I’m writing this for my good friends, my moral humane friends, and for all those who are concerned and angry over the Palestinians killed and injured on the border with Gaza.
In the biblical Exodus from Egypt, when the Egyptian army drowned in the Red Sea just before overtaking the Israelites, our sages say that God prevented the angels from singing and rejoicing, scolding them with the words “my creations are drowning in the sea and you are singing?!”
I write these words with great caution, and from a sense of mission. I can understand and identify with all of those good and moral Zionists who fear that the many Palestinian victims may be our fault, the result of mistakes made by our side. I’m writing because I am one of the few who was there, in uniform, in the reserves, but I was there. Yes, right there on the fence where the demonstrations are happening. It was last Friday, but I saw it with my own eyes; I was on our side of the fence but I could see and hear and understand everything. I want to testify from my firsthand knowledge, not a theoretical point of view. Because I was there.
I want to testify that what I saw and heard was a tremendous, supreme effort from our side to prevent, in every possible way, Palestinian deaths and injuries.
Of course, the primary mission was to prevent hundreds of thousands of Gazans from infiltrating into our territory. That kind of invasion would be perilous, mortally dangerous, to the nearby communities; would permit terrorists disguised as civilians to enter our kibbutz and moshav communities, and would leave us with no choice but to target every single infiltrator. That’s why our soldiers were directed to prevent infiltration, in a variety of ways, using live ammunition only as a last resort.
The IDF employs many creative means of reducing friction with Gazans and uses numerous methods, most of which are not made public, to prevent them from reaching the fence. In addition, over the past few weeks there have been serious efforts to save the lives of children and civilians who have been pushed to the front lines by the Hamas, who are trying to hide behind them in order to infiltrate and attack Israel.
When there is no alternative, and live ammunition must be used to stop those who storm the fence, the soldiers make heroic and sometimes dangerous efforts not to kill and to only injure those on the other side. The IDF stations senior commanders at every confrontation point to ensure that every shot is approved and backed up by a responsible figure with proper authority. Every staging area has an especially large number of troops in order to make sure that soldiers are not put into life-threatening situations where they will have no choice but to fire indiscriminately.
A situation where thousands of people rush you is frightening, even terrifying. It is extremely difficult to show restraint, and it requires calm, mature professionalism. Sixty-two dead is an enormous number. But I can testify from my first-hand experience, that every bullet and every hit is carefully reported, documented and investigated, in Excel spreadsheets. Literally. I was there and I saw it with my own eyes.
This isn’t the time or place to discuss the situation in general and the desperate plight of the residents of Gaza. I’m not interested in starting a political discussion here, although I do have a clear position. What I’m trying to do is present, for everyone who really wants to listen, the extent of the IDF’s enormous effort to protect Israel’s borders while minimizing injuries and loss of life on the other side.
And despite all this – the situation on the border with Gaza is deteriorating. I hope that we won’t be called up again soon for reserve duty to protect our country. But if we are, we will go with the knowledge that we are serving a morally just cause. We do not rejoice when we must go to war, but we also don’t go like sheep to the slaughter.
(8) Samuel, May 20, 2018 2:39 PM
God is with Israel and no weapon form against them will Prosper
(7) Geni Johnstone, May 18, 2018 7:34 AM
Prove it
What proof do we have that it is not the Gazans themselves who are committing suicide or murder of their population? Who in their right mind would take an 8month old baby to watch tyres burning?
Bracha, May 18, 2018 7:24 PM
couldn't have said it better
Right?! Plus the fact that a bunch of the women and children are in front by the Gaza fence shows two things- that Hamas and the population in general does not care about protecting their women and children, and that they do that because they KNOW Israeli soldiers will NOT shoot women and children!! This is just one of the many many examples that show how moral and upright the IDF is. The fact that majority of the media has a huge bias against Israel shows they choose to be blind and to not look at things from an objective standpoint.
(6) Margaret, May 18, 2018 6:03 AM
We Did All We Could
THANK YOU so much for this article. I’ve been so desperate to find something to share on FB to prove the lies of the media..
