(Day 638) Swords of Iron – “Israel: Rugged Beauty”

Chaim starts out by saying he hopes everyone had a restful Shabbat, but the IDF troops didn’t have much rest because they’re very busy taking down Hamas infrastructure in the Gaza Strip and guarding Israel on several other fronts.

That includes the effort to provide humanitarian aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip. It’s ongoing and it’s very difficult, and Hamas is doing everything they can to disrupt the process, but Chaim says they can’t be allowed to prevail.

Iran also can’t be allowed to prevail in their efforts to destroy Israel, nor can they be allowed to get away with their attempt to lie about having won the 12-Day War.

Chaim talks about some of the amazing successes Israel had in the first opening strikes of the war, and which were quickly followed up on. Iran tried to strike back, with most of their ballistic missiles that got through the defenses hitting civilian cities and neighborhoods, but some hitting military bases. However, the damage they did was a small fraction of what they could have done and what the IDF Home Front Command had in fact planned for. But now Israel must be prepared to strike them again if they don’t surrender. They certainly have not internalized the lessons of the war that they just lost, and so there might need to be more lessons taught to them.

Chaim then launches into a description of some of the things that makes Israel unique, from geographical features like the Dead Sea to technological innovations like drip irrigation, stem cell therapy, etc. There are also unique architectural infrastructure like the Bauhaus neighborhoods of Tel Aviv, and world-class universities.

Chaim also talks about the cultural, ethnic and linguistic diversity in Israel, a small country which nonetheless embraces many different groups of people and somehow it all works.

There are aslo ancient cities like Ber Sheva and Tiberius, UNESCO World Heritage sites, and much more. Chaim says Israel might not have gold and silver, but it’s got riches, and that includes prophecy. On this note, he concludes by quoting Zechariah 12:8;  In that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the Angel of the Lord before them.