Four Years Later

On September 28, 2000, Ariel Sharon visited the Temple Mount. This was used (IMO) by Israel's enemies as an excuse to start the second Intifada. Thousands of lives have been lost in the ensuing four years. The official count of Jewish lives lost is 1,017. I don't even know how many wounded there have been. Or how many of those wounds are permanent. Nor do I know how many Arabs have been killed or wounded.

Four years of bombings, rocket launches, rock throwings, shootings and a vicious media campaign to delegitimize the only Jewish state in the entire world. Four years of trying to destroy a nation whose only true "crime" was daring to breathe. Naturally, to their logic, their own dead and wounded are our fault as well. If we'd been more obliging, and simply let ourselves be killed off, then the past four years wouldn't have been necessary.

Only a few days ago, we spent 25 hours focusing on, and trying to atone for, all that we'd done, both as individuals and as a collective community/nation, in the past year. Today, on this 4th "anniversary" of the start of the second Intifada, I can't help but reflect back on the past 4 years: what they've done to us, and how we've responded.

I can't claim that everything we've had to do has been good or wise. I can't say that I've always agreed with the government's policy, either the US government or the Israeli. But I can honestly say that I think, for the most part, we've done what we can to protect Jewish lives and Israel's existence, with as much regard for the wellbeing of the Arabs living on Israeli land as possible. Can they claim that they've done the same for us?

May the new year bring peace for Israel and the Jews around the world. Let this be the last "anniversary" of such efforts to delegitimize and destroy us.