The Crisis in Northern Israel and the Impact of Hezbollah!
By
Richard J. Garfunkel
July 26, 2006
Last night in White Plains, Linda, our Israeli cousin Ami Raz, a visiting professor from Tel Aviv, and I attended a “Solidarity with Israel” rally hastily arranged by the Westchester Jewish Conference. On this warm evening with short notice 1200 people squeezed into Temple Israel. In addition to our local politicians, who stated what everyone wanted and expected to hear, Mr. David Harris, of the American Jewish Committee, addressed us in the most serious tone.
I, like many of you, have attended these types of gatherings for decades. As it has been stated before, from more eloquent sources, this is not a new war, but another chapter of a continuous fight for survival. This long war started over the existence and presence of Jews in the then British Mandate, and has continued throughout the history of the sovereign State of Israel.
Hezbollah, as we all know, is another manifestation and embodiment of the historical effort to confront Israel with aggression. Whether one goes back to the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and his incitement of murderous Arab riots against Jewish settlements in the 1920’s and 30’s, or the rejection of the Partition in 1947, or the War for Independence, the existence and survival of a Jewish Homeland has always been an immense blood stained struggle. From its earliest days of statehood, Israel and its people have fought murderous intrusions of Fedeyeen terrorists, blockages of its ports, shelling of its citizens and threats against its very existence by dictators and madmen like Nasser and Assad.
Today the Arab states do not have large armies, they are not client states of the Soviets and tools of the cold war, but many of them are just as dangerous and even more committed than ever to destroy Israel. So today, we are witnessing and experiencing this new threat from these so-called “stateless” terrorists. These brigands represented by Hezbollah and Hamas, pose and pass as legitimate democratically elected tribunes of their people. They use monies raised in places like Iran and Saudi Arabia to establish their concept of their type of relief, “soup kitchens,” and schools of religious hatred. They have become the ultimate non-governmental organization that works in parallel to the state. In Lebanon the state has looked the other way for years. That is why southern Lebanon has become an armed camp of fortresses buttressed by tunneled enclaves of fighters, along with their lethal stockpile of 13,000+ rockets and unguided missiles of wanton terror.
With this in mind, and the continuance of this border war, Northern Israel that has absorbed thousands of missiles raining down indiscriminately on civilian targets. David Harris, and the American Jewish Committee, which has promulgated safeguards for Jews and Jewish life, along with the understanding and the support for democratic and pluralistic societies that respect the dignity of all people since 1906, said it best when he said that, “we need again to stand up for Israel and lend our support now.”
Besides money, that must be given, all of us should write and petition our Representatives in the House and the Senate regarding our support for Israel. We must make it known to our public officials and our Congressional leaders that the time is now! We must write, call, and email the media regarding their one-sided and unfair coverage of this conflict. The people of Lebanon have brought into their homes and country a dangerous and virulent force that has led their society into another era of death and destruction. They experienced this force before when they endured a 15-year civil war supported and abetted by Syria. When are they going to learn?
Please send money to the UJA and forward their attached letter, and or mine to ten others.