Our trip was not about politics or military strategies or even about who is right or wrong in all this mess. We were there to provide friendship and support to the people who are living with the outcomes. I can’t tell you of all the people we interacted with how many were Israeli Jews and how many were Israeli Non-Jews. That wasn’t the point either. They are Israelis, they are living under tough conditions and that is all that matters.
But with that said, I would be remiss if I left out our experience with the young IDF soldiers. Our final dinner was with a group of officers who had just returned from Operation Cast Lead. My first impression, they are too young to be soldiers. But once they started to talk, again, I heard wisdom beyond years.
These young men and women knew more about being human than they did about shooting guns. It was they who reminded us of the large difference between the Palestinians (who they referred to as “our neighbors”) and the enemy which is Hamas. They spoke with true sympathy for those living in the Gaza strip who merely want the same peace and security the Israelis want, but who are sabotaged in that goal daily by groups like Hamas and Hezbollah. They spoke of going ahead to warn the citizens prior to an attack, and of having to beg some to leave, just to save their lives. How guilty they felt in having to overturn crops to be able to stay safe and see the enemy.
But with that said, I would be remiss if I left out our experience with the young IDF soldiers. Our final dinner was with a group of officers who had just returned from Operation Cast Lead. My first impression, they are too young to be soldiers. But once they started to talk, again, I heard wisdom beyond years.
These young men and women knew more about being human than they did about shooting guns. It was they who reminded us of the large difference between the Palestinians (who they referred to as “our neighbors”) and the enemy which is Hamas. They spoke with true sympathy for those living in the Gaza strip who merely want the same peace and security the Israelis want, but who are sabotaged in that goal daily by groups like Hamas and Hezbollah. They spoke of going ahead to warn the citizens prior to an attack, and of having to beg some to leave, just to save their lives. How guilty they felt in having to overturn crops to be able to stay safe and see the enemy.
They spoke with total conviction when they asked us to remind the world “We did not go into Gaza to fight the people who live there, we went in there to stop the missiles from reigning down on our families”.
In the end THAT was what this trip was about, that is what this war is about, about the innocent people whose lives are in danger daily. There are those who will say, but what about the Palestinians who are in danger. I can say with total conviction, I really hope their country, the people of their faith from other nations are doing the same for them that I hope we were able to do in our 48 hours in Israel. This is not a matter of faith, of nation or of right or wrong, it is about humans being there for each other.
As Lee Pearlman told us as we were leaving, its about B’Yachad…being together!
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