eating tuna fish for the next five years.

I am calm because I know what everyone else here knows and what the Palestinians will never understand. Whatever they think, claim, or say, this is our home. Our kids, grandkids, and grandparents will do what we need to do to survive and thrive. We ill continue to build a country that a light unto the nations and maybe after this is done, the other side will finally understand. We are not going anywhere, and we will not be slaughtered.

I read something today on a site called Spiked (which I never heard of) that is the best thing I have read so far, far better than anything I can write. You can find it here: ( https://www.spiked-online.com/2023/10/16/why-wont-the-jews-just-let-themselves-be-killed/ )

Also, Daniel Gordis once again posted and translated a great clip from Israeli news. I think after you see it, you will understand why we will never lose ( Gordis link )Please watch the video at the top of the page to the end

Sorry for going off-topic a bit, but for those of you just joining in the last few weeks, this blog is really all about me and how I deal with living here. It is much cheaper than therapy.