Unfortunately, the Jews have always been everyone's favourite scapegoat. One would have imagined that this would have changed with the creation of Israel in 1948 but the dynamic merely shifted a few degrees. Whenever Arab Governments have internal dissent they lash out at Israel as a sort of safety valve to relieve that internal pressure.
Take Syria as an example; Syria has spent the last 19 months fighting a very bloody civil war in which the state has murdered an estimated 300 women and children a day. I use the word "murdered" as opposed to Collateral Damage because in many cases these killings have been cold blooded executions of non-combatants. As more and more pressure has been applied to the Assad Regime it has responded with provocations against Israel, in an effort to precipitate an Israeli response. Last Friday a mortar shell crossed into Israel and landed in a village street. The next day 3 Syrian tanks crossed into Israel before being attacked and repelled. The next day after that saw 3 more mortar shells land in Israel. Finally Israel sent a "message" via a guided missile that vapourised a Syrian artillery battery.
Most likely related to this Syrian ploy has been the incessant rocket salvos fired by HAMAS into Israel over the last month. Since Saturday more than 120 rockets have landed on Israeli soil in addition to the several dozen intercepted by the IDF's Iron Dome interceptor battery. HAMAS is partner to a 4 way alliance between it, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Iran, and of course Syria. The HAMAS Poltiburo is located in Damascus and so the relationship between the Assad Regime and HAMAS is very tight.
As Israel began absorbing more and more rocket and mortar attacks from Gaza an IDF response became inevitable. Early this morning the IAF, or Israel Air Force, began sorties over Gaza with the very first airstrike neutralising Ahmed Jabbari, the overall commander of the HAMAS military wing. Since then more than 80 sorties have taken place backed by offshore shelling from Israeli naval vessels. As I speak IDF Reserve forces are being positioned at the rear of Active Duty forces which are poised to cross into Gaza. The UN Security Council- as worthless as it is- is meeting here in New York tonight in. Emergency Session to try and diffuse the situation.
My first inclination is to rush home to Israel and try to mobilise but I have been retired for nearly 5 years now. Instead I will experience this conflict as I did Operation Cast Lead in 2008 and 2009, living vicariously through my 3 children in Israel, 2 officers on Active Duty and the 3rd a Command Sergeant in the Reserves.
I am sure that the world will condemn us for daring to attack after hundreds of rockets have caused 1 million Israelis to sleep in bomb shelters for the last month. People can be so blindly ignorant. Were even 1 rocket to land in the US Americans would be screaming for bloody revenge. Only Israel is held up to a different standard.
Take Syria as an example; Syria has spent the last 19 months fighting a very bloody civil war in which the state has murdered an estimated 300 women and children a day. I use the word "murdered" as opposed to Collateral Damage because in many cases these killings have been cold blooded executions of non-combatants. As more and more pressure has been applied to the Assad Regime it has responded with provocations against Israel, in an effort to precipitate an Israeli response. Last Friday a mortar shell crossed into Israel and landed in a village street. The next day 3 Syrian tanks crossed into Israel before being attacked and repelled. The next day after that saw 3 more mortar shells land in Israel. Finally Israel sent a "message" via a guided missile that vapourised a Syrian artillery battery.
Most likely related to this Syrian ploy has been the incessant rocket salvos fired by HAMAS into Israel over the last month. Since Saturday more than 120 rockets have landed on Israeli soil in addition to the several dozen intercepted by the IDF's Iron Dome interceptor battery. HAMAS is partner to a 4 way alliance between it, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Iran, and of course Syria. The HAMAS Poltiburo is located in Damascus and so the relationship between the Assad Regime and HAMAS is very tight.
As Israel began absorbing more and more rocket and mortar attacks from Gaza an IDF response became inevitable. Early this morning the IAF, or Israel Air Force, began sorties over Gaza with the very first airstrike neutralising Ahmed Jabbari, the overall commander of the HAMAS military wing. Since then more than 80 sorties have taken place backed by offshore shelling from Israeli naval vessels. As I speak IDF Reserve forces are being positioned at the rear of Active Duty forces which are poised to cross into Gaza. The UN Security Council- as worthless as it is- is meeting here in New York tonight in. Emergency Session to try and diffuse the situation.
My first inclination is to rush home to Israel and try to mobilise but I have been retired for nearly 5 years now. Instead I will experience this conflict as I did Operation Cast Lead in 2008 and 2009, living vicariously through my 3 children in Israel, 2 officers on Active Duty and the 3rd a Command Sergeant in the Reserves.
I am sure that the world will condemn us for daring to attack after hundreds of rockets have caused 1 million Israelis to sleep in bomb shelters for the last month. People can be so blindly ignorant. Were even 1 rocket to land in the US Americans would be screaming for bloody revenge. Only Israel is held up to a different standard.