I get so much thrown at me, along with accusations that it drives me to despair.. Just last night I was called a jihadist and a danger to Israel. Those words truely crushed me..
Someone who blames Israel for everything, calls someone who defends Israel a jihudist? Those words have cut deep, and made me want to take a step back for Israel’s sake!!
But I will go on defending Israel.. I will fight for Israel till my last breath.. And I need things like this to help ?
Anonymous, May 18, 2018 9:27 AM
Margaret, keep up the good work! I too, stand for Israel and sometimes we come up against mindless hatred from ignorant people.
Anonymous, May 18, 2018 7:27 PM
Thank you
I'm so sorry, Margaret, that you have to put up with stuff like that. Someone who calls you that when you openly support Israel is obviously very ignorant. Ignore all of the haters.
(5) Anonymous, May 17, 2018 10:19 PM
Hamas is a Terrorist Organization
Genocide is intentional action to destroy a people. Israel nor the IDF is hardly committing a genocide. The IDF goes at great lengths to ensure that casualties are kept to a minimum - i.e. at the end of the day, a terrorist trying to infiltrate a border is a threat and a threat must be stopped - because Israelis have the right to defend themselves against armed terrorists intent on murdering. This is hardly intentional. Additionally, the IDF nor Israel is not committing a mass killing against Palestinians. The IDF does not discriminate terrorists from Palestine or Lebanon, Syria, Iran, London, the US or any other group or nationality, religion or race. Terrorists are all treated in much the same way - they're stopped from doing what they plan to do, by force, if necessary and are shot at if they refuse to desist. This is not Genocide, this is an unauthorized terrorist infiltration. The US treats unauthorized infiltration on its Mexican border, especially of known gangsters intent on murderering innocent US civilians in much the same way. But Mexicans are smart - they don't march on the border because it probably won't work.
Why are Gazans so stupid as to go to a border and threaten Israeli civilians? hmmmm...
(4) Morton Friedman, May 17, 2018 6:15 PM
Massacre?
When faced with a MASS invasion, and Israel was, there were several options that the IDF could have employed, but did not. Some examples would be machine guns, napalm, and cluster bombs. Then you might have a so-called massacre. But Israel did not, rather they resorted to careful aimed fire, rather apparently aimed fire to disable. From the limited number of deaths one can only surmise that the marksmanship of the IDF needed more work.,
(3) Hannah, May 17, 2018 3:58 PM
Israel is to be commended for its restraint in its efforts to protect its own, and neighboring, civilians! Please don't believe the untruths the media 'reports'.
(2) Rachel Lewy, May 17, 2018 3:43 PM
it's not a border it's a fence - you are only fooling yourself with this lame article - the world is watching and Israel is not above the laws of God or human morality. Balfour agreement states that "it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine," - more clearly it seems that Zionist state of Israel has a deficit in understanding.
Anonymous, May 17, 2018 7:41 PM
A fence is a border. I'm sorry that concept is beyond your scope of understanding. Also please learn about things you choose to comment on from unbiased sources.
brian, May 18, 2018 4:28 AM
Does the Balfour agreement say the Jews should stand by and let their borders be broken through and their peoples lives threatened! The article isn't lame even though you disagree. Did a Jew ever blow himself up and kill innocent children and babies. How can you defend the Arabs who are bent on destroying us, not making peace. Shame on you for your response!
(1) Ann, May 17, 2018 3:13 PM
Genocide
You are justifying murder. Genocide. Stealing land. Disgusting.
Sue, May 17, 2018 6:09 PM
Genocide?
The only genocide here is what the Arabs wish to perpetrate against the Israelis - and by that, read "Jews".
Any "palestinians" ie. muslims who get past the fence will, in their own words, "rip the hearts from the bodies of the Jews". And furthermore, any woman, arab or anyone else, who brings a baby to a violent, vicious riot, intending to kill other people, is an incompetent idiot of a mother.
Anonymous, May 17, 2018 7:37 PM
You can't steal something that is already yours from the beginning of history. Go educate yourself please about Israel and Hamas, from an unbiased source.