Day 472 Swords of Iron – “Congratulations President Trump!”

Chaim starts the video by wishing newly inaugurated US President Donald J. Trump congratulations and assuring him that he speaks for many in the IDF and Israel in general when he says that he’s very happy to see Trump return to the White House.

He then acknowledges that there have been several US Presidents who were good friends with Israel, and he looks forward to a new era with this new Administration.

But, there’s still work to be done here in Israel. Chaim mentions that he was just at yet another funeral of Oran Shaul, who was killed in action and his body kidnapped into Gaza by Hamas in 2014. His remains were rescued just a few hours before the cease-fire started and brought back into Israel to be buried.

There is joy in Israel over the closure this brings for his family, as well as the release of Israeli hostages in the initial phase of the cease-fire deal.

However, there is also consternation over the high number of Palestinian security prisoners who are also being released. Israel values life, but there are questions about how far and at what cost these trades are made. One question is whether or not anyone else besides Israel would ever be pushed to negotiate with terrorists the way Israel has been pushed into accepting this deal.

There is also a practical question about what Israel and the IDF is going to have to do in order to protect themselves from these large numbers of terrorists who are being released into Judea and Samaria, eastern Jerusalem, and even into Gaza itself.

But Chaim concludes by confidently declaring that as long as Israel has faith in our God, we will be on the right track, and terrorism will lose.