2008/12/29 – DAY #2: Israel Trip – Growing Problems For A Shrinking Israel

Upon my arrival in Israel, checking into the hotel, it became clear rather immediately that Israel, a country no larger than the tiny state of Rhode Island, had shrunk in size, yet again. Over two years ago, Israel relinquished entirely the Gaza Strip to their neighboring Palestinians, hoping and praying that this move might lead to the organic evolution of a responsible Palestinian government and a peaceful Palestinian State. To the horror of Israel’s citizens and its leaders, nothing could have been farther from the case, as the Palestinian population of the Gaza Strip voted into power overwhelmingly the Hamas terrorists whose very charter slanders and libels Jews worldwide and calls for Israel’s complete obliteration. Israel grew smaller, but its problems grew larger and deeper. And, it was growing smaller, yet again, right before my own eyes: The desk-clerk at the hotel in Tel Aviv, in the center of the country, received a frantic phone-call from his wife while checking me in at 4:00 am. His neighbor had just been bombed by a Hamas-launched Grad-type missile from Gaza. Ashdod hadn’t been hit before. Ashdod is located closer to Tel Aviv than it is to Israel’s southern border with Gaza! The desk-clerk now had one more family to check into the hotel for the night – his own, including himself, his wife, their three-year-old, and their 6-month-old. One only wonders what other men and women in Ashdod will do tonight to protect their children tonight, and beyond. With Hamas’ increased range of fire, and its willingness to target indiscriminately innocent civilians, Israel’s livable space continues to shrink, while its problems continue to grow.

Rabbi Isaac Jeret
Spiritual Leader
Congregation Ner Tamid of South Bay
www.nertamid.com