Tag: iron-dome

Israel acts strongly while the world remains off base

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

I got back from Israel on Friday September 20th. On Saturday night, September 21st, the bombs and rockets started en masse from Lebanon and Iraq into the north of Israel. On Sunday night/Monday morning of September 23rd, the village across the street from Kibbutz Lavi, were we stayed less than a week ago, had a direct hit from Hezbollah. Luckily the family was in the safe room, so nobody was injured. It’s not the first time something like this has happened to me. During the 2nd intifada, the night before we flew home, we were out a club having a good time. The music was good, the people were great, and we enjoyed ourselves. A day later we flew home. A few days later, a suicide bomber blew themselves up in the club we had just been. I’ve been in Israel when masses of people were on the Syrian border, threatening to breach it and enter Israel. We could hear the chants and the gunfire from our hotel rooms. Once again, our flight was the next day.

While in both situations I left just before a major attack on a place I had just been occurred, things are very different this time. Before, these were isolated terrorist attacks. That sounds horrifying but it also means that it was one person or group of people, at one place, focused on doing damage and murdering people at that location. It was very local. Now it is different. The entire country is being targeted. While in Israel last week, rockets were fired close to where we were. In both cases, the alerts didn’t go off where we were but did go off a few kilometers away. The train station in Modi’in, where I had been in May, had damage. My friends in Modi’in, who I had spent Shabbat with, had to go into their safe room on Sunday night.

My friends at Kibbutz Ravid sent me this video of the rockets over their heads and Iron Dome shooting them down. Less than a week ago, I was there.

Rockets over Kibbutz Ravid

This was over Tzfat, one of my favorite cities in Israel. I haven’t been there since prior to October 7th and couldn’t go on this trip because it wasn’t safe. I wasn’t far from Tzfat and could see it in the distance, but just being a few kilometers away makes a huge difference in terms of safety when Hezbollah is bombing indiscriminately.

Rockets over Tzfat

I speak to friends in Israel every day now. When I wake up my WhatsApp is filled with updates about the war. What Israel is doing to Hezbollah and what Hezbollah is firing at Israel. The alarms are now going off across almost the entire country. Iraq is now firing on Israel as well. It all stems from Iran, an existential threat to the US as well as Israel, and yet we stay silent.

Actually we don’t stay silent. We get continued lies from people like Representative Rashida Tlaib, who still hasn’t removed her lies about the hospital bombing on social media from 10 months ago. This is her speaking out yesterday.

Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate for President, is both Jewish and hater of Israel. She also continues to spew her hatred and lies on daily basis. This is one of her most recent posts, again accusing Israel of genocide.

Representative Ilhan Omar, a noted antisemite and Jew hater was silent as Hezbollah fired rockets on Israel for 11 months, as more than 60,000 Israelis have become evacuees and refugees in their own country. It’s only when Israel fights back that she opens her mouth.

Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur, is another avid antisemite and Jew hater. She has continued to attack Israel since October 7th. She continues to spread lies. This post was from yesterday.

The UN does nothing while she spews her hatred and lies. They don’t tell her to stop. They don’t fire her. They don’t attempt to distance themselves from her. The media is silent on all these Jew haters and liars since it doesn’t move then

There is no price to be paid by these two members of Congress who are not only antisemetic but also lying. There is no criticism by the Republicans or the Democrats of Jill Stein and her lies, likely because they don’t deem her a threat to them. Despite her vile and hateful rhetoric, it doesn’t benefit them so they stay silent. The media remains silent on those who are clearly Jew haters and liars. They continue to support and advocate for the terrorists.

This is the Washington Post article as the people of Lebanon celebrate Nasrallahs death and their freedom from his tyranny.

Israel will fight and win. She has no other choice. I talk to friends in the IDF and they are committed. A friend of mine just sent his 18 year old son off to the IDF and to join the war this week. Other friends have been recalled to serve. The elimination of Nasrallah means the leadership Hezbollah is all gone, sending a clear message to Iran and anybody else who wanted to murder and eliminate the Jews that they are not safe. They will pay for their efforts.

