Recently my synagogue’s Men’s Club sponsored a showing of the movie, “To Cast A Giant Shadow,” all about the 1948 formation of the modern State of Israel, the siege of Jerusalem, and the attacks by five Arab countries to destroy Israel before it was even a day old.
The movie starred Kirk Douglas as Colonel David “Mickey” Marcus, a true hero of the Second World War, who became the first general of Israel and died in a tragic incident concerning friendly fire.
Other stars included Frank Sinatra, John Wayne, Yul Brenner, Angie Dickerson, Topol, and Senta Berger, who played the characters of real people involved in the creation and salvation of Israel against the multitude of Arab nations who vowed to destroy them. It is a fictionalized version. But it gives a view of Israel from the 1960s when the movie was made and the terror that people were living through then.
Sounds familiar? It does to me, as once again terrorist forces from the East, the South and the North try to destroy Israel, and anti-Semitism and Jew hatred takes over social media, and the traditional media also seems to favor the terrorists of Hamas over Israel as it defends itself. In fact, the word Zionism has replaced the word Jewish on social media to create Jew hatred around the world.
We were basically defenseless then. No one would give us weapons. The British were turning everything over to the Arab nations. The Jews had just suffered through a massive attempt to annihilate them—the largest genocide in human history. Many of the ‘soldiers’ had recently arrived from the concentration camps. Who would have thought Israel would survive? It was really a miracle, perhaps the divine intervention included the help of Mickey Marcus.
Now we are not defenseless. But once again there are fractions in the world that would like to see the destruction of the State of Israel. The UN made it obvious who they wanted to believe when they would not even admit for months that the Hamas terrorists raped and brutalized Israel victims, both women and men and the horrible murders of children. The UNWRA seems complicit in the work of Hamas.
On college campuses and in cities around the world people are supporting Hamas, a terrorist group that ended a cease fire and has caused the deaths of thousands of people. It seems to be a world gone insane. But not only in Israel. Yesterday Russia once again bombed the Ukraine. This time destroying a children’s hospital in Kiev.
How bad can it get before the world realizes that Israel is a sovereign country? Ukraine is a sovereign country. When Iran says it will obliterate Israel, what does that really mean? Nuclear War? When Russia threatens to use nuclear weapons, what does it mean? Nuclear War?
In the Middle East the wars between Israel and its neighbors did not stop then with this war for survival. For the entirety of Israel’s existence, the Arab nations surrounding it have worked for its destruction. For the past decade, Russia has been trying to chip away at Ukraine’s borders.
Isn’t it time for these continuous battles to end? Isn’t time for children everywhere to be able to sleep a peaceful night without the need for bomb shelters?
Isn’t it time for Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah to start working to make life better for the people they are entrusted with and use the money they have to rebuild and create a strong economy and society instead of using more and more money to precure arms and build the tunnels and machinery for destruction?
Isn’t it time for Russia to pull back? So the children and people of Ukraine can have peace again? Before this blows up and more people die on both sides.
Does anyone think nuclear war will end the battles? It might – with the destruction of the world as we know it. Releasing atomic bombs will not solve the problems. Ukraine and Russia border each other. Any nuclear bomb will harm both. Israel borders many Arab nations, if Iran obliterate Israel other nations will also be destroyed. It makes me think of another of my favorite movies, “War Games,” in which we find out that thermonuclear war is a non-winner for everyone.
Please Peace. No more battles, deaths, sleepless nights, and destruction. It is time for Iran and its terrorist proxies to look at their own plates and solve the problems of their people and stop trying to kill all the Jews in the world. The same in Ukraine. I know that the ‘normal’ people of the world who are suffering do not want any more battles.
Please Peace. For Israel. For Ukraine. For the world.
zicharonot 
I also wish for peace—in Israel and Gaza and all throughout the world.
We really need it!