(Day 518) Swords of Iron – “Syrian Civil war back on?”

Chaim starts out by saying that enormous numbers of IDF reservists are being called back to uniform and undergoing training to prepare for another round of fighting in the Gaza Strip. At the same time the Houthis in Yemen are threatening to resume firing ballistic missiles at Israel and the terrorist groups backed by Iran which operate in Judea and Samaria are also ramping up their operations, including taking Indian nationals hostage. Chaim says this is not civilized behavior. The civilized world needs to step up and push back against these threats, and most of the civilized world is still in denial that there is any threat.

Chaim says the Indian workers who were taken hostage and then rescued were apparently being blackmailed into attempting to carry out bombing attacks inside Israel.

Chaim says he’s grateful that US President Donald Trump is putting pressure on Hamas in order to try and end this war instead of putting pressure on Israel.

At the same time, Iran has formed a new terrorist group in Syria to try and increase the pressure on Israel, at the same time as its trying to rearm and reorganize Hezbollah in Lebanon. They are not ready to quit and so Israel has to be ready to continue standing strong.

However, Chaim also says that there must be a long-term strategy to convince the terrorist groups that they are simply not strong enough to continue attacking Israel and sustaining Israel’s counter-attacks. There must be an effort made to convince them to have a “hudna” or long-term ceasefire.

He also mentions Gal Gadot, who spoke out forcefully against anti-Semitism at a recent awards show in New York. In this context, Chaim quotes Esther 4:14; For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”