Both President Biden and VP Harris issued statements after the elimination of Nasrallah. In both, they continue to hold to the fallacy that a cease fire is the desired outcome. A ceasefire only benefits Hamas and Hezbollah. It benefits the terrorists. It doesn’t benefit the people of Gaza nor those of Lebanon who yearn to be free from the yoke of terrorists. It doesn’t benefit Israel who wants safety and security. For decades the US policy has been to pressure Israel in the belief that land for peace would work. We have seen time after time that it doesn’t. As my friend Fleur Hassan Nahoum so eloquently says about the two-state solution, “It was our dream, not theirs.”

The world is tired of war. I get it. We all are. Those who are evil and live in hate are taking advantage of this exhaustion. Russia and Putin against Ukraine. China is waiting so they can take Taiwan. Iran directing Hamas, Hezbollah, Iraq and the Houthis against Israel. The way to peace is through strength and deterrance, not through diplomacy. Strength and deterrance create the situation where diplomacy can work. Without the fear of strength, our enemies have nothing to fear and no reason to negotiate in good faith or give up anything of value. They know we will always cave. Israel’s elimination of Hamas leadership and their military in Gaza shows that strength. The elimination of the leadership of Hezbollah, including their newly appointed leader after only a few hours, shows strength.

In today’s world, sometimes I think Israel is the only one with common sense. There are plenty of problems with the Israeli government and I have been as critical as anybody of the power and influence that Ben Gvir and Smoltrich have, the issues with judicial reform, some of the policies in the West Bank/Judea and Samaria, and many other things. When it comes to evil, Israel understands you can only eliminate it, you can’t negotiate. Israel understands that in that region, the only thing that is respected is strength. They don’t try to negotiate with Iran and the Supreme Leader, they show him what will happen if he continues his efforts at genocide.

The Abraham Accords happened when the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain realized that the strength of Israel, both militarily and economically, was beneficial to them. Sudan and Morroco joined when they also realized it was to their benefit. Saudia Arabia and Indonesia were ready to join before October 7th for the same reason. The strength of Israel in removing Hamas and Hezbollah, even taking much longer than anybody expected, will only increase the likelihood that they will end up normalizing relations with Israel.

I worry about my friends in the IDF, my friends who have children in the IDF, my friends who live in the north and the Galilee, my friends in the south, my friends who have moved their bedrooms or their children’s bedrooms to their safe room because it’s easier than waking them up and trying to move them when the alerts go off. I hope that by destroying Hamas, eliminating the leadership of Hezbollah, we can get to place where they don’t have to do this any more. Where the people of Shlomi, who lived in my hotel for almost a full year now, can return home. Where the hostages will be released and this nightmare can end.

One thing that has become clear in the past few weeks with Israel’s attack on the leadership of Hezbollah. Israel will not accept the status quo. Israel will not return to the way things were on October 6, 2023. Containing the terrorists is no longer acceptable. Israel will protect her citizens. Israel will not abandon the north. The country is different now than before October 7th and will never be the same. But in the words of released hostage Mia Schem, “We will dance again.” The Jewish people and Israel will rise and be strong.

Am Yisrael Chai

Iran, Israel, the US, the UK and a surprise from Jordan

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

I had a totally different topic for this blog post and was in the middle of writing it when the alerts came out that Iran had launched drones at Israel.  It quickly became 50+, 100+ and the final report is more than 300 drones. Iran launched cruise and ballistic missiles.  Yemen has launched drones.  Hezbollah launched drones and rockets.  The US came to the support of Israel.  American forces intercepted drones in the skies over Iraq and Syria.

This image, from the NY Post, shows where things came from yesterday.

Reports indicate that British fighter jets stationed in Cyprus will assist in intercepting the drones.  Jordan launched planes and shot down those that came through their airspace.  Egypt closed it’s airspace and said they would destroy anything that came through it. Iran has said they will attack US bases if there is any US offensive involvement.  There was no way I could finish the blog I intended to write with this going on.

So, I’m going to write about where we are.  These are my opinions.  They are my hopes, dreams, concerns, and fears.  I will be wrong about many of them, and we will find out in the coming days what I was right about, what I was wrong about, and what things are yet to be determined.  I’m going to write them now anyway, even as things are developing moment by moment and by the time this is published, some of what I write may be dated.

