(Day 662) Swords of Iron – “Intense Missions”

Chaim starts by telling his viewers that whatever difficult things they might be going through, Israel is also going through very difficult things and he urges his viewers to stand with Israel through these difficult times.

He then mentions the ongoing efforts of many world governments to push for a “two state solution” to the generational conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

Chaim reminds the viewers that Gaza was a prototype of this idea, as Israel completely withdrew from Gaza in 2005 and instead of building something positive, the Palestinians in Gaza built a nightmarish terror state that presented Israel with an existential threat. He also repeats what Israeli Foreign Minister Gidon Sa’ar said at a recent press conference, that the Palestinians have rejected a two-state solution. They have been saying for years now that they don’t want a state of their own, living in peace alongside Israel, they want to destroy Israel and they make no secret of it.

Sa’ar also said that some countries in Europe have allowed large numbers of immigrants from Moslem-majority countries to come in and have lost control of some of their internal infrastructure to these immigrant communities. He said he’s sorry about that, but Israel can’t allow that to affect our own decisions and our own security to the point where we commit suicide to appease these communities in European countries.

Next Chaim talks briefly about the ongoing internal debate in Israel about the enlistment of Ultra-Orthodox (haredi) young Israeli men into the IDF. Changes are needed, and Chaim believes they’ll come soon. He also mentions the terrible heat wave in Israel that has already led to 16 soldiers needing to be hospitalized for heat stroke.

He also addresses the ongoing food crisis in the Gaza Strip, and the fact that everyone is blaming Israel even though the UN is refusing to distribute food that is available for distribution. Israel has even begun airdropping food and medical supplies into areas where Gazan civilians can get to it without it being stolen by Hamas, but still many people are blaming Israel. There is video showing Hamas gunmen stealing trucks of food, but still there are those who deny that Hamas is stealing food. And so it goes.

Next, Chaim addresses the ongoing situation regarding the Druze population of southern Syia, who suffered a massacre at the hands of Sunni Bedouin tribes and some government forces earlier this month. They’ve been saved from a worse fate by a fragile ceasefire, and now many of them want to come under Israeli protection, if not sovereignty. This is unlikely, for now, but things could change very quickly.

Speaking of which, Iran is rapidly being re-armed by China so they’ll be ready for another round of fighting with Israel, or so they think.

Amidst all this, Chaim mentions that we’re coming up on the 9th of Av, a date on the Hebrew calender when a lot of disasters have befallen the Jews and the world at large down through history.

So as we approach this day, we read the Book of Lamentations, and Chaim invites his viewers to open this Book and read along, and to join the Aliyah Return Center on the 9th of Av, which will be the 3rd of August on the Gregorian calender, for a time of prayer and reflection.