"Land Day"

I hope today is a quiet day. I hope not to hear any news. I hope I won't get any phone calls, IM's, SMS's, or have any conversations relating to the current situation in Israel. Just a quiet day. I hope my son won't come home asking more questions about the murders in Itamar or the bomb in Jerusalem. He stumped me today.

On the way to school he said, "Mommy, if Jerusalem is a walled city, how did the person who put the bomb there get in?" I really didn't know how to answer it. On one hand, was I supposed to make it sound like they came in from the outside? But that will destroy his feeling of safety that we have a security fence around our city. Was I supposed to tell him that somehow they got past the security guards and soldiers? That will ruin his faith and secure feelings from the army and police. He then asked, "Did they live there?"
All I could say was that they don't know who did it yet so they don't know how they got in. And I said it was a very good question.

When I got home, I saw an article Shauli sent me about "Land Day". The article can be seen here: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/143231

Here are a few excerpts from the article that really got to me. "The boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement, an umbrella network operating worldwide to boycott Israel as part of a delegitimization campaign, has called on anti-Israeli activists around the world to hold solidarity activities with the Arab “Land Day” which is scheduled for Wednesday....
The notice calls on “people of conscience” to join the boycott of Israel....
U.S. events focus on Washington, DC, but are also expected to be held in Seattle and at the University of Arizona, where a model of the Israeli security fence (which organizers term “the apartheid wall”) will be erected..... "

People of conscience......people of conscience.... I'd like to meet these people of conscience and take them by the shoulders and shake them really really really hard. CONSCIENCE???? For example the woman that I previously blogged about who was proud to be a "Jew but a Palestinian sympathizer". CONSCIENCE???? Where the hell was your conscience when murderers snuck into Itamar, entered a families house, and brutally murdered the Fogels. Where the hell was your conscience when they slit the throats of Udi Fogel and his 3 month old daughter, Hadas. When they cut her throat so bad, she was nearly decapitated?? Where the hell was your conscience when Ruth Fogel came out of the bathroom to find her family being slaughtered? And she fought for her life and for the lives of her family? And she was cut up so badly, they couldn't even include the pictures along with the others from the murder scene. What about when they killed 11 year old Yoav, reading in his bed? Or when they stabbed 4 year old, Elad right in his heart?

I think you don't know what a conscience is. Conscience: The awareness of a moral or ethical aspect to one's conduct together with the urge to prefer right over wrong.
Conscience: motivation deriving logically from ethical or moral principles that govern a person's thoughts and actions .

Morals? Show me their morals. Right over wrong. Not wrong over right. Not even wrong over wrong. Logic. Is there any logic in any of this? I don't see any on either side.
Israel gives land for peace. Palestinians destroy that land, elect a terrorist government, shoot rockets at innocent civilians, and brutally murder the very same people whose houses they now inhabit (unless they destroyed them because they belonged to "filthy Jews".

We are fighting a losing battle. Not because I believe Palestinians are bad people as a whole. I don't. But there are a lot of bad Palestinians out there. And these are the ones with the loudest voices and actions. These are the ones who are somehow running their people. I watched a video yesterday from Palestinian TV. It was a kid's program. While my children sit and watch Bob the Builder and Mr. Maker and Zoboomofoo, Palestinian children are watching this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jm8w7_P8wZ0

Our children watch Clifford the Big Red Dog or Barney singing "I love you, you love me" and poor Ahmad and his sister Fatima watch a rabbit vowing that "I, Assud, will finish off the Jews and eat them, Allah willing."

There are countless videos out there showing the programming these kids sit and watch. So how can I ever hope that my children will be able to sit in peace with their children? They are being taught pure hatred of the Jews from before they even enter school.

Back to the article. A "model of the Israeli security fence" (which organizers term “the apartheid wall”) will be set up. I wonder if they are going to set up some ridiculous huge, scary looking wall. Along with signs saying NO ARABS allowed? Spreading more rumors and lies about Big Bad Israel.

Let me tell you about the "apartheid wall". It's a security fence. That's exactly what it is. It was set up to keep the bad guys out (or attempt to). That's what a country needs to do when there are people constantly trying to enter into your cities and blow them up. In most areas it's a little fence with perhaps some barbed wire on the top and hopefully cameras and sensors along it. The purpose is to defend ourselves against a people who only want to wipe us out. They don't even hide that this is their goal.

As for apartheid. "a social policy or racial segregation involving political and economic and legal discrimination against people who are not Whites" or in this case - I guess not Israelis? And Israelis does not mean Jews. There are plenty of Arabs who live in Israel and have Israeli citizenship. And reap the benefits of a normal life. We have no problem living side by side with Arabs. As long as they do not want to kill us. Rather, as long as they don't act on it.

I know I have mentioned this before but if this 2 State solution ever goes through and there is an Israeli state and a Palestinian state - where will apartheid be practiced? In Israel or in Palestine? Israel will continue with it's many immigrants of all different races, nationalities, and religious. Palestine will consist of Arabs. No Jew will be allowed to live there and if somehow they did, I don't imagine it would be long before they are murdered. So who will have the apartheid State?
Do you know what the signs say in Israel before you enter Palestinian controlled areas? I can't remember the exact phrasing but among the wording is any Israeli who enters is endangering their life!

Um, there are no signs like that going into Canada. There are no signs like that going to London. And sadly, it's true. It is dangerous to enter these areas (although most likely we would be stopped before we happened upon Ramallah). I am sure crazy terrorists would just love to get their hands on some Jew who wandered into their city. Remember the Ramallah lynchings in 2000? Two Israelis accidently drove into Ramallah. They were detained by PA policeman and brought to the police station. Word got out and a crowd of more than 1,000 Palestinians gathered at the station, calling for the death of the Israelis. The 2 men were beaten, stabbed, had their eyes gouged out, and were disemboweled. At this point, a Palestinian appeared at the police station window, displaying his blood-stained hands to the crowd, which erupted into cheers. One of the soldier's bodies was then thrown out the window and stamped and beaten by the enraged mob. One of the bodies was set on fire. I believe their bodies were dragged by car to the center of the city for a victory celebration. Wow, that's frightening.

Shauli and I almost drove into a small Arab city near us by accident too. It was the night after the Fogel murders and we were going to visit some friends who live in nearby Pedual. We took a wrong turn and were driving on a small, dark street (following our GPS.....). We both had a bad feeling which was confirmed when we saw a sign written in only Arabic. We hightailed it out of there!!

So for now, we have one State of Israel. We let peaceful Arabs live, work, and go about their business in our country. And we try to keep the bad ones out. WE are not an apartheid state, just a state trying to survive. If a Palestinian State is established, then you'll see an apartheid, Judenrein state.
But at least if there are 2 states, maybe we can actually defend ourselves and our borders.

Thanks for reading. I don't mean to depress you. I owe you a positive post soon about all the reasons that it's great to live here. :)