Most people expected an Iranian response after the bombing of the headquarters of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Syria.  The IRCG is a branch of the Iranian military that has been designated by the US as a terrorist organization.  The retaliation was expected to happen after Ramadan, so it’s not a surprise that Iran did something.  I’m not sure anybody expected that it would 300+ drones with bombs, cruise, and ballistic missiles, or that it would come from Iran, Yemen, and Hezbollah.  As I watched TV, last night, reading my WhatsApp updates from both the IDF and the Bernie News Network (an amazing way to get updates), I am filled with so many different emotions.

My first reaction was “this is what happens when you allow evil to remain.”  I have written at length about evil and how it needs to be destroyed.  The world’s inability to eradicate evil when we see it, leads to things like this.  Hamas is evil and must be removed.  There are no excuses to not remove them.  The leadership of Iran is evil.  As Iranian people.  I have friends both of Iranian decent and who live in Iran currently and they hate the government.  Hezbollah is evil.  The Houthis are evil.  As long as we are willing to allow evil to remain, to continue, for any reason, we put the world at risk.  Yesterday was a good example of why Israel must go into Rafa and eliminate Hamas.  It’s why we can’t continue to attempt diplomacy with Iran.  Their government is evil and cannot be trusted.  They only respond to strength.

My second reaction was to reach out to my family and friends in Israel to check on them.  With this many drones and missiles fired at Israel from multiple directions, the entire country is on lockdown.  Everybody is concerned.  My friends with young children were playing games with them to keep them calm as they were in their safe room.  Those with adult children serving in the IDF are concerned not only about their own safety but the safety of their children.  Those without children at home were trying to sleep but obviously couldn’t.  And my friends that are single were sharing their confidence in Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and the Arrow 3 Israel has in place.  I reached out to two friends in the IDF.  One responded that ‘it will be a long night’.  The other, a high-ranking officer, did not respond as I’m sure he was involved in high level, secret meetings about the response to Iran’s attack, when and how Israel will enter Rafa, or some other critical matter.  October 7th was personal for me and many diaspora Jews.  The attack today is another personal attack, a day I won’t forget. 

Drones and missles over Jerusalem being shot down by Iron Dome and David’s Sling.

As I watched the news, once again I was amazed as people blamed Israel for Iran’s attack.  People defending the Iranian government and this massive attack.  People trying to separate Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis from Iran.  I found myself getting very angry listening to them spin responsibility, saying Israel deserved to have 300+ suicide drones ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles fired at the entire country, targeting civilian and military targets.  The video of Iron Dome in effect over Temple Mount is a spectacular example of targeting non-military targets.

Drones flying over the Temple Mount. Thanks to Iron Dome, nothing was damaged and nobody injured.

I think about our US government and those who voted against funding Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and the Arrow 3 technology.  These are defensive technologies, designed only to save lives.  They have no purpose other than to save the lives of civilians from terrorists firing rockets, missiles, and drones at Israel.  The members of the US House and Senate who don’t support Iron Dome funding are even more clearly antisemitic.  The only reason to have them is to save the lives of all Israeli citizens and those who live in Israel.  When they vote against this funding, they are saying that Israeli lives don’t matter.  On a day like today, when hundreds of rockets and missiles are fired at Israel, the need for this technology is even clearer.  I’ve written about how October 7th has changed me.  The events of today have impacted me as well.  Those who won’t support Iron Dome and defensive technology designed to save lives are people who I view as wanting me and all Jews to be dead.  If they had their way, many Israelis would have been killed.  My friends and family.  If I happened to be there, me.  And they’d be happy if I was killed here.  That makes them people who shouldn’t be in office and who I feel an obligation to do what I can to have them lose their positions.  Today, and their actions, have made me an activist.

The Arrow 3 system defeating a ballistic missile in space. This video has gone viral on X with over 850k views since I posted it.

Here is the list of the 9 who voted against Iron Dome and the two who voted ‘present’ in case you want to be an activist as well.

