On the Footsteps of an Elusive Peace
My aunt’s husband, once a soldier, shares his experiences as a parachuter during three of Israel’s main wars back in the 70’s and 80’s. He reveres the iron dome, praising how it has transformed the way Israel defends itself day in and day out. How it merges Israel’s mission to save as many lives as possible with her reality. As Theodore Herzel once said, “If you will it, it is no dream.”
We’re bad Jews. It’s Shabbat, but we turn on the TV to watch the spectacle. Yair Lapid, Israel’s prime minister, is speaking. He says, “Our fight is not with the people of Gaza. Islamic Jihad is an Iranian proxy that wants to destroy the State of Israel and kill innocents. The head of the Islamic Jihad is in Teheran as we speak…We hope that there is no further escalation, but Israel remains committed to doing whatever it takes to protect and defend its people.”
I continue listening to Mr. Lapid all cozied-up on the couch circled by family, nibbling on toasted pecans. Crunching away, I reflect over my experiences these past few days and can only be grateful for the life I have. Grateful for the life that Israel gave my friends, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, my mom, my dad. “If I had been born twenty years before I was,” my father tells me, “I don’t know what or where I would be. I am so lucky to have this place.” This gets me thinking. And me? What life would I have if not for Israel’s incessant will to survive and protect the people who raised me? Stepping into all sides— north, south, east, and west— I cannot appreciate this small country more.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
