David versus Goliath

Each morning following the Modeh Ani prayer I say to myself, "I feel safe in the unknown."  Followed by, "Thank you Ha'Shem for another day of life.  Give me the grace to live this day... Deeply, fully, and joyfully!"  Each time I open my computer I struggle in deciding if I want blissful ignorance in my day in regards to world events, or if I should start checking news outlets to see what's going on in the world.  Each day the news wins and each day I get more and more frustrated with the UN and the international community's double standards for Israel.

While countries all around us are killing their own people, expelling non-Islamic persons, and are building and buying nuclear weapons and arms; somehow Israel continues to get the bad press.  We're fired on, attacked by rioters, and condemned by the international community over and over again.  For what?  For being Jewish?  For wanting to protect our people and our own country?  For allowing religious freedom?  No other country in the world would allow such nonsense to continue.  No other country would be condemned for protecting it's own people the way we are.  No other country in the middle east protects democracy and freedom the way we do.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) broke agreements with Israel with their bid to the UN for upgraded status recognition.  After more restraint than any other country in the world, Israel announced plans to approve and build over 3,000 homes in the area now known as "E1".  This piece of land connects East Jerusalem to Maale Adumim.  It's the space between Judea and Samaria, connecting the southern and northern parts of the "West Bank".  The world is in an uproar screaming, "injustice!"  Israel has also announced that we will stop paying aide monies to the PA until at least March.  Billions of dollars is currently owed to the Israeli government by the PA for water and energy consumption.  Palestinians in Judea, Sameria, and Gaza are supplied with water and electricity from an Israeli power grid.  Billions of dollars worth of energy is paid by the Israeli tax payer for what?  So some "poor Palestinian" can have water and electricity?  The same Palestinian who will pick up a rock, or sometimes even a molotov cocktail, and hurl it at oncoming traffic.  The same ones who will attack soldiers and start riots.  Thank you Israel for the electricity, water, and aide money.... take a burning tire thrown on the road in front of your car as a token of our gratitude.  Can you sense my frustration?

This week has been nothing short of shocking and frustrating to me as I continue to read article after article about what is going on in the world.  History is about to repeat itself.  We are on the edge of World War 3... we have been for a very long time.  The Christian nations of the world are about to battle with the Arab nations of the world.  This will be a religious war.  If the Christian nations don't make the moves needed, the Jewish nation of Israel will.  Our tiny sliver of land and population will move forward and do what needs to be done.  We will take out nuclear weapons in Iran, we will crush weapons and arsenals in Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, etc.  Whatever and however the job needs to be done, we will do it.  We will do it holding the shield of King David as we fight for what is right.

Do I want war?  Of course not.  Who WANTS war?  I want to see an end to conflict.  I want to see an end to terror and murder.  The world is on the edge of the biggest change we've experienced in our lifetimes.  I truly believe that.  I would love to see us come to that change with openness, love, and tolerance, but that seems to be a reality that is moving further and further away.

As Hanukah is coming to an end I can't help but think about the parallel between the story of Hanukah and what's currently happening in the world around us.  In the story of Hanukah the tiny nation of Israel, a small rag tag group of Rabbis, stood up to the Greeks and fought a courageous and miraculous war.  Right now, the land of Israel is once again looking to stand up for herself against the Arab nations surrounding us.  Once again we are on the side of David as he prepares to fight Goliath.  As I've said before and I will continue to say again... history is bound to repeat itself.  Time is not linear.  Time is circular.  We have stood up to the Greeks, Romans, Egyptians.  We have survived Inquisitions, expulsions, the Holocaust.  We will continue to fight.  We will continue to be strong.  Never again.

As we finish Hanukah and look towards the end of 2012 I pray that we all have holidays filled with light, love, joy, and blessings.