From Top L-R Reps. Jesus Garcia, Raul Grijalva, Rashida Tlaib, Thomas Massie, Andre Carson, Marie Newman, Cori Bush, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Hank Johnson. (Composite/AP)

Israel isn’t alone.  Despite some of the challenges with the Biden Administration and the House and Senate, the United States joined with the UK and Saudi Arabia to deploy jets from Cyprus to defend Israel and shoot down drones and rockets before they arrived in Israel.  Jordan directly intercepted drones targeting Israel.  Egypt closed its airspace and activated its air defense systems.  Not too long ago that would have been an unthinkable thing to say.  A few days ago, it was Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Iraq trying to talk Iran into not doing anything.  Another unthinkable statement just a few years ago.  Both Indonesia and Saudi Arabia are still on track to normalize relations with Israel in the future.  Despite the rise in antisemitism, despite the worldwide criticism of Israel in the war with Gaza, despite the negativity Israel faces in the media, Israel is not alone.  As Jews, we don’t have to be alone either.  We can build relationships with different groups to that we are there for them in their time of need and they will be there for us in our time of need.  Just like it took Israel a great deal of effort to make the Abraham Accords a reality and it’s taking hard work to get Saudi Arabia and Indonesia to normalize relations, it takes a lot of hard work to build those relationships.  So start now. 

A cruise missile shot down in Jordan. 8 months ago, the idea of Jordan helping defend Israel was unthinkable.

While the drones and missiles that Iran fired have largely been neutralized today with minimal damage and injuries, it is far from over.  Israel will retaliate.  Iran has threated the US directly and any other nation that gets involved to help Israel.  Will China and/or Russia get involved?  Is this the start of World War 3 or will it pass.  Nobody knows at this point but what we do know is that we must remove the evil for if we don’t, it will grow.  It will spread.  It will come to the United States, and we will face attacks on our own soil.  We will be in a far worse position for allowing it to remain than to do the hard work to eliminate it.  Eliminating evil isn’t easy.  It isn’t pretty.  It won’t come without criticism from those who don’t understand the power of evil and the cost of eliminating it.  We must do it anyway.  The cost of removing evil is less than the cost of letting it remain, grow, and flourish.

As we move into a new day, we have heard that the Biden administration has told Israel that while Israel will always have the support of the US in defending herself, the US will NOT be involved with any retaliation against Iran.  Once again, the infatuation of this administration with diplomatic attempts with the Iranian government, who doesn’t believe in diplomatic solutions and only strength, is astonishing.  They are correct that the incredible defense by Israel and her allies is a major win against Iran but without a response, Iran will only see weakness.  The message they receive is that this time it was stopped but we can do it again and again until it actually works.  There must be consequences.  The lack of consequences is why the government of Iran continues to terrorize and brutalize their citizens.  It’s why they ignore the nuclear sanctions and continue to develop a nuclear weapon.  The Iranian government lives by the words my father ingrained in my while I grew up, “Talk is cheap” and “Show me, don’t tell me.”  Iran needs to be shown there are consequences and a slap on the wrist or telling them they were bad doesn’t do it.  Israel will respond because they understand the need for strength.  They understand that without showing strength, you lose.  And losing for Israel means not existing.

I spoke to a friend of mine in Toronto late last night.  I didn’t realize that while I was captivated by the news and checking on my friends in Israel, in Toronto they were in the streets cheering Iran’s attack.  While the Israeli people were being terrorized by the sirens, hiding in safe rooms, listening to the explosions above their heads, Jews in Toronto were being terrorized by people in the streets.  This is another example of the power of weakness.  I was immensely sad chatting with my friend in Toronto.  She shouldn’t have to go through this.  Her husband and sons shouldn’t have to go through this.  The Jews of Toronto shouldn’t have to go through this.  Canadians will support the rights of anybody EXCEPT the Jews.  This is the world we live in today and unless we are willing to be activists, unless we are willing to stand up and speak out, unless we are willing to show strength and fight back, we will live in terror.  I refuse to live in terror or be a part of allow this to continue.  That’s my choice – you have to make your own and live with it. 

While Israel survived this first attack by Iran with minimal damage, it is only the beginning.  The world must face the fact that Iran is evil.  Their own people hate their government and have tried to resist while the world stood by and watched.  Now it is Israel who will fight back.  Who will escalate the situation.  The world can’t sit by quietly.  They must choose a side.  Let’s hope they choose good over evil.  Let’s hope they understand the fight they are in and that the price, while high, to eliminate evil is worth it. 

Am Yisrael Chai

PS:

Jews are used to being attacked and persecuted. As such we have developed a sense of humor that even in horrible times, we use to cope. Here are two items that in the midst of this horror, I found amusing and lightened my spirit just a little. I hope they do for you.